Hey guys. I just got this pool with my house 1 month ago. If it weren't for pool school and all your help, my kids would have been watching me struggle instead of swimming in the pool. Despite my complete ignorance about pools, my pool looks clear and sparkly and works great.
Pump system:
Lower pump is booster for vacuum:
Breaker panel and pool light circuit:
SWG:
I just got my first electricity bill and it's more than double what we used to pay at the old house; I'm wondering if the pool could be partly the culprit. The old owner didn't use CYA and ran the SWG at 90% to keep the FC around 3. Based on pool school, I added CYA and now I run the SWG at 35% to keep the FC around 4. The 3/4 HP pump and (sand) filter run 24/7.
I did a quick search, but I couldn't find a good topic on how to figure out how frequently my water is going through the filter; I thought I read it in pool school but now I can't find it.
Anyway, I was thinking, why don't I run my pump about 40% of the time with the SWG set to about 90%? We don't have time-of-day electricity billing but I suspect it will arrive shortly. I have a bunch of questions though:
1. Will cycling the pump motor (or the pump) shorten it's life significantly? It seems to be self priming.
2. This is the timer I'm planning on.
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/outdoor ... mer/980580
Instructions:
http://waterheatertimer.org/pdf/GE-1525 ... ctions.pdf
I know I need to connect both the pump and the SWG to the same timer. The pump is wired for 220 V, but the SWG is on a separate breaker at 110 V, through a GFI receptacle. I can swap jumpers and run the SWG at 220 V and I guess lose the GFI. Or should I wire the timer to handle 220 V and 110 V separately, leaving the SWG on it's own circuit with GFI? You can see from the instructions above that that would mean the timer would only interrupt one side of the 220 V circuit to the pump. Any problems with this?
3. Is it better to run the pump and filter for 35% of every hour or 1-2 longer blocks making up 35% of the 24 hour period?
4. This is my pump. Is there circuitry available to drive it at low speed all the time instead of intermittently to reduce the power draw? Is that even a good idea?
Thanks, Tim
Pump system:
Lower pump is booster for vacuum:
Breaker panel and pool light circuit:
SWG:
I just got my first electricity bill and it's more than double what we used to pay at the old house; I'm wondering if the pool could be partly the culprit. The old owner didn't use CYA and ran the SWG at 90% to keep the FC around 3. Based on pool school, I added CYA and now I run the SWG at 35% to keep the FC around 4. The 3/4 HP pump and (sand) filter run 24/7.
I did a quick search, but I couldn't find a good topic on how to figure out how frequently my water is going through the filter; I thought I read it in pool school but now I can't find it.
Anyway, I was thinking, why don't I run my pump about 40% of the time with the SWG set to about 90%? We don't have time-of-day electricity billing but I suspect it will arrive shortly. I have a bunch of questions though:
1. Will cycling the pump motor (or the pump) shorten it's life significantly? It seems to be self priming.
2. This is the timer I'm planning on.
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/outdoor ... mer/980580
Instructions:
http://waterheatertimer.org/pdf/GE-1525 ... ctions.pdf
I know I need to connect both the pump and the SWG to the same timer. The pump is wired for 220 V, but the SWG is on a separate breaker at 110 V, through a GFI receptacle. I can swap jumpers and run the SWG at 220 V and I guess lose the GFI. Or should I wire the timer to handle 220 V and 110 V separately, leaving the SWG on it's own circuit with GFI? You can see from the instructions above that that would mean the timer would only interrupt one side of the 220 V circuit to the pump. Any problems with this?
3. Is it better to run the pump and filter for 35% of every hour or 1-2 longer blocks making up 35% of the 24 hour period?
4. This is my pump. Is there circuitry available to drive it at low speed all the time instead of intermittently to reduce the power draw? Is that even a good idea?
Thanks, Tim