Wintertime chlorine usage and pump run time

[texasdad]

How many hours per day should the pump run during cooler wether?

The timer has a freeze sensor to turn on when the temp is below 35. Will this turn on just the main pumpor the polatis booster too? Should the freeze sensor turn the main pump on high or low?

Any estimates of how much chlorine the pool should use as the water cools off? During the peak of summer I was adding 4 cups daily. I'm adding between one and two cups daily now. With the help of a solar cover m water is still in the upper 70's.

 

[Bama Rambler]

If you're not going to close, you can run it as little as an hour a day and when it's going to freeze. That's about all you need.

 

[ajones02]

Bama is correct. also, not sure how the freeze guard on jandy equipement is set up but mine will turn on everything at some point when it kicks on. that means it will go into spa mode, pool mode, cleaner mode and water features will all kick on at different times. also i typically reduce my pump run time to about 6 hours but i think you will find less is probably ok as well. as far as chlorine, i used very little over the winter last year.

 

[htownjeeper]

This is good news. I was wondering about this the other day. I'm not closing but will keep it nice and sparkly.

 

[anonapersona]

I would be surprised if an hour a day was sufficient to keep chlorine circulated. I tend to get algae more often in the winter if I've forgotten to add bleach so I know that algae can still be active. I was advised to run 6 hours a day in winter when I bought the pool, advise from the local pool service and repair co that inspected the pool equipment.

My freeze protect kicks on the waterfall pump, and the main filter since there is circulation through the Polaris when the main filter is on.

 

[Richard320]

I don't need to worry about freeze protection here. Since I maintain the chemistry year-round so the hot tub is available when I want it, I run the filter long enough to get a turnover per day. For me, that's about 4 hours.

I used a ruler in the spa. Sucked from spa and measured how many inches it went down in how many minutes. Then refilled the spa and did the same, and took the average. Knowing diameter, it was just some number crunching to get the actual flow. And then some more crunching to determine run time.

 

[BadOleRoss]

I was wondering about pump run time myself today not only in cool weather but in warm weather as well. If your pool is clear and your chemicals have the circulated why continue running the pump?

 

[ps0303]

Funny, I just had a customer of mine today tell me he's not going to run his pump during the winter as they won't be swimming in it. This is FL, and I told him I didn't advise it nor do I know of anyone here in FL with a pool that doesn't run their pump at least 4-6 hours during the winter time. But they are from the north and are thinking they need to not run it like they did up north. So I said good luck and call me when you need it cleaned up. He even talked about buying a winterizing kit for the pool. WOW.

I truly don't understand why you would want to take a chance on not running the equipment at least for a short time during the winter months.

Good luck!

 

[anonapersona]

I was wondering about pump run time myself today not only in cool weather but in warm weather as well. If your pool is clear and your chemicals have the circulated why continue running the pump?

Think about where the chlorine goes, and why. Leaves fall into the pool and sink to the bottom, the sun shines on the surface, chlorine dissipates here and there. With no circulation you ought to get localized areas of little or no chlorine eventually.

You probably already know where those spots are, they are the ones that are first to show a hint of green when you let levels get too low.

 

[bobodaclown]

Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. If your not winterizing the pool maintain 1 turn over and test your chlorine level, maintain appropriately. I realize that chlorine usage goes down in the winter so testing the chlorine level and maintaining an appropriate level seems prudent. Yes, you'll need to turn down the SWCG or add less bleach then in the summer. But unless your actually closing it down (covering and such) then you should test and maintain. Just my 2 cents for what it's worth.