To pump or not to pump...that is my question.

[Her pool boy]

Where I live we pay electricity rates based on when we use it. Peak rate is between 9 am and 5 pm. The cheapest rate is from 7 pm to 7 am. I have a programmable, variable speed pump and have it set as follows:

Period 1 5:30pm to 9:30pm 2900 rpm
Period 2 9:30pm to 4:30am 1400 rpm
Period 3 4:30am to 8:30am 2900 rpm

i add my chemicals in the early evening.

With the schedule above I don't pump during the hottest, sunniest part of the day and of course wonder if that is a good idea. Trying to save money...and the planet Lol. Any concerns, or advice on pump times, and rpm.

thanks..

 

[woodyp]

That's 15 hours of straight solid pumping. I'd personally cut that way back and get a couple hours in around noon or so.

 

[Her pool boy]

How many hours of pumping per day is a good baseline?

 

[JVTrain]

You don't have a SWG listed so I assumed you don't need to run the pump to chlorinate the pool. If so, you're running your pump for way too long in my opinion. Check out this article in Pool School. Pool School - Determine Pump Run Time

I run my pump for 4-6 hours total during the day. I only have a single speed. In your case, I would consider running two intervals. One in the morning, one in the evening. Low speed whenever that cycle crosses over into the higher rate times. Maybe a mid-day session to try to maximize heating from sun a bit.

 

[nlindelldc]

It sounds as if you are manually dosing with liquid chlorine, is that correct?

If so, you will find that you can cut your pump time down considerably. I run my pump only 3 hours a day! I find that is sufficient skimming action for my needs, but of course I do split the run times like you. I just read an article yesterday that someone had posted about a study of pump run times and the bottom line is that you don't need to run your pump as often as you think. Especially when manual dosing. SWG might be a different story, however.

 

[Her pool boy]

Yes I am manually adding chlorine as my sanitizer. I will add that to my sig, and no don't have an SWG. Thanks for the link and will review now.

 

[Her pool boy]

Thanks for the posts, the suggested reading, and the advice. I also referred to my pump manual to get flow rates at the variable speeds. Based on all that, I will try the following pump schedule:

Period 1 -12 noon to 2 pm 1900 rpm
Period 2 - 7 pm to 11 pm 2900 rpm

that will turn my pool about once

I will monitor and see if how that works.

 

[mas985]

that will turn my pool about once

For normal operation, turnovers are irrelevant.

You still have 4 hours on a higher speed. Any reason? Skimming should need only about 1-2 hours.

 

[Her pool boy]

Wife likes it at 86 degrees....

i guess I don't have a particular reason, suggestions? What is the rpm of a single speed pump?

 

[mas985]

Wife likes it at 86 degrees....

Are you using the heater to heat the pool regularly?

Are you using a pool cover? If no, you really need one with a heater or you are just throwing away money.

How long do you need to run the heater to maintain temperature?

What is the minimum pump speed the heater will still run?

RPM of a single speed and two speed pump is 3450. That should also be your top speed for the SuperFlo.

 

[Her pool boy]

Yes I have one of those vinyl bubble covers which helps to keep the heat, and lower water loss through evaporation.

The heater is preset, and once the pool starts to pump, and the temp is down, it will fire until temp hits set point. I keep it at 82. It does seem to have to fire long to hit the set point once it starts.

The only thing I can find in the heater manual is the limit of the pressure switch which is 1.75 psi, not sure how that relates to rpm. Yes super-flo max is 3450

- - - Updated - - -

*doesn't take long to hit setpoint

 

[mas985]

With a cover, skimming really isn't much of an issue and with a robot, run time is not needed for the cleaner either. The heater is probably the only thing that is going to determine how long you need to run the pump. I would experiment with the heater and the pump rpm. Start at 1000 RPM and see if the heater will fire. If not, raise the RPM until it does. Once you know that, you have your minimum pump speed. And then just run that for as long as the heater needs to bring the pool up to temperature or 2 hours which ever is longer. There is no need to run any longer than that.

 

[Her pool boy]

Cool, sounds like a plan Stan, I mean Mark. Thanks.