How man hours at what speed to run my Pump?

[jeremywrags]

Hi All,

I am new to pools and need some advice on how long and at what speed to run my pump. Just had a new pool installed, here are the details of my setup. If I am missing something please let me know.

18,000 Gallons Salt Water
Pentair IntelliFlo Variable Speed pump (http://www.pentairpool.com/pdfs/IntelliFloVSOM.pdf)
Pool Pilot Digital Nano Salt water Controller
Dolphin DX5+s Pool Cleaner (DX5+S - Maytronics US, Inc)

So I am trying to stay on top of my chemicals but that's another discussion. What I am looking for here is how long and at what speed should I be running my pump? My pool builder suggests that I run this on speed level 4 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I am not discounting his experience but this seems excessive and also seems to make having a fancy Variable speed pump pointless.

Is there a typical formula for what to do here or does anyone have experience with my particular pump? I am thinking there must be a schedule that I can setup where it might run full speed sometimes and then a lower speed others...

Any help here would be appreciated and again I am new to all this so if I left out some important info please let me know.

Thanks

 

[needsajet]

Welcome to TFP! Good to have you here

Here's a good article: Pool School - Determine Pump Run Time

If it's still cloudy from the build it needs 24/7 running to clear it up. After that, whatever it takes to filter it to the clarity you want. I'd run it on the lowest speed that satisfies the chlorinator flow requirement (plus a bit because the filter will get dirty and slow the flow). It will have to run as long as it takes to deliver enough chlorine, typically around 2 to 3 ppm FC. But I probably wouldn't go less than 10 hours in summer on a slow speed. Just ballpark figures, as you'll read in the article.

 

[needsajet]

Quick question... Is the saltwater chlorinator a Nano or Nano+

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP!

I run mine at 1100 rpm to make chlorine, filter and skim. 8 hours or less is sufficient. Mine runs longer usually so the solar controller can monitor water temp and turn on solar when available. It runs at 1950 rpm when solar is available. The only reason to run at a higher speed is if you have a cleaner that needs more water flow or to vacuum. I also run at 2500 rpm with all suction to the bottom drain when I brush the pool.

Add your pool info to your signature so that we can better help you. More here on what to out in your sig and how to do it, Pool School - Read This Before You Post

 

[jeremywrags]

Been out of town for a few days, just checked and it's a Nano+. I did notice that if I run my pump on the preset speed 1 that the Autopilot does not generate, the red light comes on, goes away at speed 2 & above.

 

[jeremywrags]

updated signature

 

[needsajet]

Based on its specs, the Nano+ delivers 1.1 lbs chlorine per day, so 8.5 hours at 100% would deliver 2.5 ppm FC in 18,000 gals. Every pool is different, so you might want to start higher and see if the FC climbs.

You can also adjust up from there for other needs. For days with higher than normal bather load or incoming debris from storms, you can either run the pump longer or top up with liquid chlorine, whichever is handier for you. A lot of people bump the chlorine up a few ppm before a big day with extra liquid chlorine.