mrgaddy said:
I've recently installed a Polaris 3900 with booster pump. First run was great, hopefully no more spending all my time cleaning the pool. My question is this: When the Polaris is not in the water cleaning, should my booster pump stay on? Should I insert a return eyeball when the cleaner is not in use to add to enhanced circulation?
Booster pumps are energy HOGS.
I personally wouldn't run it without the Polaris attached. I'm not sure if it will hurt the booster pump not having the back pressure from the Polaris but for sure you are using a lot of electricity that probably isn't needed to be used. I'm mostly familiar with the Polaris 280. Even with the pump not running a certain amount of water will come out of the cleaner return.
Someone with more knowledge will be along to answer the effects of running the booster without back pressure.
My main pump, computer control, cut off the other day after an electric flicker. But the booster was on a mechanical timer and came on without the main pump running. It was pulling unfiltered water from the returns to send to the Polaris. Not Good. Your booster pump running, without back pressure, depending on the main pump and filter, could cause something weird similar to this to happen. Just guessing here though.
Putting on an eyeball seems like a lot of trouble unless you only use the cleaner once a week or so. Many of us use our cleaners on a daily basis and leave them in the pool all of the time, or most of the time. That's one of the many convienences of the Polaris.
When I'm going to not use the Polaris for a while, I make sure the booster pump timer won't switch on and then turn the Jandy valve so that water doesn't go to the booster return. This takes a little bit of turbulence (and head) out of the main water circulation and sends it where I want it to go; to the finely tuned returns.
Do you think your circulation needs improving?
Polaris boosters run at very high rpm >3000. I have to have any cleaner running many hours a day because of our EXTREME environment. I'm not sure what the watt hour usage is but I do know that I have saved a lot of money taking out my >3K rpm (2.23 SFHP) one speed, main pump and running a variable flow pump 23/7 at <2000 rpm, most of the time around the 1200 rpm range.
By replacing the old one speed pump, with a variable flow pump, increasing the filter size, giving less resistance, on the pressure side of pump pump, taking out some old, uneeded plumbing at the pumping station, and increasing all the exposed pipes at pumping station to 2" ,running new pump for 23/7, with 1.5 to 2 turnovers a day I cut $150 off my electric bill last month. (That's comparing against last years electric bill, all other things being equal.) I can only imagine how much I'm going to save by not running the booster pump for > 10 hours a day.
I love Polaris and have been using a 280 every since they came out. But I need to cut some more money off my electric bill. Using a suction cleaner revs the new pump up some but not much over 2000 rpm and it actually picks up more of the fine powder so I don't have to run it as long as I do the Polaris. I'm figuring I'll see another $150 cut from my electric bill next month. That's $300 put towards the purchase price of the new pump, filter, and labor cost to have them installed.
BTW.... most people don't need as much cleaning as my environment requires.
gg=alice
