Help with pump speed and run time

[BuckeyeChris]

Split by moderator from HERE. Please ask questions in your own thread. Thanks, jblizzle

for people that say they run the pump x amount of time...Is that at full speed? If you have a VSP, is that at 90%? 30%? Or, can you measure it by gallons per minute? Does a pump get rated like that?

The builder set the run times, but it all seemed rather unscientific. Right now in spring temps it's running 9 hours at 30%, and then 3 hours at 95%. Just trying to suss out if just 6 hours at 90% takes less energy than 12 hours at 30%, or.....erg. Does longer at lower speeds keep the pool cleaner than shorter bursts of high speed?

 

[BoDarville]

Determining the appropriate pump run time will take some experimentation on your part. It is not a "one size fits all" approach as every pool / climate combination is different. The builder had to set the run time somewhere and, as you have surmised, it is likely that the initial setting was arbitrarily set. Begin by checking out this article: http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/152-determine-pump-run-time. The approach described in this article is what I used to determine the minimum pump run time that would keep my water crystal clear. Since you have a VSP, I would run at a lower speed for a longer period of time instead of at a higher speed for a shorter period of time. This will save you $ on electricity and keep your pool cleaner.

 

[Isaac-1]

To add to Bo's comment, I would set the minimum speed at what ever minimum speed that will keep skimming action operating, then adjust number of run time hours that will keep the pool clear. No need to run higher than that if you are not running a suction or pressure cleaning system or water feature.

 

[BuckeyeChris]

Thanks for splitting this out, I'm used to forums that weave in different subconversations in the same thread.

there are in ground pop ups, and I think they barely do anything when the pressure is at the 30%. Yes they pop up but there is not enough pressure to really kick the drit towards the drain. I'll go read the article.

 

[jblizzle]

As I believe has been stated in your threads previously ... you are going to have to increase your pumps speed for the in-floor pop-ups to work correctly. And as a result, you will not be able to take full advantage of the electrical savings a VS pump offers because you can not run it at very low speeds.

 

[BuckeyeChris]

well...unless I BRUSH the pool. But who wants to do that?

 

[Isaac-1]

Thats what robots are for