How long to run a pool pump

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B

bassinhunter

0
Apr 14, 2014
8
Albuquerque nm
I'm fairly new to the forum. Been using the tfp method for about 2 month and I read for a month before applying my new found knowledge. My question is how long should I run my pool pump? I'm sure you all will need a ton of info so I'm going to try to cover it all. I believe it's and 18k gallon pool. The dimensions are 16x36 and it's roughly 3.5 ft deep on both ends and tapers to 5.5 feet in the middle. I think I read I'm some paperwork from the previous owner that the pool is 18k gallons. It's a salt water system with solar and an electric cover. I just installed a new ta100d sand filter and the pump is a 1.5hp whisper flow pump. Old pool guy said its a really good pump. The sand filter held 600lbs of media. Anyway my chemistry has been so good and the chlorine level has stayed pretty high so I've been backing my run time down. Am I wrong to think as long as the robot is cleaning the bottom and the chemistry stays good with the chlorine generator I can run it a little less? I've been running the pump 4 hours a day for a couple weeks and everything looks really good. Last season I ran the pump 8-9 hours a day and could never keep good chemistry! Thanks leslies (not really) I've been monitoring all my levels and all is well. I still skim the top manually daily along with brushing the steps and sides. I also check ph and chlorine daily and the other stuff once a week. So far I've only added a little acid to get my ph just right. Initially I slam shocked the pool the got my cya levels good. Anyway this is a little long winded but basically can I get away with four hours a day? Seems like it would depend on the pump and sand filter and from I remember from the old owner he said he ran it very little also. Wondering if I got a hopped up pump and oversized filter. Any help would be appreciated.


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Four hours a day is what we recommend these days. There is an article in Pool School explaining in more detail, but it sounds like you have it all figured out already.

A 1.5 HP WhisperFlo is too large for that pool, while your filter is exactly what I would recommend. The WhisperFlo is a great pump. It just draws more electricity than a smaller pump that would work just as well. This is one of those cases where bigger is not better.
 
Thanks everyone who responded. I was trying to find that perfect balance where I was running as little as possible (power savings) and still keeping my chemistry just right. Also is 70 percent a good setting on my chlorine generator?


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The percent setting does not matter, you need to maintain adequate FC depending on your CYA.

Figure out the pump run time you need to keep the pool clean, then set the SWG to whatever is required to maintain the FC.

What is your CYA?
 
My cya is about 50-70 hard to tell exactly when the dot disappears. Ever since I got my taylor kit in things have been running smooth. Maybe I should leave well enough alone but I want to run as little as possible. Mostly because my electric service company kills you she. You use over a certain amount of power. Then they go up another level after they've already increased it when you hit another level. Last year my electric bills were pretty high with two refrigerated air units and the pool running way more than it should. I know my pump only pulls 8.8 amps but I'm trying to at least stay out of tier 3 of the electric companies outrageous rates. It's about double normal rates. Pisses me off because we don't waste electricity. Our house has both eastern and western exposures so lights are usually off. The only killer is the ac'a and pool in the summer. Sorry for the rant but I'm fired up lol.


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jjdurrant said:
I am going to scale back to 8 hours and see how that goes. :)
Click to expand...

I've been running mine on low 24/7 for a week now...mainly because I felt that was what was needed to keep the pool water clean. I've decided that starting this weekend I will run it during the day on low and shut 'er off through the evening/overnight hours. Will see how it goes. I've read that the true answer to how long is needed is exactly as long as it takes to keep it clean based off of your particular situation.
 
Down here in the South West I've heard to run the pump 1 hour for each ten degree increase in temperature. So, at 80 degrees, we'd be running the pumps 8 hours. Not sure if that is the case. Somebody tell me this is different than what it should be. Soon it'll be 115 so I'm going to have to run it 11 1/2 hours?
 
I do pools in Scottsdale, AZ The larger non-commercial pools I run about 8 hours max. As you know, here, Off-Peak electric is at night and early morning, so most people run their pumps at night or before noon. Ideally, multiple run times with at least 2 hours (even though on-peak) in the mid to late afternoon just to give the water some movement and distribute the chlorine that has dissolved in the floater is good. One pool I run 24 hours because it has yard debris and natural rocks touching the water making a nice breeding ground for algae.
 
jjdurrant said:
I run mine 24/7. .
Click to expand...

as do we, IntelliFlo VF consumes just a little over 100 watts of power and system is totally silent. daily cost is pennies and pool is always clean.

setup a dedicated battery operated UPS system that allows system to run even if a total power blackout occurs. system runs off backup batteries for up to 8 hours.
 
I run intelliflow vf 24/7 as well. I shoot for about one water turnover a day. At 15 gpm the cost difference is minimal compared to running higher gpm for a shorter time. My pool maintains a better constant temp because the heater only works when the pump is running, 15 GPM is enough flow to keep the heater flow switch on. In my area difference between peak and off peak is minimal.
 
So here is the breakdown for me.. Xcel Energy in MN charges approx $.08 KWH. My pool is about 15,500g and my pump is 1.5hp. When I plug this info into the Pentair pump calculater (link below) I come up with:

8hr run time = $1.22 a day
24 hour run time = $3.65 a day

So yeah.. three times as much which is expected.. but since we are only talking about a few dollars a day and the fact we only have a pool open a third of the year if we are lucky, it seems worth it too me.

http://www.pentairpool.com/staging/...esources/calculators/pool-pump-calc/index.htm
 

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