Variable speeds are made to make money for the manufacturer. The manufacturer wines and dines the drilling and pump installers and spends tons of money trying to convince them the variable speed pump is the latest and greatest. I went through the variable pump stage more than 20 years ago. It takes about 5 years for most pump installers to go through this stage. Then they realize their reputation has been jeopardized when so many start failing prematurely. Save yourself about a thousand bucks and go with a standard ¾ HP pump with a CSV system.
The Cycle Stop Valve was designed to deliver constant pressure and replace variable speed pumps. We have been replacing variable speed pumps with CSV’s everyday since 1993. A ¾ HP pump should cost around $600, and a Pside-Kick system with a CSV, pressure tank, and everything else needed to make it a constant pressure system is around $500. Add that to the pipe, wire, and labor and it should cost way less than the variable speed pump.
With the CSV you have a constant pressure system that is designed to increase the life of your pump system. The manufacturers push variable speed pumps because they shorten the life of your pump system. I would be cautious of any pump installer who doesn’t know these things. I would be even more cautious of an installer who says a CSV will destroy your pump. They either do not have the experience to know how pumps really work, or they are trying to sell you an expensive pump system that doesn’t last very long, instead of a less expensive system that will last a long time.
