Pond Pumps Vs pool pumps

Often people install pool pumps to run their water feature because of the initial cost savings of purchasing such a pump. This is ill-advised for a variety of reasons; most importantly, the use of a pool pump can lead to massive
increases in your electricity bill.

Also, many unscrupulous landscapers and some retailers provide quotations that include the supply of a pool pump rather than a pond pump in order to reduce the final cost of the quotation in an effort to win the work. They do not inform the recipient of the quotation of the running costs of a pool pump.

Simple arithmetic proves that the initial cost savings of purchasing a pool pump to run your water feature can cause a blow out of staggering proportions in your annual budget. This is especially true when keeping fish or plants, which requires that your pump is running 24 hours a day to oxygenate the water.

Running Costs

To calculate your operating costs per year multiply watts your pump uses per hour, by the number of hours you run it per year (if you run it 24/7 then use 8,760 hours per year), then divide by 1,000 to convert it to kilowatts, then multiply by your cost per kWh (kilowatt-hour) ($0.1447 in QLD - see www.energexinstitute.com).

watts x 8,760 / 1,000 x $kWh = $ operating costs per year

Example 1:

A Blagdon Amphibious P8000 Fountain Pump (169 watt)

169 (watt) x 8760 (hours per year) / 1000 x $0.1447 = $214.22 per year

Example 2:

An Average 1.0 HP Pool Pump (750 watt)

750 (watt) x 8760 (hours per year) / 1000 x $0.1447 = $950.68 per year

Total Cost Savings = $736.46 per year ($184.12 every quarter!)

Below we have compared the smallest pool pump generally available against the largest pond pump generally available:

Example 3:

An Aquashift 15000 Pump (210 watt)

210 (watt) x 8760 (hours per year) / 1000 x $0.1447 = $266.19 per year

Example 4:

A 0.75 HP Pool Pump (550 watt)

550 (watt) x 8760 (hours per year) / 1000 x $0.1447 = $697.16 per year

Total cost savings = $430.97 per year ($107.74 per quarter!)

Above we have only considered operational costs; however
there are a number of other considerations when comparing a
pond pump to a pool pump:

Guarantee/Warranty

All Pond Pumps supplied by Water Features Online are quality pumps and are backed up by Continuously Rated Guarantees of varying lengths (2-5 years). Continuously Rated means that the pump is guaranteed to run 24 HOURS A DAY for the period of the guarantee. Conversely, while Pool Pumps may be of good quality, the guarantees are NOT continuously rated and they are usually guaranteed to run for approximately 6 hours a day (read the fine print!) for the period of the guarantee. If a pool pump is run for 24 hours a day then this effectively reduces a 2 year guarantee to a 6 month guarantee.

Noise

This is a factor often overlooked. Pond Pumps are generally submersible and therefore silent. Pool Pumps are generally dry mounted somewhere near the water feature and can be very noisy. This is counterproductive when introducing the sound of water into a garden.

Maintenance

Both Pool and Pond Pumps require some basic maintenance, they need to be kept clean and free of debris. However, Pond Pumps have fewer moving parts than Pool Pumps, therefore the likelihood of breakdowns are greater in a Pool Pump. Often the seals on Pool Pumps degrade and need replacing regularly whereas a Pond Pump generally does not have a seal.

Author

Danielle Dickinson is an avid water feature enthusiast. She is a regular contributor to Gardening Magazines. Visit her website http://www.waterfeaturesonline.com.au for more information on building and maintaining any type of Water Feature as well as a huge range of water gardening products.

Gardening News

'Guerilla Gardening' Digs L.A.
LAist - 0 KB- Found: 5 hours ago
Guerilla gardening is largely thought to have its roots in England, where folks have long planted unexpected gardens in neglected public spaces as a sort of call to action that highlights the misuse of land and repurposes it into something beautiful. They often work in crews or teams and go on carefully-planned gardening missions. Recently a local team of guerilla gardeners transformed a ...

Central Texas gardening workshops, seminars offer tips, advice
Austin American-Statesman - 0 KB- Found: 11 hours ago
Round Rock Community Garden Club 9:15 a.m. Monday . Judy Barrett lectures on 'Ecological Gardening Rain Barrels, Compost Bins, Potting Soil and More.' Baca Center, 301 W. Bagdad Ave., Building 2, Round Rock. Free. 218-5499.

Gardening Gift Guide
Carteret County News-Times - 0 KB- Found: 15 hours ago
(ARA) - Whether you have a few plants at your desk, a container garden on your deck, or a full-fledged garden in your backyard, gardening is enjoyed on many different levels.

Free UT event is a buffet of summer gardening activities
Memphis Commercial Appeal - 0 KB- Found: 20 hours ago
If you want to see plants thriving in the summer sun and learn about gardening throughout the seasons, you can join hundreds of like-minded people on July 10 at the 19th annual Summer Celebration at the University of Tennessee's West Tennessee Research & Education Center in Jackson.

Vegetable gardening with my Three Sisters
Grand Bend Strip - 0 KB- Found: 2008-07-04, 01:03 GMT
Vegetable gardening, though not for everyone, can be a very therapeutic endeavour. Planting the seeds, harvesting, and then being able to enjoy the resulting food on your plate is rewarding in itself. Then there is the physical health benefit of the exercise and fresh air.

Event marks 25 years of master gardening
Corvallis Gazette-Times - 0 KB- Found: 22 hours ago
The Oregon Master Gardener Association and OSU Extension Service have organized the 25th annual Gardeners Mini-College, scheduled for July 24 through 26. This years event agenda includes featured talks on rain gardens, gardening with native plants, backyard bees and alternatives to pesticides. Forums on spiders in the garden, winter vegetable gardening and the worldwide legacy of Clematis also ...

Gardening: Reader offers and competitons
Daily Telegraph - 0 KB- Found: 2008-07-04, 00:12 GMT
Gardening offers for Telegraph readers.

Free gardening classes
The Sacramento Bee - 0 KB- Found: 2008-07-03, 08:35 GMT
The UC Cooperative Extension master gardeners of El Dorado County offer a class on organic gardening methods from 9 a.m. to noon July 12 at the Agricultural Extension Building, 311 Fair Lane, Placerville. A class on summer pruning will be held from 9 a.m. to noon July 26. An additional class, "In Love with Lavender," will be held from 9 a.m. to noon July 19 at the El Dorado County Main Library, ...

Green gardening has its advantages
The West Frankfort Daily American - 0 KB- Found: 6 hours ago
Going green. Its a motto and way of life thats gained quite a bit of popularity lately, expanding beyond its original base of environmentalists and spilling over into the everyday lives of many Americans.

Local Gardening Events
The Lakeland Ledger - 0 KB- Found: 14 hours ago
GARDEN LECTURE SERIES LakelandSponsored by Lakeland Beautification Board and the city of Lakeland Parks & Recreation Department. John King will speak on "Butterflies & Birds."WHEN: 6:30-7:30 p.m. MondayLOCATION: Lakeland Public Library, 100 Lake Morton DriveconservationWORKSHOP ChampionsGate

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 next

Robo Directory - The Best Web Directory Online