- Feb 6, 2015
- 6,166
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Great - what test kit? Add it to your signature so we don't have to keep asking.
Is this a dumb idea with Variable Speed pump?
- Thread starter caseyrichards
- Start date
Great - what test kit? Add it to your signature so we don't have to keep asking.
You asked about using the cal-hypo with the feeder... Don’t ever put anything in the feeder except the trichlor. Especially not cal hypo.
Alright everyone. I’m back with some follow up questions. I’ve been running it 24/7 for a week or two now at the low speed of 1350 rpm like we talked about. Water is looking just ok and I say that because I’m not too impressed with the skimmer action. It’s barely pulling anything in so we still have bugs and debris on the surface. Water may be balanced and clear but that’s just gross to swim in if you ask me. Also the pressure gauge doesn’t register anything at all on that setting showing 0 psi which makes me wonder if it’s even doing anything. So I bumped the pump up today to 1850 rpm to see if that helps give both a little more oomph. I don’t have any idea what the wattages are for each setting change since mine isn’t automated/computerized like some of yours but I figure it still can’t be too crazy and ok to run 24/7 at that speed I assume. Now when doing that the skimmer maybe pulls a little more but it’s nominal change however pressure gauge now registers about 2 psi so definitely seeing something change there. So please help me understand this more. Should I keep it at the lowest setting possible where the pressure gauge at least registers something versus 0? At full speed it goes to 15 psi. I know you all said low and slow but 0? Thanks!
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ideally the pressure should be as low as possible but doesn’t really matter unless it gets too high. If you’re unhappy with the skimming action at a low speed, increase it like you have until it’s working like you want it. I think mine runs at 1750 normally and drops down a bit at night on a schedule timer on the pump. Runs 24x7 that way.
reggiehammond
Gold Supporter
- Oct 4, 2020
- 1,509
- Pool Size
- 30000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Are you able to isolate suction to only your skimmers? If you’re currently running with a main drain(s) and skimmers both open, then it’ll take a lot more RPM’s. I’ve been very happy with skimming with my main drain closed.
Yeah I’m considering closing off my main drain and just running skimmer at 100% 24/7. Is that ok or do I need the main drain? Re: the PSI guess I’m confused then if the gauge shows 0 then is the filter actually doing anything? Isn’t that what the gauge is for to make sure you have adequate pressure for it to work?
reggiehammond
Gold Supporter
- Oct 4, 2020
- 1,509
- Pool Size
- 30000
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- Plaster
- Chlorine
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- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Main drain does almost nothing; I do crack it open for a minute every few days.
Low pressure is fine; mine shows 1 psi pretty much always.
Ok so back to my question. Should I increase the pump until the filter PSI is showing at least something above 0? The dilemma is at these low rpm’s the smallest and lightest of debris like pine straw and leaves and bugs are just going past it and not getting sucked in. The only time I manage to get the skimmer to really suck these things is is when i crank the pump up much higher which also raises the PSI as we know. So I’m confused how to get best setting?
I run a Variable speed pump, with regards to filter pressure I have chosen 2000 rpm as my “check filter pressure rpm”, I schedule 1750 day 12 hours, and 1250 night 12 hours. I keep a solar cover on often, and this works for me. If its windy and cover is off, I manually override to higher rpm to get more skimming/filtering action.
reggiehammond
Gold Supporter
- Oct 4, 2020
- 1,509
- Pool Size
- 30000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Try it with the main drain shut down and skimmers isolated - you’ll see a BIG difference, I think. Don’t worry about filter pressure unless you’re seeing other issues aside from the pressure gauge reading low.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,522
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
If water is returning to the pool, then it is going through the filter. Pressure is inconsequential until it rises due to plugging of the filter media.
Ok so if you’re sure it’s filtering just fine even at 0 psi on the gauge then I’m fine with that. But the dilemma remains how do I get the skimmer to pull in debris adequately while also keeping the RPMs low? I’ll shut off the main drain like you recommend but really the only time I see it pulling in we’ll is when it’s run at much higher speeds but that isn’t very energy efficient.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,522
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
You really do not 'see' the skimmer pulling. It happens. If the water level is correct, the skimmer weir door creates a little ramp that accelerates the pool water flow over it into the skimmer basket.
Your VS pump is smaller so you will have to run at a higher rpm than those that have a full size VS pump.
Your VS pump is smaller so you will have to run at a higher rpm than those that have a full size VS pump.
What I mean when I say I’m not seeing it work adequately is that I’ll sit on the deck where the skimmer is and watch to see what it pulls in. Sure it’s pulling in water and microscopic things but not so much the visible debris. Now when run at max RPM it’s great at pulling in everything from leaves, to bugs, to pine straw, etc. They all float by and then get sucked into the skimmer. Yet when I drop the RPMs down to the speeds you’re all suggesting I keep it at for energy efficiency then those same materials just keep floating by never entering into the skimmer and around and around they go staying in the pool. So, what you’re saying might be the cause is my 1.5 HP pump is smaller than the rest of yours, therefore a low RPM like 1350 on yours is too low for mine to skim and I need to be hovering more in the higher 2000-3000 range after all? I’m sorry to get so in the weeds I’m just trying to dial this in for my pool and if I’m fooling myself that it will actually run at a low RPM then I want to figure out where it should be set. I fear that by bumping it up to the higher speeds only now counters the progress we were making on the energy savings part and I’m back to square one after all. Is that right?
- May 3, 2014
- 58,522
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Have you adjusted the returns? They should create a swirl effect in the pool. But wind overcomes all that if the skimmer is not down wind.
Yes I have three returns (1 in the back left corner, 1 in the back middle right next to the skimmer, and 1 on the opposite side right corner). I adjusted all of to be facing in the same direction so that it creates the swirl effect like you’re talking about. There’s only 1 skimmer. Update: I keep bumping up the speeds one level at a time and I’m now trying out 2100 RPM which is pulling debris in better than the lower ones but still not as great as the even higher speeds. And for extra info with that speed I’m now seeing 2.5 PSI on the filter and about 30 GPM on the flow meter. I can keep climbing back up I’m just unsure what point I start getting back into high energy costs.
Once you find the minimum speed to skim adequately, you can program it to run at that speed for X hours per day and then dial it back at night. I almost think speeding it up at might might make more sense of energy cost is lower at night.
Could also set it to run higher every two hours or any combination. No need to find a single speed that covers everything if alternating speeds might work as well.