Nice cheap pump

[Sparky]

I’m having really good luck with a pump by (get this) Simple Deluxe. It’s a 950gph so who knows what it really does. Indoor pond running 24/7 for a year now. Outdoor ran awesome last season and just tested good after sitting dry all winter. Bought another for a spare. Yes it’s a China pump but for the $, I’m pretty impressed. It’s available on Amazon. Nice cheap little pump.

 

[EricV]

I just checked on Amazon. Their 1050 g/h pump runs on 270 W. That's about 200 W over a good name brand pump, which will cost you about $200 in electricity in one year. Cheap is definitely not worth it for pumps that are going to run 24/7. I have a number of pumps like that which I will run for 20 minutes here and there to pump something out, but for things that run 24/7, I pay a lot more attention to the power consumed than the purchase price.

 

[sissy]

yep your electric consumption is the key .That is why I bought laguna pumps .My 2400 gph and my 2900 gph run 120 watts and since I bought mine they have gotten even better with energy savings

 

[Sparky]

Yep. Inefficient they are. Just posted here for budget minded folks looking for a decent cheap pump. These would never run a serious pond but a smaller body or a water feature. I’ve seen equals (gph) at twice the price fail. This one just seems to chug along.

 

[sissy]

even the ones at harbor freight are better in price and energy cost .My neighbor is still using mine after i upgraded to laguna in 2014 .When it cmes to cost cheaper is not always better in the end .I can understand cost where some are concerned is a factor but in the end that monthly electric bill says it all

 

[EricV]

Yep. Inefficient they are. Just posted here for budget minded folks looking for a decent cheap pump. These would never run a serious pond but a smaller body or a water feature. I’ve seen equals (gph) at twice the price fail. This one just seems to chug along.

Pond size has nothing to do with it. Reliability has little to do with it. If those power consumption numbers are correct, you may spending as much as you paid for the pump every three months for power. That’s no bargain no matter how long it runs.

I always look at total cost assuming (probably conservatively) 3-4 seasons.

 

[Sparky]

Not doubting anyone’s experience here but after doing some research I discovered some math that doesn’t quite gel. Could the owner of a max flo slap a ammeter on their pump circuit and tell me what it’s drawing under load? Also which size max flo you’re using. Just as an experiment. I’ve dug around Hagens site looking for “ smart pump” technology and came up with zilch.

 

[sissy]

I did that with my laguna pumps and tested power usage .I even posted pics on my rebuild part here after i got the pumps .I then signed up with my power company to get the usage alert on every power user in my house .it took hours to register every item in my house but well worth the time so if anything is using excessive power I can see what it is

 

[Sparky]

Energy audits can be exhausting but very revealing. Kudos for you for the effort as so many “read the box” and that’s it. You buy a car that says it gets X mpg yet we still check for real world results. That’s what I’m after here. To be honest when I bought said pump, I purchased full well thinking I’d be replacing the first or second season with something better. Power usage was not in my scope of thought at the time. Don’t get me wrong though. I’m all about upgrading and maxing efficiency. I finally upgraded my air system to a single pump in my fishroom. Once it’s insulated and sealed correctly I’m eliminating all heaters and keeping room temp tropical zone. I’ve converted 100% to LED lighting (even my beloved MH reef light is gone). Anyway I was asking for real world data simply as an electrician who has seen many a claims on “official” nameplate ratings of which little or none of these pond pumps have. So we have our SIMPLE DELUXE (gotta love that name) 1056gph. The “numbers” 120V 64W (who the heck said 270?!). Real world data 119V 54W at 2.2A under load. At the price and reliability so far? Doing ok. Yep there’s better. Wait, who said 270W? Oh, Amazon.

 

[EricV]

Ah, so the Amazon page is wrong. Good to know and then, considering, it looks like you have a great pump.

Of course, load testing every pump before you buy one is impossible, so I go by what gets quoted which should have at least some relationship to the the truth. The Webb's site is great for this, you can see on one web page hundreds of pumps, flow rates, and power consumption.

 

[Sparky]

Ah, so the Amazon page is wrong. Good to know and then, considering, it looks like you have a great pump.

Of course, load testing every pump before you buy one is impossible, so I go by what gets quoted which should have at least some relationship to the the truth. The Webb's site is great for this, you can see on one web page hundreds of pumps, flow rates, and power consumption.

Webb’s has been very good to me! Naw man don’t get me wrong. I’m all about better. The Laguna are a solid premium and it would seem a lot of people swear by them. That’s data I trust more than ;umbers. I’ve been lied to by the numbers many a time.

 

[EricV]

Believe me, I'm not trying to convince anyone to buy a "premium" pump. But all to often we see people come through here having found a "bargain" that in the end is not. So glad your pump is way better than it looked like on a 2 minute search and that you already know this.

Power efficiency of a pump wasn't something I thought of before coming here. I think many people don't realize how much these things cost to run.

FWIW, my main pump is a 6000 GPH Atlantic, I've got a 700 GPH Tetra (also reasonably efficient, at least as claimed) and just got a 1000 GPH Lifegard for a water feature I'm building.

 

[Sparky]

Power efficiency of a pump wasn't something I thought of before coming here. I think many people don't realize how much these things cost to run.

Funny some of the pumps and motors I work with are massive. All kinds of motors and configurations. When I got into the trade, motors completely baffled me. Luckily they still do (some of them) which is why I’m still here. The hydraulic engineer folk scare me. But so many of the basics of both aspects are critical to this hobby (aquaculture) in general. Making it a finely honed living system is that part of the hobby that drives me...kinda wild. The best part is forums like this. Where else could I go for knowledge of 100s of pond keepers? The resources are awesome.

 

[sissy]

I got my lagunas on ebay from country fish girl for less than 150 dollars .Yep power consumption can be a deal breaker but testing them after you get them really helps .I have sare pump that uses more but in an emergency what choice do you have .I bought the watt tester and love it.I have found that when my laguna pumps are clean they are more energy efficient and have gotten more energy efficient since i got them .I will run a test but have to go get a hdmi cable for the security cameras as I got a better tv and bigger to monitor the property .I changed out the old lcd one that seem to be using lots of energy lately .I will give it to my great grandson for his room .I got the new tv for only 59 dollars and amazed at how light weight these tv's keep getting and how great the energy costs keep getting .I buy only ford cars since I get an employee discount

 

[MitchM]

I'm trying to move away from mechanical pumps and towards aeration only for water circulation.
I know it's not for everyone, but I think it's safer for all pond inhabitants.
Call me an outlier.
Winter for my pond will be a pond breather which uses minimal pump circulation.