Low Cost Off Brand Pumps vs Big Names

Are off brand pool pumps that are 50 to 70 percent cheaper
than the name brands any good???

There are a dozen or more chinese made unknown or private label pumps advertised at really good prices with claims as such:

Same quality as Whisperflo

Same quality as Hayward for 50% less

Comparable to Jandy, Pentair and Hayward

Longest warranty in the industry

And so on and so on...

There are 5 popular name brand pool pumps sold in th USA for residential in- ground pools, They are:

Pentair - which also owns the Sta-Rite, Pac-Fab,Purex & other brand names

Hayward - A well known industry leader

Jandy / Zodiac - Another well known "Big Name"

Waterway Plastics - A US company offering made in USA pumps

Spec - an established German company with manufacturing facilities in Jacksonville FL

Any product made by these companies will probably give good service and last long,  However there are differences within the various product lines made by the same company, ( similar to the way that car companies have different models made under the same brand name) All major companies have their hits and misses, For example, FORD MOTOR COMPANY had a strikeout with the "Edsel", But hit a home run with the "Mustang"

All of the major manufacturers produce a product with good engineering design.
The electrical products are tested and certified for safety by UL or other accredited testing laboratory.  These companies have excellent product support and parts and service is available nationwide.

For Example:  The Hayward Superpump and the Sta-Rite Duraglas were the first thermoplastic body pool pumps introduced into the market in 1974. (Prior to that, pool pumps were made of cast iron or brass) Parts are readily available for both pumps and many of these pumps are still in service after 40+ years

There are also some quality name brand pumps made in other countries, such as in Europe and Australia, and sold in the US, however parts may be hard to get.

There are dozens of Chinese Clone Pumps sold under a plethora of brand names

They are usually low quality "Knock-offs" with little or no product support.

Parts may not be available, Motors often have metric threads, not compatible with US standard widely available motors.

Warranty is only is good as the manufacturer (If you can find them)

Electrical safety may be questionable --No UL sticker -- or a counterfeit one--

Durability & Reliability is unknown as there is litttle verifiable long term installation history

Customer reviews on social media may be misleading because they are written right after purchase --- What happens 1,2, or 3 years down the road ?

If there is an adverse event such as a flood, fire, or electrocution that was caused by the pump --- Will your attorney be able to recover anything from a no-name offshore manufacturer ???  Do they have product liability insurance ???

All in All, a pool pump should last a long time and we feel it is best to purchase one from a leading manufacturer with a long term history of reliability

An Old Newspaper Ad From 1960 Advertising a Hydropump