There's a device at Radio Shack for like $30.00 that you plug stuff into and
it'll tell youi how much power something is drawing. It'll also count it as
time goes on. So you could plug your pump into it, let it run for a month,
look at your enegry bill to get the kilowatt per hour cost and figure it all
out. Here's the device on the net:

http://store.yahoo.com/ahernstore/p4400.html

Sam

"RROLD1" wrote in message
...
Hello all,

I have purchased a pump with a rating that does not make any sense at all
(trusted the knowlegable sales staff). I am trying to figure out my cost
per
month but the only specification provided is output watts. Now that I have
compared it to the next pump size down, I am really confused. I don't want
to
install it if a smaller one will do the job.

Here are the specs:

My pump:
Rated 3800 GPH
Output Watts: 736

Next pump down:
Rated 3300 GPH
Output Watts: 330

After reading the specs I called the dealer and asked the average monthly
cost
to run each pump. They replied that the smaller pump will cost about
$28.00 and
the other (the one I have) about $64.00. There is only a 500 GPH
difference! Do
they know what they are talking about?

After searching the newsgroups, I have found a lot of similar questions
but no
difinitive answers (at least none that I understand).
Why don't the pump companies offer a table of actual killowats used per
feet of
head?. Its the answer everyone seems to be after.

Can anyone help me sort this out?

Additional Info: The pump is submersible, I have a 2' head, and a bio
filter/falls.

Thanks,

Steve