How long to run filter pump each day?

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TEXASERIC

0
Jan 10, 2012
50
Clute Texas
Hey Folks,
Was inquiring as to how long to set the timers on my pump for each day. I live on the Texas coast south of Houston, and have a 15,000 gallon in ground with white pebble plaster and a 2,000 gallon hot tub with overflow to pool. I have a Hayward 2 speed filter pump, Hayward 425 sq. ft. cartridge filter, Hayward chlorinator (only in service with filter pump on high speed), Paramount Ozonator (only in service with pump on low speed). I was wondering how long I should run the filter pump each day as well as how long to run on each speed to achieve the best results. If anyone from my area has a similar set up with proven numbers I would appreciate your input. I have only had the pool completed for a few months so I haven't nailed down the correct numbers yet. Also not sure what to keep my chlorinator set on, I seem to have to change it a lot and in turn end up chasing my chlorine numbers all over the place. Any input from the professionals on here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Eric
 
Basically, the "rule" is that the minimum amount of time to run the pump is long enough to turn the water over at least one time. We recommend to people to back off on the run time little by little until the water looks as though it isn't getting filtered enough (water starting to get cloudy). Then, bump it up from there until you find the sweet spot. Of course, the more swimmer time that your pool gets, the more filter time it will need too.
 
I recall reading that an ozonator is not needed for outdoor pools.

I run my pump on low 24/7, adding chlorine manually. I run it on high when putting the chlorine in and depending on how I feel run it maybe 30minutes after adding before going back to low speed. Adding a timer might not be a bad idea and letting the pump kick off for a few hours before sunrise. Maybe I will do that to let the thing cool off and save me a couple bucks.
 
I looked it up and I have a Hayward Super II pump model number SP3020X252AZ, the manufacturers web site says the pump puts out approx. 120gpm on high speed at 40ft of head and 80gpm on low speed at 5ft of head. Actual pump head is probably only 2-3 ft so those numbers should be conservative. So to turn the water over in my 17,000 gallon pool on high I should only have to run on high for 2 1/2 hours or so and 4 hours or so on low. These times seem very low to me. Can this be correct? I have been running for 4 hrs./day on high and 9hrs./day on low and the water is crystal clear, just having a hard time with the chlorinator settings; levels are high then they are low high,low,high,low. Any ideas on a good setting for the chlorinator? Thanks for the help
 
I made a spreadsheet to log my test results, after a couple weeks I felt that testing 2-3x/week was enough. I never seemed to have a problem with FC being very far off at all.

Having to manually add chlorine daily can seem like a pain, but that's me being lazy. 5 minutes formulating a guesstimate and dosing isn't a bad deal IMO.
 
Your chlorinator setting will vary during the year. Every pool will have it's own chlorine need based on many factors; swimmers, temp, kids peeing, etc. This time of year can be difficult to dial in a system due to the weather changing all the time. You will need to do a lot of testing for awhile until you get a feel for your pool. If your chlorine gets too low you might decide to bump it up with bleach and then up your percentage by 10% or so until the chlorine is stable. As of right now, I'm trying to dial my system in also.
 
TEXASERIC said:
I looked it up and I have a Hayward Super II pump model number SP3020X252AZ, the manufacturers web site says the pump puts out approx. 120gpm on high speed at 40ft of head and 80gpm on low speed at 5ft of head. Actual pump head is probably only 2-3 ft so those numbers should be conservative. So to turn the water over in my 17,000 gallon pool on high I should only have to run on high for 2 1/2 hours or so and 4 hours or so on low. These times seem very low to me. Can this be correct? I have been running for 4 hrs./day on high and 9hrs./day on low and the water is crystal clear, just having a hard time with the chlorinator settings; levels are high then they are low high,low,high,low. Any ideas on a good setting for the chlorinator? Thanks for the help
Click to expand...

I can get a better estimate if you give me the following information.

What is your current filter pressure?

How high is the pump relative to the water?

What is the size of your suction pipe and how many runs are there from the pool to the pump?
 

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I can get a better estimate if you give me the following information.

What is your current filter pressure?

How high is the pump relative to the water?

What is the size of your suction pipe and how many runs are there from the pool to the pump?
Click to expand...

1. 10 psi.
2. 1ft approx. above water
3. 2" suction 1 run from pool 1 run from spa with only 1 in service at a time
 
The pressure seems a bit low for that size pump. It could be just a restrictive suction side but just to make sure could you describe the return plumbing as well:

Distance from the pump to the pool?

Size and number of return pipes pump to pool?

Size and number of return ports/eyeballs in the pool?
 
The pressure seems a bit low for that size pump. It could be just a restrictive suction side but just to make sure could you describe the return plumbing as well:

Distance from the pump to the pool?

Size and number of return pipes pump to pool?

Size and number of return ports/eyeballs in the pool?
Click to expand...

Distance from pump to pool is about 20' but to the farthest eye ball is about 50'. Not sure on the size or number of return pipes under ground, but the pump discharge is 2". There are 6 (1/2") ports/eyeballs in the pool and 6 in the hot tub that are massaging jets. The hot tub gets approx. 15% of the return flow on pool mode to support waterfall from hot tub to pool. By the way, I dont thing that the pressure gauge is discharge pressure but more filter differential. Not sure? Thanks for the help.

Eric
 
No filters that I know of are capable of measuring differential pressure across the filter media. The standard filter pressure gauge simply measures the water pressure at the input to the filter media so it is measuring the total pressure loss of the filter and downstream of the filter. Anyway, assuming the filter pressure is correct, this is what I get as a pump operating point:

Pump high speed: 92 GPM @ 49' of head

Pump low speed: 46 GPM @ 12' of head

Again, the head loss is on the low side because the pressure is on the low side so it would seem that there are multiple return lines underground. BTW, do you have a picture of your pad that you could post for confirmation?
 
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