The Answer and cost to run it

[Tom C]

In one of the other thread they talk about the Answer and the cost to run it. I have heard they use as much a 500 watts to run them. A few months back I took a Answer with me to W Lims place to put it on his meter. Here what the meter said.



As you can see it used 274 watts. I compare the cost to what this unit does. After seeing how well the Answer worked on separating the smalls in my pond, I think they are well worth the money to run. It seems like most people in this hobby that have the Answer seem to spend some money on koi. The amount it cost to run my Answer is well worth protecting there investments. I run two Answer and I would have it any other way.

Tom

[Ian_&_Terri]

That's cool Tom. I always wanted to get a better idea on what things were running. That helps a lot. Thanks.

Regards, Ian

[B.Scott]

I put mine on an analyzer and it reads 217 watts at 220 volts-50 hertz.

The pump itself is rated at 260 watts but normally it doesnt pull the maximum amount. It could be due to the maner in which it was mounted during measurement that it gave such a high reading. I have never seen it as high as that and I have measured several whan they first came on the market.

Like I said in the other thread it isn't cheap for me to run. I did a recalculation and I came out at $456 a year on electricity costs. That is just the answer and doesn't include the UV, pump, skimmer pump, or the highblow air pump.

[ivar]

Quote: Originally Posted by B.Scott I put mine on an analyzer and it reads 217 watts at 220 volts-50 hertz. The pump itself is rated at 260 watts but normally it doesnt pull the maximum amount. It could be due to the maner in which it was mounted during measurement that it gave such a high reading. I have never seen it as high as that and I have measured several whan they first came on the market. Like I said in the other thread it isn't cheap for me to run. I did a recalculation and I came out at $456 a year on electricity costs. That is just the answer and doesn't include the UV, pump, skimmer pump, or the highblow air pump.

Scott,

Do you now that every 100 watts 7/24 cost about 140 euro a year in The Netherlands.

If you want a pumpcalculator watch

http://www.nishikigoi-online.com/upl...n_compleet.xls

ivar

[B.Scott]

Ivar, with the latest increase in Milieu Heffing and brandstof heffing I think we are up to about 19 euro cents per KW hoog tarief and 15 at laag tarief. I could be a bit off as these are off the top of my head But it isn't cheap especially compared to what other people pay.

[Tom C]

B. Scott I know what your talking about when you talk about electricity. I have 4 water pumps, 4 air pumps, UV, and two Answer pumps running. At about 15 cents per KW it adds up each month. Thank doesn't include other tanks I have set-up. I have 4 other water pumps, one other UV light, and another air pump running 24/7. My wife tells me something has to go. I guess that's why I'm stuck working the amount of hours I do. Just to pay for ponds and koi food. LOL

Tom

[B.Scott]

I hear you on that Tom. I'm in the exact same boat. Rule of the house is the koi hobby come out of my own pocket and not out of my salary. If I want koi I must do extra work for the fish, the power and the cost of water. All adds up I'l afraid and with the not-so-little-ones having just taken a quantum leap in expences I would love to find a way to cut back cost even a little. I reccon my answer is at least a third of my cost when running the pond and if I could replace it and maintain/improve water quality I would be very interested. I don't plan to toss the answer though as I can think of plenty of other uses for it.

[Ryan S.]

I've seen them on a lower tech "Watt meter" at 276watts, so that is about what I would expect. Its a lot of energy to expend in backwashing, especially if you have multiple units. The DIY microstrainers I am running on my pond are using less flow but still doing a good job of cleaning, they are 692gph pumps at 25 watts doing the backwashing from a fixed arm and rotating drum. The Answers rotating arm uses 1800gph and AES's VMS stationary arm needs 60gph.

[JasonS]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ryan S. ...snip... The Answers rotating arm uses 1800gph and AES's VMS stationary arm needs 60gph.

The VMS stationary arm should run off the main pump pressure too. Only 60gph doesn't add much head pressure -- I think the small diameter pipe typically used for it is just so only a little bit of clean water is used for backwash.

But I don't think you can take a small vortex, like a Nexus, and put the VMS unit on there -- the VMS makes the assumption that alot of crud is already settled out due to normal vortex action.

Personally I think a nice large settlement chamber with some brushes followed by something easily cleaned like a bead filter or static kaldness will get most, if not all fines that an Answer will get.

[Mike T]

B. Scott:

I agree, US$465 is a lot to spend on running an answer... I cringe when I think about having to spend US$ 360/yr to run my 3.6 amp pump...

However, by dividing the cost by 360, the days in a year, the cost becomes a pittance... $1.25 for the Answer, $1.00 for my pump... This equates to the cost of a soft drink that we don't need, some guys drink 2-3 a day... I don't smoke but if you do, I think the cost is around $4.00+/pack... What's really nuts are the guys who live in Hawaii where the water comes from the mains as pure as it can be, and I still see people buying cases of water… Did you know that at a retail store, water is more expensive than a soft drink... Go figure...

If you think in terms of daily cost...then it might not hurt as much...

OK Tom, you can have the soap box back...
Aloha! The retired guy...