Questions about Power Consumption

[Tang Salad]

Hi Guys~

In this thread the question of the Vortech's power consumption has come up. One user has shown that they consume a lot (50%) more power than advertised. Just wondering what the reasoning for this might be.

Thanks!

 

[EcoTech Marine]

Hello Tang Salad-

Alignment, wear, cleanliness or faulty components can all result in higher energy consumption. When first installed, the MP40w draws approximately 30 watts on average while at continuous maximum speed which then falls to roughly 26 to 28 watts after approximately one to five days of use.

Also, older versions such as the MP40 (without WWD) may consume slightly more wattage as we have achieved more efficiency over time with this product.

It is possible the user in the thread above has an older pump which is in need of maintenance or perhaps it is set up improperly.

-Tim

 

[RokleM]

Actually Tim, one is couple of months old, one just returned from an upgrade/check by IceCap, one is maybe 9-12 months old. I would find it highly unlikely all three are misaligned about the exact same to produce roughly the same wattage on all 3. The units are also pretty quiet, not showing any of the typical misalignment or problem sounds. If I recall properly, 40-50 Celsius was your heat running range, which is also what mine are within (again, showing it's unlikely they aren't aligned).

None the less, I'll be picking up another already upgraded gen2 shortly, and I'll see what it registers out of the box. And as mentioned, it would be interesting if anyone else has a kill-a-watt and would throw theirs on the pumps. Who knows what variance in read they have.

Personally the wattage does not bug me that much. I think it's a reasonable amount for the amount of flow the units are pushing.

 

[EcoTech Marine]

A pump operating at 40w would be probably be operating at a higher temperature than 40-50C. I will check with our EE and see what he says about the Kill-a-Watt meter. It's possible that you're not getting an accurate measurement with that type of device.

Are these the wattage readings when the pump is run at continuous speed at max or during pulse settings? During pulse settings the pump will naturally consume a higher peak power, but will average about the same. Peak wattage during pulse cycles can be as high as 60w.

-Tim

 

[Tang Salad]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll be curious to see if other's can report their numbers.

Thanks again,
TS

 

[EcoTech Marine]

Just did some research: A Kill-A-Watt does not perform a power factor correction which will lead to a higher reading due to our switching power supply. A linear power supply will not be affected by this. A higher end watt meter will take into consideration the power factor and provide you a proper reading.

-Tim

 

[RokleM]

Thanks Tim. I was wondering how accurate the output would be. A number of other devices seem to be close to the published wattage (including the variable tunze power supply, but perhaps it functions differently than yours), but it's hard to tell.

As for your other questions (might be a moot point) to summarize the thread:

Pulse: 8-42 watts (only tested one of the three)

Constant (100%):
40w gen2
42w gen1
43w gen2

 

[EcoTech Marine]

We recommend the Watts-Up power meter which is a higher end unit than the Kill-A-Watt unit and will provide you accurate readings when measuring from our switching power supply because it incorporates a power factor correction. Regarding the other products you measured, I am not familiar with how their power supplies function so I cannot comment.

-Tim

 

[RokleM]

Fair enough, thanks for the info.