Shorter pump run times

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mas985 said:
Many on the forum have reduced their run times. It is now part of our primary philosophy:

Pool School - Determine Pump Run Time

In the summer, I run primarily on low speed and for 4-6 hours per day but only for solar. Otherwise, I run 1-2 hours per day depending on the debris level.
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Hey Mark, I'm moving to Pleasanton in a few weeks! I've lived in Fremont for 40 years.

I was going to say, depends on your pool size, the gallons per minute your pump runs at, and other features such as whether you have a SWG. But this from the link is a good start:
Next, studies have shown that a typical pool really only needs about 4 hours of run time for proper chlorination, circulation and cleaning. So our recommendation is to start off with 4 hours of run time if your pump is single speed and 8 hours of run time if your pump is capable of running on lower speeds (i.e. two speed or variable speed pump). If this amount of run time is not sufficient to keep the pool clean enough for your preference, then gradually increase the pump run time until it is clean enough for your own tastes. Also, if your controller is capable of split run time, there can be some skimming benefits to splitting up the run time.
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Yes, the chlorination method is important although when properly sized, it shouldn't take too long to fully chlorinate the pool. Mine is set at 25% and is enough for a 20k pool in 4 hours of run time. So if solar was not a consideration, I could go down to 1 hour per day even in the summer.

Also the pool school article run time numbers are deliberately conservative as we didn't want people to start off with too short of a run time.
 
IMO pump run times simply depend too much on factors specific to each individual pool to make any broad generalizations about what a "sufficient" run time is. Geography, climate, vegetation, wind, equipment, pool size, pool shape, and water depth are all factors, as well the pool ower's individual notion of what constitutes "clean".
 
Necessary run time is only based upon chlorination and circulation (i.e. sanitation) which can be done in a couple of hours for almost any pool. Everything else is optional.
 
I'm in Phoenix and dropped to 2 1/2 hours... even during the heat of summer - no problems. Like the link below mentions... lots of factors involved. I just started at 4 hours... tried it for a few weeks... no CCs and vacuum had sufficient time to clean pool floor... dropped it to 3:30 hours... repeat. I could probably decrease the time further in the fall and winter months, but haven't tried that yet. Lazy? ;)

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/152-determine-pump-run-time
 

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Not lazy, I run my pump in the 'winter' here in Laughlin for 45 minutes each evening. Basically to skim the pool after the north wind dies down.

Take care.
 
With winter on the horizon do i need to run pump in the winter and especially if we get freezing tap weather?
 
Only running my pump for 3 hours a day. I have two 1.5 hour run times, one in the late morning, one in the evening. Works great even in the sunny central valley of California. Saves a ton of money on electricity.
 
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