Automatic Timer Opinions

[1955House]

I have an automatic timer that turns on all my equipment. Currently, I have it set to turn on at 8am and off at 8pm. This leaves a 12 hour window during the nighttime hours where the pool water is dormant. I'd rather not run the equipment for more than 12 hours (unless I have to). What are people's thoughts on breaking up those 12 hours into two (or more) different increments... e.g. 12pm-6pm; 12am-6am. Does the sunlight (or heat of the daylight hours) do anything to the pool water wherein I should keep my equipment running, and water moving?

 

[pooldv]

No, not really. Lots of folks split the run into two times to keep debris better skimmed. A few hours AM and a few hours PM. There is some thought that running will cool the water and running during the day will warm it.

 

[Richard320]

I used to split my run time to an hour midday to keep the FC mixed well and the rest so it would have an hour to mix before I got home to test and dose it. The reasoning being that the UV destruction happens worse at the top; hardly any UV reaches the bottom. I cut out the midday run during the winter one year and never resumed. I manage just fine on 3 hours/ day plus whatever extra it gets when I'm vacuuming.

 

[Poolray]

The only reason to keep it running during the more expensive daytime hours is for solar gain. Otherwise if your electric rates are tiered like ours, try to run it more during the cheapest times.