Pump Run Time

[KevDawg673]

Hey all,

What is the best way to run the pump for the pool? The pump flows at 60 gpm, so the water turns over in about 4 hours. My plan was to run the pump for 5 hours a night from, say, 9 PM to 2 AM. But my dad was very insistent that the pump needs to run twice a day, once in the morning and once at night (he says 3 hours a piece). That seems weird to me, since it would never get a full exchange either time. Which is better?

 

[mgmoore7]

Either is probably fine as long as the water is staying clean.

See the following page for more info on pump run time.
Pool School - Determine Pump Run Time

 

[fajitas21]

I run mine 8 AM - 4 PM on high, which for my size gives me 1.2 turnovers. Then 4PM - 8PM on low to keep the stir going. Honestly, it's not needed to run this long but I like having it run on low during typical swimming hours to keep filtering that stuff. Basically either way is fine just like MGMoore7 said, just make sure you complete a turnover of all the water once a day and keep the CYA/FC ratio happy and it should work out great.

 

[KevDawg673]

Okay thanks guys. I think I'll try the night-time way and see how it works out. The basket I have in the skimmer doesn't lock so with splashing and waves from skimmers it pops out and the pump starts sucking air, so I'd prefer to run it while there aren't any swimmers.