BLACK+DECKER Variable Speed Pool Pump Inground with Filter Basket, 1.5 HP

Received pump this morning was well packed and in good shape. Installed with minimal issues. The electric and plumbing aligned perfectly. Had a fair amount of plumbing work to do but that is not the fault of pump but previous install. This replaced a Pentair intelliflo vsr vs that repair part cost almost as much as this pump. The new Pentair is about $2500 and a DIY as myself would not be able to get Pentair warranty unless installed by pool company. Have the Pentair intellitouch panel and heard that it can be integrated with an adapter but probably wont go that route. Will update if issues occur. It is a quiet pump.

My brand name single speed pool pump failed for a second time. In the last 15 years I had to replace it twice and pay a pool company to install it. This time I decided to get the Black + Decker 2 HP variable speed pump based on the reviews, and I installed it myself.I was a little hesitant to install it but reading the reviews and watching some online videos I gave it a try. To my surprise it was easier than I expected. I spent more time redoing the PVC connections since I have very little room to install it between my pool water heater, the filter, the inlet valves and all the plumbing.Once I completed the installation, I turn it on, and it completed priming fairly quick, faster than my previous 2.2 HP brand name pump. Also, it was noticeable less noisy when running at full speed, 3,450 rpm when compared to my previous two single speed pumps. Then I tried the four different preset speeds and it is super quiet, I can even tell is running when I am by the pool, about 15 feet away from the pump.I am running the factory preset default schedule and I will try it for a week or two to see the results and I will be tracking my power consumption. I read you can reduce the power consumption up to 80% when compared to a single speed pump. I will be extremely surprised if that is the case. I will be very happy to see a 40 to 50% less power consumption to keep my 16,000 gallon swimming pool clean. I will report back when I get actual power consumption readings after a couple of weeks.In summary this pump is great, and I hope will last longer than my previous brand name pumps that would cost me about 50% more for a single speed, and almost double for a variable speed compared to the Black + Decker.

If I had had quick disconnect couplings in my old plumbing I could have swapped this out in no time. Has spacer base that gives it same dimensions as old pentair.Once I figured it out, control panel is easy to use and reprogram as needed. Quiet and efficient pump.Only complaint is documentation. A bit hard to follow without rereading a couple of times. Also provides no guidance on how to optimize speed/duration settings. I'm running factory schedule (18 hours per day) for now which is keeping my 30K pool nice and clean. Running my salt system on timer 8 hours per day during higher speed periods. Found that salt system flow switch won't trip below 1500 rpm.

The pump is very quiet like any other variable speed pump. I am pleased with the price and I hope it lasts as long as my old single speed Hayward pump (16 years). Installation was relatively easy. I had to make few minor tweaks to existing plumbing as this pump has different dimensions. I had to raise the height of the pump by adding RV jack pads so that I would do minimal plumbing work. You may buy them at any store for <$30. I wanted something that would be weather resistant and not look too bad. Else, you may go cheaper by buying floor tiles or patio pavers. You just need to try different things to see what works best for you. The pump has a clock and timer runs off the pump. My old pump was connected to a mechanical timer. I did not want to spend $$ on an electrician. I used the existing wires routed to the mechanical timers and to the pump but I removed the start-stops on the timer so that the pump timer would drive the program and not the mechanical timer. Each situation is unique and you may need to get creative. My old pump had a freeze guard, which is a mechanical knob and you set the temp to kick on when you want to. With the new pump, since I bypassed the mechanical timer, I was worried about cold weather affecting my pump/plumbing & pool. However, the tech support over phone mentioned that the pump will automatically kick on when it reaches near freezing temps and I verified that it actually did kick on when temps were low. He also suggested that I could just leave the pump running on one speed on manual mode if I knew that we would have cold days. I am yet to try custom programs but for now, I will just stick to the default program. Overall, I am pleased with the price, performance, noise level, and relative ease of installation.

I ordered the Black and Decker 1.5 HP pool pump in April and installed everything in May. The motor works fine, with very low noise levels. The variable speed controls work great so far and are easy to program. Hookup to my existing plumbing was fairly straightfoward. However, my filter basket developed air bubbles while on a lower speed setting and that kept growing throughout the day. I checked every connection, replaced some O rings and used silicon grease on them. Didn't stop the air bubbles, but I was able to trace the source to the plastic lid on the filter basket. Adding some silicone grease to that O ring helped some, but did not stop the bubbles entirely. But, when I put some of the silicone grease on top, where the clear plastic meets the orange handle ring, the bubbles stopped. Either it's a bad O ring, or something is wrong with the plastic lid itself. I'm trying to contact Pool Parts to Go about this. Also, the cover on the variable speed settings broke off after only 2 months use. We were very careful and gentle in closing and opening it, but a tiny plastic piece broke on the hinge. Able to fix that with some heavy duty Flex tape as a new hinge.UPDATE: Pool Parts to Go got back to me on the same day I contacted them about the air bubble problem. They are sending a new O ring for the filter basket. Hopefully, that solves everything and I won't need a new filter basket lid. Good service. The O ring was the culprit and the new one works fine.2nd UPDATE: After running the B&D 1.5 HP pump for a full season, we are still very pleased with it's power, quietness, and various speed programming ability. It definitely saves on electric use over our old 2 speed Hayward pump.