Has anybody had any experience with 5 Star pool pumps? They mostly run on variable speed motors and are rated around 100 watts but still deliver the same flow as conventional pumps.

I'm thinking about getting one and powering it using a single solar panel. The 250Watt panels are fairly cheap to buy now that most states have removed the premium feed in tariff, and you can pick up a 600Watt inverter for under $200.

I've just started to look into it, but the starting price is around $800, and in Queensland, various suppliers are giving a $150 cashback.

The payback on the pump itself makes it a no brainer (especially for those without solar panels), but the dedicated solar panel idea is basically feeding the nerd in me. I thought it would be a good idea to  combine a shade area with a solar panel .

muso wrote on Sep 23^rd, 2012 at 9:05am:

Has anybody had any experience with 5 Star pool pumps? They mostly run on variable speed motors and are rated around 100 watts but still deliver the same flow as conventional pumps. I'm thinking about getting one and powering it using a single solar panel. The 250Watt panels are fairly cheap to buy now that most states have removed the premium feed in tariff, and you can pick up a 600Watt inverter for under $200. I've just started to look into it, but the starting price is around $800, and in Queensland, various suppliers are giving a $150 cashback. The payback on the pump itself makes it a no brainer (especially for those without solar panels), but the dedicated solar panel idea is basically feeding the nerd in me. I thought it would be a good idea to  combine a shade area with a solar panel .

I got one.  It works great.  Creepy Crawley still creeps and crawls fine.  Quiet as buggery.

I just got one last week - a Viron 280.. Only one problem - a priming problem. I seem to have air in the pump suction. The problem is that I get bubbles in the pool and the DE filter fills up with air. On medium speed, it works fine. I'm still working on the priming problem - and quiet, yes a marked improvement.

I know onga pool pump work very best.

muso wrote on Oct 9^th, 2012 at 8:48pm:

I just got one last week - a Viron 280.. Only one problem - a priming problem. I seem to have air in the pump suction. The problem is that I get bubbles in the pool and the DE filter fills up with air. On medium speed, it works fine. I'm still working on the priming problem - and quiet, yes a marked improvement.

sounds like it might be a sealing problem muso...air leaking in through the seals on higher speeds

Yeah. I got a replacement unit and it works perfectly. It was a faulty unit. The pool is looking great and it's costing me less in electricity.