Filter Pressue with TriStarVS Pump

[Lawtyger]

I routinely clean my filter once a month via a calendar reminder, but I realize I should also be paying attention to the pressue gauge I have not oven much thought about. When the pool was contructed last March the pool builder set the green and red needle to assist me in knowing when the filter needed to be cleaned. However, I am not sure if I am supposed to read the pressure when the pump is running at 100% or if that is the standard in how it is done.

any guidance would be great.

 

[kimkats]

Gauge should be read and pressure noted at normal, every day running speed. For me that would be low speed on you 2 speed pump. You should clean your filter when your pressure goes up 20% over clean pressure.

There is nothing wrong with cleaning your filter once a month so long as your pressure is good between cleans. BUT if you want to wait and only clean when your pressure says to..........go for it!

Kim

 

[Texas Splash]

You might find this thread interesting about RPM speeds: DE Filter pressure readings

See posts #4 and 5.

 

[Jimrahbe]

L,

I appears to me that you have a variable speed pump and a cartridge filter.. This is exactly what I have. I only clean my filter twice a year... and even then I'm not sure it needs it.

I run my pump, most of the time at 1,200 RPM, at that speed my filter pressure is only about 2 or 3 lbs.

The TFP method suggests that you clean your filter whenever the pressure increases about 25% above your "clean" pressure. With a VS pump, you pick a speed that you want to make the "clean" measurement. I would suggest about 2,500 RPM. I think max speed would be too much..

The red and green needles are somewhat useless if using the 25% increase method, as I think the needles represent a 10 pound pressure increase in most cases.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[pooldv]

^^^^^ this is what I do.

 

[Lawtyger]

Good info from all above! I definitely learned some things not only about the filter pressure but also the correct way to clean the filer via the links provided above.

I really wish I remembered what speed the pool company read the gauge at when they set the green and red markers just to get a sense of where the filter is after 10 months but I'm know to note that speed myself the next time.

I am too now wondering if I am running my pump during the day at a speed higher than necessary. My current schedule routine is basically two hours at 100% / 3450 RPM (to get the skimmer working and any surface stuff off the top of the pool before we get home from work) and 7 hours at 50% / 1725 RPM. Sounds like some of you are at 1200 for most of the day. As noted by Jim, I have a variable speed pump to I can easily choose whatever is best.

 

[mas985]

Just curious as to the size of your filter. Once per month is quite frequent. I clean mine once per year.

Also, you may find that you only need to run for 2 hours per day. That is what I do and that is on low speed. The skimmers should work on lower speeds as well. Have you tried other speeds to see if the skimmers work ok? Sometimes it is better run at lower speed for a little longer than high speed for a short period of time.

 

[Lawtyger]

I have a SwimClear cartridge filter but I'm not sure which model number (C100S, C150S or C200S) - I'll check when I get home tonight but I can tell you it is one of the bigger models because the cartridge itself is between 2 1/2 to 3 feet.

Regarding your suggestion of maybe only needing to run the pump for 2 hours per day, two things come to mind:
1) I have a SWG so I have to run the pump long enough to generate enough chlorine to accommodate the daily loss of FC I get from the sun, etc.; and
2) I'm not yet a pool owner for one year, but I thought I read that the water in the pool needed to "turnover" at least once per day. Admittedly, I have never understood how to truly determine how long that really takes at any given pump speed on my variable speed pump but can a pull truly "turnover" all the water in two hours, let alone on "low speed" ?

 

[mas985]

1) That will likely be your limiting factor but you should still be able to run on lower speeds.

2) That is myth. Turnover really has little to do with water quality. The most important thing is to get enough FC into the water and to distribute it which based upon my own testing takes very little time.

Pool School - Determine Pump Run Time

 

[Lawtyger]

Looks like I have a C200S swim clear cartridge filter.

I also contacted the pool builder to see if they recall what speed the pump was on when they set the red/green markers for psi. They said they set them with the pump running 100% (which is 3450 RPM). If that is the case, that is the pressure is way higher than I thought given this picture I took of the pressure gauge with the pump running at 100%:

That seems odd to me since the filter is 10 months old, the pool is screened, there is really no debris falling into the pool, I recall the psi being that high when the pump was on 100% for some time and I clean the filter monthly.

They are going to come out to make sure a value isn't clogged. I suspect they did not set those markers with the pump running at 100% though.

 

[mas985]

The gauge markers have a 10 psi rise which is way too much pressure increase. You should really clean the filter at a 25% rise from clean.

 

[Lawtyger]

Yes, this will be done in the future. I am just showing pool builder setup.