Week long vacation coming up - ok to run pump and SWCG continuously?

[DaveTheAccountant]

I am in middle GA, so it’s HOT. Will that stress the pump and SWCG to run continuously? My salt cell is undersized, so I am doing this to maintain FC levels. I also plan on raising levels with liquid chlorine in advance.

 

[proavia]

The pump and SWG can run continuously without issue.

That is exactly what I do in AZ - and our temps exceed 110 degrees for weeks on end.

 

[drsipe]

Running 24/7 in most cases should not overstress the equipment.

Without knowing the conditions like, is the pump in direct sunlight, is there vegetation blocking the motor ventilation, has the pump ever shut down due to overheating. I can't tell you that there will be no issues, but in general, it should be fine.

You might want to consider having a timer/controller installed to allow the pump to run for a spacific number of hours. I have a cheap mechanical timer (<$100), which runs my pump and SWG for 9 hours a day.

If you have a 1 Hp Hayward Super pump, the rating is 0.75 kW per hour or 18 kW for 24 hours, you can multiply the price you pay per kW to determine how much running the pump 24/7 cost you.

Ie. If you pay $0.20 per kW 18x.020= $3.60 per day. If you had a timer, you could reduce your run time to 12 hours a day and drop down to $1.80 per day.

 

[DaveTheAccountant]

It gets about eight hours of sunlight per day. Maybe as much as 10. We have never had overheating issues before.

I currently have a timer, and I am running for 12 hours per day.

 

[VinnyinNJ]

This is going to sound stupid but cover the pool! Bring the chlorine up a lot, cover the pool and all should be fine in running your equipment normally. I'm in NJ but with my solar cover on I lose very little chlorine daily. Our water temp is in the 90s lately, my pool gets at least 8 hours of sunlight and I still lose very little chlorine.

 

[DaveTheAccountant]

This is going to sound stupid but cover the pool! Bring the chlorine up a lot, cover the pool and all should be fine in running your equipment normally. I'm in NJ but with my solar cover on I lose very little chlorine daily. Our water temp is in the 90s lately, my pool gets at least 8 hours of sunlight and I still lose very little chlorine.

That actually makes a lot of sense, but we don’t have a cover at this time.