Trying to figure out $/month to run my pump

[señor_pescados_felices]

I just picked up a new pond pump off craigslist and did not realize what a beast it was til I hooked it up to my pond.I had tested it at the guys house but his pond was huge and the effect was much different.

It is 3/4 HP,10 amps,115v.

I need a hand figuring out how much it will cost me per month to run a 3/4 hp pond pump.

The way I know of to figure out how much something costs to operate per month is:

* Amps x Volts = Watts
* Watts x 744 and divide by 1000 = KWH per month
* KWH per month x Cost per KWH = Cost per month

whenever I do that I get about $150 a month just to operate that pump......that doesn't seem right at all,thats about as much as my whole electric bill is now and I have a 250g and a 55g running.

does that sound right?Is that pump likely a power hungry beast that will indeed cost $150 a month to run or am I figuring it wrong?

 

[jcardona1]

yeah, its sounds about right. a 10amp pump is CRAZY to run 24 hours a day!! i have a pond pump that about 1.7a and it costs $15/month.

i have a little excel chart that i put together to calculate the cost. just plug in your cost per KWH. let me know if you'd like me to email it to you...

 

[jcardona1]

Actually, just plugged in the 10amps on my chart, and its giving me about $86/month assuming a cost $0.10/KWH

 

[jcardona1]

What the gph on that thing? My 1.7 amp pump does about 3500 gph, so there are energy effecient options out there

 

[amehel0]

go to practicalfishkeepers.co.uk and have a look at thee calculators it will tell you everything.

 

[señor_pescados_felices]

What the gph on that thing? My 1.7 amp pump does about 3500 gph, so there are energy effecient options out there

holy crap mine is lame then lol.It says 2500 gph.It looks pretty old school I just saw it and needed one so went and got it,hehe.You right though my bill says 10 cents/kwh I thought it was more like 18.

what kind of pump do you have?$15 a month for 3500 gph sounds much better than $80 a month for 2500 gph.......

 

[jcardona1]

If i remember correctly, I think it was a Wave or Superfalls pump. Bought it several years ago. Youre in the bay area right? Tse Koi in San Jose has lots of pumps in stock and theyre all very energy effecient. you can see their pumps on their website here...

http://tsekoi.com/pumps/advanced.html

 

[señor_pescados_felices]

dang those are pricey, my pump isn't great but it was less than $50.

My pond is only about 220 gallons....its only 6' long but the waterfall runs almost the entire length so I want to get good flow going down it.How many GPH would you recommend to accomplish that?

Maybe one of the lower priced pumps they sell at harbor freight could fit my needs til I can drop a half grand on a good pump like those you showed.I know their biggest pumps are like 1500 gph though, you think that should be enough?

way off topic I know but you already helped me with my original question and I'm not starting a new thread already lol.....

 

[jcardona1]

yeah i think a ~1500gph pump should be fine and wouldnt cost too much to run. anything over 3k gph would be too much IMO.

while those energy effecient pumps are more expensive, they will pay themselves off extremely fast w/ the low operating costs as opposed to almost $100 to run for the pump that cost you $50!!!