How often does my water completely circulate?

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Is there a way to know how often my water circulates in my 10,500 GAL pool? I have a 1.5HP Pump.

I'm curious for a couple of reasons:
How long before chemicals completely circulate through the system.
How long I should be running my pump each day.

Despite what the pool store told me, my pump really does put a dent in my power bill each month. Also, I don't like running the pump 24-hours a day. I'd like to run it from about 7AM to 9PM if it's efficent to maintain the pool that way.

What do you think?
 
That pump is way too large for that pool. You will probably be fine running it 3 or 4 hours a day, perhaps even less. The best way to figure out the ideal run time is to take a close look at the water clarity with the pump running a lot, then reduce the run time for a week and see if the water looks the same or worse. If it looks the same then try an even shorter run time. If it looks worse try something between the original long run time and the new shorter run time.
 
rbdeli,

I have about the same size pool as you do and an even LARGER pump. As Jason said, I started backing off the run time on it until I felt by observation that the water needed more circulation. I have ended up with about 4 hours, maybe a little less, being perfect. This allows the water to turn over and gives the cleaner a good enough amount of time to cover the underwater surfaces well.

I will run the pump when swimmers are in the pool but this is the exception. You may also want to see what your peak electricity usage hours are for your power company. I know that during the peak hours as advertised by my electric company, I pay twice the amount for kWh of electricity usage. That is another way to save you some money.
 
257WbyMag said:
rbdeli,

I have about the same size pool as you do and an even LARGER pump. As Jason said, I started backing off the run time on it until I felt by observation that the water needed more circulation. I have ended up with about 4 hours, maybe a little less, being perfect. This allows the water to turn over and gives the cleaner a good enough amount of time to cover the underwater surfaces well.

I will run the pump when swimmers are in the pool but this is the exception. You may also want to see what your peak electricity usage hours are for your power company. I know that during the peak hours as advertised by my electric company, I pay twice the amount for kWh of electricity usage. That is another way to save you some money.
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Thanks guys and good tip on the peak useage hours. I will look into that.
The more I learn the more I realize what bad information I've been getting from my pool guys.
They all were telling me to run the darn pump 24 hours a day!

When the pool guy was coming to my house once a week, I think he wanted me to leave it on because he knows how hard the pump is to prime. I've never had to re-prime my pump after turning it off. The only time I do is when I unscrew the pump basket lid to clean it. And even then, it's not so bad after a short time. The more I learn to do it myself, the less I realize I need of everything: Chemicals, pump operation, costs, etc.. It just requires more care and testing from me, which I enjoy doing.

Why did the previous homeowner put in such a large pump, I wonder?

Rob
 
I think in this case, it might have been the home owner. I believe the original pump conked out and he replaced it. Not sure, but I have the paperwork at home, so I'll check.

JasonLion said:
Pool builders like to put in large pumps because homeowners tend to mistakenly think that a larger pump is better.
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