The constantly self-monitoring IntelliFlo delivers another type of consistency that's important to Anderson: "Even now, I've been reluctant to put filters on a lot of my water features because as the filter loads up the flow changes and my feature looks different," he says. "But with the IntelliFlo, even if my filter loads up, my water feature looks identical because the pump adjusts its speed to always give me that exact same flow. I can have my water features always look the same even if I have a filter on them."
     The IntelliFlo has another benefit that's a result of its constant digital selfmonitoring. "Safety has become a big issue. It's very interesting to watch [the IntelliFlo] with a slow start up, and it actually checks to see if it has flow going or not, and if not, it shuts itself down. It essentially works as a safe pump. Especially for people with kids or a commercial operation, that's another added bonus." (It should be stressed that this function is a result of the pump's self-monitoring, not it's variable speed. A.O. Smith has come out with a line of one- and two-speed pumps with eMod, which also monitor possible line blockage.

Both Phillips and Stiles caution that while the IntelliFlo can zero in on the most efficient operating level for a given system, it's not a cure for poorly designed systems. No pump will outperform the limits of the plumbing to which it is