What is your heater/pump schedule?

[airbur]

Howdy. My setup is below in the signature. I'm wondering how to schedule the pump/heater running. The last few years I've used an auto timer that turns both on at 6AM and off around 5PM. The heater only runs as necessary to maintain temp. I know this isn't optimal as each night the pool temp drops quite a bit and then the heater has to run hard to bring it back up the next day.

Are there any issues running the pump/heater 24x7? Is that typical? If the heater only had to maintain temp, I think it would use a lot less energy/fuel.

Opinions appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Steve_in_C]

You need a solar cover. It gives me about 4 degrees of higher temps.

 

[airbur]

Anyone? I already use a solar cover...that's not really what I'm asking about.

 

[the_larizzo]

I'm curious about this also, when the temperature is too cold for my heater I run my pump for 12hrs and when the heater is on I keep my pump on 24hrs. I'm wondering is the saving of turning off the pump overnight out weighs the cost of the the heater running for a longer period to get the temp back up. I guess one option would be stop the pump during the day so that the sun will keep the pool hot.