Adding timer

[MonkDaFish]

Hello - I‘m new to the forum, and have tried looking up some information about adding timers. We installed our salt water pool 3 years ago. We had had a chlorine pool when we lived in CA. So, while we‘re not new to owning a pool, we are new to the salt water pool and new to new-pool-construction. While they were installing the pool, I repeatedly asked for a pool timer (like we had in CA). They told us no, it won‘t work with the salt cell. Well….I won‘t go into the details, but it is clear to us that our pool installers knew about the physical installation of the pool really well, but next to nothing about the rest.

We have an aquarite 900 salt chlorine generator and a Pentair 1.5 hp pump. We also have a separate spa with the same filter/pump but it is a chlorine system (they told use we could not have a spa and pool together - like we had in CA).

At this point, we are simply looking at adding a timer to our pool so it doesn‘t run 24/7. I realize that there are several different types of timers. Would any of you have recommendations?

 

[TeanyV]

Greetings!

I don’t know much about salt systems, but is your pump is a single speed or variable speed (VS)?

In your situation, I think I’d be inclined to use a VS pump on a lower setting and let it run 24/7. That way you have a steady amount of chlorine being created and you are maximizing energy efficiency. Is there a reason you don’t want it going 24/7? I have a single-speed pump that runs during the day and I use liquid chlorine, but I would much prefer a VS and let it go round the clock, using it at a higher speed for chunks of time if necessary (e.g., when trees drop their seedy things). That will probably be the next upgrade I make to our pool, but it wasn’t in the budget this year. It would probably be pretty easy for an electrician to install a timer for you though. I don’t think it’s a pool-specific task.

Fill in your signature to give people the full picture about your pool: Create Your Signature - Further Reading

~Teany

 

[Jimrahbe]

Monk,

Please show us a bunch of pics of your pool and your equipment pad. To be honest, none of what you said makes any common sense when it comes to pool building and operations. So, we need to see exactly what you have.

I'm pretty sure we can get you pointed in the right direction.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[MonkDaFish]

@Jimrahbe and @TeanyV see the attached pictures. The spa is completely separate from the pool. It is not a saltwater spa (we use chlorine tablets). The pool is salt water. I hope that helps a bit.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Monk,

Your pool builder is well beyond being an idiot...

Your set up is very odd indeed.

I assume the water that appears to be from a standard Spa spillover is just from a waterfall and is not spa water. Is that correct???

So you have three pumps... Two single speed pumps and one VS pump. Do all three of them run 24/7???

It appears the pool pump is the single speed pump that is right in front of your sand filters...
It appears that the other single speed pump is for your spa...

What is the VS pump for???

Adding a timers for your single speed pumps would be easy. The exact timer would depend on the voltage that your pumps are using.

VS pumps generally get constant AC power because they have an internal clock/timer that controls when the run and at what speed.

We have a monthly contest for various categories of pools. If we ever have a "worst pool design" you would win hands down.. EDIT.. That really should be worst equipment design, as your pool itself is very pretty...

Let's see what some of our other members have to say..

Calling @JamesW

Calling @1poolman1

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JamesW]

I recommend getting a Pentair IntelliCenter and IntelliFlo VSF pumps.

Get the IntelliCenter that can do dual body pool and spa with separate equipment.

 

[1poolman1]

Hello - I‘m new to the forum, and have tried looking up some information about adding timers. We installed our salt water pool 3 years ago. We had had a chlorine pool when we lived in CA. So, while we‘re not new to owning a pool, we are new to the salt water pool and new to new-pool-construction. While they were installing the pool, I repeatedly asked for a pool timer (like we had in CA). They told us no, it won‘t work with the salt cell. Well….I won‘t go into the details, but it is clear to us that our pool installers knew about the physical installation of the pool really well, but next to nothing about the rest.

We have an aquarite 900 salt chlorine generator and a Pentair 1.5 hp pump. We also have a separate spa with the same filter/pump but it is a chlorine system (they told use we could not have a spa and pool together - like we had in CA).

At this point, we are simply looking at adding a timer to our pool so it doesn‘t run 24/7. I realize that there are several different types of timers. Would any of you have recommendations?

In the long run you would be much happier with automation, as JamesW said. If you can't swing that now, you can put a timer on the Aquarite and the other two single-speed pumps. The SuperMax has its own timer built in and can be programmed.
Before too many years go by, you're going to want to re-anchor all that equipment hanging on plywood, especially the heavier items like the breaker panel and the Aquarite. The plywood will deteriorate and cause issues. Anchoring through the wood and into the block is a much better way to do it.

 

[MonkDaFish]

In the long run you would be much happier with automation, as JamesW said. If you can't swing that now, you can put a timer on the Aquarite and the other two single-speed pumps. The SuperMax has its own timer built in and can be programmed.
Before too many years go by, you're going to want to re-anchor all that equipment hanging on plywood, especially the heavier items like the breaker panel and the Aquarite. The plywood will deteriorate and cause issues. Anchoring through the wood and into the block is a much better way to do it.

Honestly, I had not thought about automation - I was simply just looking for a timer. But, now that I‘ve read a bit about automation, I‘m on board, as is my husband who has stayed away from much of this. I am not sure whom to call for installation (of automation equipment - an electrician?), but that‘s a matter for another day.
And yes, I agree about the plywood. I am really not sure what they were thinking, considering it‘s not protected from weather and will continue to deteriorate.
Thank you for your help!

 

[MonkDaFish]

I recommend getting a Pentair IntelliCenter and IntelliFlo VSF pumps.

Get the IntelliCenter that can do dual body pool and spa with separate equipment.

Thank you for the recommendation. I will look into this.

 

[MonkDaFish]

Monk,

Your pool builder is well beyond being an idiot...

Your set up is very odd indeed.

I assume the water that appears to be from a standard Spa spillover is just from a waterfall and is not spa water. Is that correct???

So you have three pumps... Two single speed pumps and one VS pump. Do all three of them run 24/7???

It appears the pool pump is the single speed pump that is right in front of your sand filters...
It appears that the other single speed pump is for your spa...

What is the VS pump for???

Adding a timers for your single speed pumps would be easy. The exact timer would depend on the voltage that your pumps are using.

VS pumps generally get constant AC power because they have an internal clock/timer that controls when the run and at what speed.

We have a monthly contest for various categories of pools. If we ever have a "worst pool design" you would win hands down.. EDIT.. That really should be worst equipment design, as your pool itself is very pretty...

Let's see what some of our other members have to say..

Calling @JamesW

Calling @1poolman1

Thanks,

Jim R.

. I laughed so hard…..yes, the worst pool equipment design….and we’ve been living with it!

The VS pump operates the blower for the spa. The only time it gets turned on (manually) is for the jets. We were told that that spa was plumbed wrong at the factory which caused all of of our ensuing issues. In order for bubbles to come out, we needed a third pump to operate the blower. The other two pumps we were told could not be put on a timer. This to me makes no sense - especially the spa, which is a regular chlorine spa. The water in the spa remains over 100ºF most of the time without even turning on the heater. I think this is because the pump runs 24/7 and a heat exchange occurs. The pool builders on 2 different occasions told us (1) the cover to the spa acts as a conductor of heat and heats the water (explaining why the water was so hot all the time) and (2) the cover to the spa insulates the spa and keeps the water from evaporating (explaining why we were losing so much water - it had nothing to do with the several leaks we had in the spa). This is simply not true - a single material cannot be a conductor and an insulator at the same time - especially if it does not touch the water. Most of the issues we’ve had, were about the spa.

Yes, the spillover is just a waterfall for the pool. It is not related to the spa. We were told we could not have a spillover from the spa, it would not work. We should have run at this point, as our pool in California had this exact feature. It would have made things much simpler without needing two filters, more than one pump and more than one heater.

I think, in the end, the pool builder had no idea about spas, even though that was part of the assortment of things they sold. we are now looking to fix some of the items to make our lives easier.