Pentair - When and how to run pump during summer months

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SteveTech

Well-known member
Dec 20, 2022
84
Tulsa, OK
Now that everything is up and running, I'd like to enquire those who run the Pentair system how they have their automation setup.
I am looking for what people (in the south, like TX/OK) are running for schedules. Right now I have the pool run for 3 hours, spa for an hour, then pool for 3 hours with the SWCG running about 45% and the chlorine levels stay in check.. RPM is 2500/3000/2500 With that said..

Does anyone run at night to take advantage of less energy costs?
I feel the RPMs I am running are too high, and can be optimized..
When to run during the day and how long?

I am really looking for an optimal schedule to keep levels in check and the pool sparkling.. Most swimming is done after lunch to early evening..
I have read that some people run high speed in early AM to skim and run the bot, followed by low speed for filtering and then a med speed for enjoyment
Id like to take advantage of the VSF pump the way it was supposed to be used.. the previous owner ran it 24 hours a day at 2750 RPMs.. No clue why, but a huge waste of $$
Appreciated in advance
 
Pumps are used to:
1) Filter water
2) Skim surface of pool
3) Provide flow for chlorination devices (SWCG) and heaters

That's it - they're not a magical device and our general advice is to run them as slow as you can to achieve success with the above 3 items.

I run 24/7 at ~1400 rpms (196 watts). I like that I'm constantly skimming (lots of trees), and constantly making FC from my SWCG. There are very few circumstances that require a VSP pump to run much above minimum. If you have a main drain that you can valve off, I recommend it as it puts even more flow to skimmers.
 
Steve,

If you only run your SWCG 6 hours a day, then it is almost impossible that you have enough chlorine in your pool, so something is off..

At 100% your cell will produce 14 ppm of FC in 24 hours of operation. That is .58 ppm per hour at 100% and about .26 per hour at 45%. 6 hours is 1.5 ppm per day.

What is your CYA and what target FC are you shooting for?

I would have thought in your location you would be using 3 ppm per day or more.. :scratch:

Are you still adding weekly bags of pool store shock???

But to your question.. I too run 24/7, mostly at 1200 RPM.. The cost for me to do that is less than $20 bucks a month. And, I have an old IntelliFlo... the new ones are much more efficient.

I have no heater, so with a heater you might have to run at 1500 RPM or so, but that depends on your pump and plumbing.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
What is your CYA and what target FC are you shooting for?

I have been running 6 hours pool (45%), one hour spa (10%) and the water was tested yesterday. I am currently sitting at a TC of 2.87 and FC of 2.25. I just bumped CYA as it was at 40.. CC was .6, So I just finished the super chlorination cycle

No longer adding a bag of shock a week, I run super chlorination as needed

With running 24/7 at a low RPM, what are the IC settings? also, I do run the spa for a little bit just to circulate the returns.. and when the pool is running, the return to the pool is about 20% spa for the spillways

*The previous owner gave me ZERO instructions, and he ran it at whatever the tech setup the system at 5 years back..
 
Last edited:
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Steve,

With a SWCG your CYA should be about 70 and your Target FC should be about 8 ppm.

I have had three saltwater pools for about 10 years.. I have never used super-chlorinate, ever.. :mrgreen:

I suggest that you use this chart and maintain your CYA and FC in the proper relationship.. Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship Explained

The speed of the pump has nothing to do with the amount of FC the SWCG makes.. Except of course it has to be fast enough to close the flow switch, which does not take much.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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SteveTech said:
I have been running 6 hours pool (45%), one hour spa (10%) and the water was tested yesterday. I am currently sitting at a TC of 2.87 and FC of 2.25. I just bumped CYA as it was at 40.. CC was .6, So I just finished the super chlorination cycle
Click to expand...
Are these results from a proper test kit? Or pool store?
Test Kits Compared

Jim correctly pointed out that your run time is less than the necessary amount to keep your pool properly sanitized.
With a SWCG, you never want to be below minimum FC and there should be no reason for needing to add CalHypo or run the super chlorinate function of the SWCG.
 
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What test kit are you using? Test Kits Compared

Follow the FC/CYA Levels

What CYA level are you shooting for?

With a clean filter, determine the minimum speed you dan run your VS pump at and still have the SWG producing chlorine (flow switch closed) - add about 100-200 rpm to that to account for the filter getting dirty. That speed is the minimum speed you can run the pump and reliably produce chlorine. Quite possibly, that speed will also provide adequate skimming - so that is the speed to run to save electricity.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Steve,

With a SWCG your CYA should be about 70 and your Target FC should be about 8 ppm.

I have had three saltwater pools for about 10 years.. I have never used super-chlorinate, ever.. :mrgreen:

I suggest that you use this chart and maintain your CYA and FC in the proper relationship.. Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship Explained

The speed of the pump has nothing to do with the amount of FC the SWCG makes.. Except of course it has to be fast enough to close the flow switch, which does not take much.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
What percentages are you utilizing for the SWCG?
Having an attached SPA, any reason to run the spa circuit at all unless being utilized?
And yes.. Pool store water tests.. sigh..
 

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Steve,

I assume your spa spills over into the pool. This is how fresh, chlorinated water gets added to the spa. There is just no reason that you need to run the spa in the Spa mode each day.

The cell's output % is not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing.. It is math, not magic.. :mrgreen:

It is based on the size of the pool, and the size of the cell, and the number of hours the cell is run each day. People with a single speed pump tend to want to run the pump as little as possible, so they would use a high output, like 90 or 100%. People with VS pumps tend to run longer and at a lower output %.

The key, no matter the approach, is to routinely test your FC and to increase your output %, or run time, when the FC is too low, and to decrease the output or run time. when the FC is too high.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Steve,

I assume your spa spills over into the pool. This is how fresh, chlorinated water gets added to the spa. There is just no reason that you need to run the spa in the Spa mode each day.

The cell's output % is not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing.. It is math, not magic.. :mrgreen:

It is based on the size of the pool, and the size of the cell, and the number of hours the cell is run each day. People with a single speed pump tend to want to run the pump as little as possible, so they would use a high output, like 90 or 100%. People with VS pumps tend to run longer and at a lower output %.

The key, no matter the approach, is to routinely test your FC and to increase your output %, or run time, when the FC is too low, and to decrease the output or run time. when the FC is too high.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
Yes they do.. and the previous owner had a schedule for spa, my assumption was to simply cycle the water in the returns, and not knowing better.. then, ok.. keep it the same.. With that being said.. I am running 6 hours at 45%, which is obviously nowhere near enough.. As you mentioned earlier, CYA Should be about 70 with a FC level of 7-8 roughly..

So how would one "adjust" from where I am schedule-wise to where I need to be? I have no issue running the pump 24/7 at about 1500 RPM, I just don't know where an appropriate SWCG seeting would be esp as the kids are swimming.. I don't want to throw chems into Chaos..

I just ordered the K-2006C-SALT, so I am guessing that will give far superior results than the "store" tests
 
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Steve,

I'd do it a little at a time other than the FC.

With a CYA of 40 your FC needs to be 5 or 6, I'd add enough Liquid to get your FC up to 6 ppm.. Your kids are safe up to 16 ppm.

Then I'd run the cell to maintain 5 or above.

Then I'd add enough CYA to get to 50 or 60.. Don't try to shoot for 70 all at once, you want to sneak up on it.

FC wise it is better to be too high and adjust down then it is to be too low and have to adjust up.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Steve,

I'd do it a little at a time other than the FC.

With a CYA of 40 your FC needs to be 5 or 6, I'd add enough Liquid to get your FC up to 6 ppm.. Your kids are safe up to 16 ppm.

Then I'd run the cell to maintain 5 or above.

Then I'd add enough CYA to get to 50 or 60.. Don't try to shoot for 70 all at once, you want to sneak up on it.

FC wise it is better to be too high and adjust down then it is to be too low and have to adjust up.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
I am assuming that as far as "scheduling" inside of the Pentair app, I can run from 12AM Start to 12AM stop will run 24 hours?
Also, I am going to keep the SWCG running at 40% to see where it falls at 1600 RPM.. Ill slowly bring up the CYA
Already ran the super chlorinate cycle, so the FC should be in the 6-8 rrange
 
SteveTech said:
So how would one "adjust" from where I am schedule-wise to where I need to be? I have no issue running the pump 24/7 at about 1500 RPM, I just don't know where an appropriate SWCG seeting would be esp as the kids are swimming.. I don't want to throw chems into Chaos..
Click to expand...

As explained by @Newdude . . .

Newdude said:
Click the upper left menu and choose 'effects of adding'

Select SWG as your addition

Select the magnifying glass to see the 24 hour outputs of all the SWGs, then add yours to the field.

Mess with hours and % until you get the combo you need.

View attachment 497115
Click to expand...

SteveTech said:
I just ordered the K-2006C-SALT, so I am guessing that will give far superior results than the "store" tests
Click to expand...

Good Decision ! Don't Guess ! Rest assured, Your test results will be FAR superior to relying on other's results.

:lovetfp:
 
SteveTech said:
No longer adding a bag of shock a week, I run super chlorination as needed
Click to expand...
If you need to add a lot of chlorine in a short amount of time, use liquid chlorine. Superchlorination on SWGs is pretty useless and slow and it wastes a lot of cell life. I advise against ever using the Superchlorinate feature.
 
Getitrite said:
As explained by @Newdude . . .





Good Decision ! Don't Guess ! Rest assured, Your test results will be FAR superior to relying on other's results.

:lovetfp:
Click to expand...
Thats perfect.. looks like if I am running the IC40 24/7, for my volume (12,000), need to run the SWCG at 50% to maintain a FC of 7
I am assuming that running the pump at 1600 or 2600 24/7 would not affect this.. So low RPM (1600, 200W) 24/7 seems to be "the way"

Sorry for all the clarifications, learning "the right way" is more important to me then anything else
 
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SteveTech said:
Thats perfect.. looks like if I am running the IC40 24/7, for my volume (12,000), need to run the SWCG at 50% to maintain a FC of 7
Click to expand...
Also, a quick note.. I dropped the VSF pump down to 1600 RPM and the spill ways are basically dry.. very little to none water flowing thru them, seems like most is going to jets.. too little RPM or is this more of a valve setting? Also the app is no longer showing a "GPM amount"
 
SteveTech said:
I am assuming that as far as "scheduling" inside of the Pentair app, I can run from 12AM Start to 12AM stop will run 24 hours?
Click to expand...
Steve,

I've only used 8 am until 8 am, but I suspect that as long as the two times are the same, it does not matter what specific time you use.

Your cell running 24/7 at 100% will produce an increase of 14 ppm in 24 hours. So at 40% that will be about 5.6 ppm per day. I suspect that this time a year your pool is going to use 3 or 4 ppm per day.. Let's use 3 ppm as a starting point. You need to replace about 3 ppm of FC per day, so that would be about 22%.. I'd set the cell at 25% and see how it goes and adjust up and down from there.

14 * .22 = 3.08

Try not to micromanage the cell... It will just drive your crazy. Don't worry if your FC goes a little too high, as that is not an issue. Just make sure you never let your FC drop much below your target FC.


Thanks,

Jim R.
 

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