New Pentair Intelli-Flo 011018 VS Help..

[gunny0628]

I just purchased a new Pentair Intelli-Flo VS (011018) pump to replace a dying Jacuzzi Magnum Force Pump (1hp). The old pump shaft seal went bad and was replaced and it all went down hill from there. The pump was very old and after doing a complete overhaul on it about 3 months ago, I decided to replace it altogether, after spending almost $200 in parts.

I am new to this (the forum and the pool stuff), so I apologize ahead of time if I forget to include some information or if I'm in the wrong place.

I have an Intelli-Chlor IC20 chlorinator, Jacuzzi SherLok 120 cartridge filter and the pool is approximately 14,000 gallons running through 2" piping. There is a booster pump attached which used to run a pressure side cleaner which I don't currently use, but would like to. There is also a MiniMax NT heater connected, but not turned on or running.

I hooked the pump up to the same box the chlorinator is hooked up to (the intelli-chlor controller) through the provided cable/terminals. The pump is hooked up to a dial timer box which actually has two dial timers inside (one for the pump and one for the booster pump).

My questions are this. What are the best settings/times to run this pump at? I have checked everywhere and get some different results. My goal is this; to reduce the money spent running the pump and to keep the pool clean and turned as it should be.

Right now I have the pump settings at this;

8am-10am 1250rpm
10am-3pm 2250rpm
3pm-10pm 1250rpm

I will attach a picture of the setup. Again, I am very new to this. When I purchased this house in last July it had not been lived-in for over a year. I am very happy with the pool, the equipment and the new pump. I just want to try and maximize my use of everything, with what little knowledge I have.

Thanks again for whatever help anyone can provide.

Bill

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

The first step is to figure out the lowest speed at which the IC20 works reliably. That speed is the only speed you need to use for normal pool circulation.

Then you need to figure out the ideal run time for your system. Most likely that will be way shorter than what you are using right now. The pool only needs about four hours of pump run time, but the SWG might need more than that to maintain an appropriate FC level at the hottest part of the summer.

Ideally you want to divide the resulting run time into several segments spread around the day, though doing so is not crucial.

 

[pooldv]

My IC40 runs fine at 900 rpm with that pump until the filter starts to clog, then I get a flow error. So, I upped it to 1100 rpm and it works fine all the time. And it only draws 150 watts at 1100 rpm so it isn't worth dropping the speed.

 

[gunny0628]

I played with it some and the IC20 starts to work at around 1150-1200 rpm. I changed the schedule around yesterday and now I have the pump come on around 8am-1230pm at 900rpm, 1230-430pm at 1250rpm for the IC20 to kick in and then 430-830 at 900rpm. Do you think it is turning the water enough times throughout the day at that setting? Also, my filter PSI is really low, is that good or bad? With my old pump (which ran at 3450 rpm for 9 hours a day) the filter was at 15 PSI. I just want to make sure running at a lower rpm still moves the water for filtration but that it also turns the water enough and produces the right amount of chlorine.

Just to clarify, I only need the IC20 to kick in about 4-5 hours during the summer?

Thanks again for the responses. I am trying to get all this sorted out, run a small farm and work a full time job. LOL

 

[pooldv]

There are a few different points here to address.
Pump run time for filtration is good as long as your pool is consistently clean and debris is picked up/skimmed. The times you have should be more than enough to cover that. Water turnover is not important, that is pool store lingo.

Filter pressure is not important, mine is close to 0 also when running at 1100, everything is still working fine. If anything, there is less wear and tear on everything.

The IC20 needs to run enough to give you the right chlorine residual level before it turns on again, which should be 4-6 ppm if you have your cya around 70-80, where it needs to be. You can increase chlorine output in the IC20 by running it longer or turning up the percentage. Chlorine demand will increase as temp, sunshine and swimming activity go up.

Here is some stuff for you to read to get a better understanding.

Chlorine CYA Chart
Chlorine CYA Chart

Water Balance for SWCGs
Water Balance for SWCGs

Determining Pump Run Time
Determining Pump Run Time

Test Kit Comparison
Test Kit Comparison

Also, update your signature so we know what equipment you have.

Great looking dog in your avatar!

 

[JasonLion]

4 to 5 hours of pump run time is plenty for keeping the pool clean, but may or may not be enough for the IC20 to maintain the FC level appropriately. If the IC20 can't keep up you can start by making the morning and evening run times a little faster so the IC20 will work then as well. Personally, I would go ahead and do that right now, but waiting is fine as well.

Filtering at very low pressure is actually better, the filter will be more effective at catching debris at lower speeds. The one trick is that you can't measure how close the filter is to needing to be cleaned at a low speed. So you will occasionally need to turn the pump up to a higher speed to check the filter pressure to know when the filter needs to be backwashed/cleaned. Just be sure to use the same higher speed each time you check.

 

[Divin Dave]

All the above said is true. However I would like to ask the question for you? So how long is long enough for the chlorine generator?

The answer to that is you cannot know without testing. In order to determine the chlorine levels required vs the pump run time, you need to test for chlorine for a few days in a row, or maybe a little more until you figure out what the trend for chlorine loss is.

Then if you need to, make an adjustment for the % output or the pump run time so that the generator makes enough chlorine to keep the pool at recommended levels.

pooldv proivided you some links that you will need to use as a reference in order to know the levels we recommend also other important stuff. The only thing I can add to that is this handy little tool called Pool Math. Easy to use and is bullseye accurate.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

 

[gunny0628]

Wow, great information and I updated my signature yesterday. I am VERY new to all of this. Thanks again for all the replies and the information. I am just starting to test the water frequently to try and learn the levels and the science behind it. I am not very good at any of this right now and sometimes it feels very overwhelming. I will read and read more information. The pool levels were awesome last year for the short time we used it. All we needed to do is add salt once a month, throw some acid in it and it seemed to keep the correct levels. There used to be a Legend (an older model) hooked up that cleaned for a few hours a day, but I have a feeling the booster pump added to the utility expense being so high. My electric bill here was near $300/month. Once we stopped using the pressure side cleaner it dropped to about $265/month, plus the bag broke on it. Now we manually clean it once a week by hand vacuum. Thanks again for the replies and information. I have a lot of reading to do.

 

[gunny0628]

Apparently I didn't save my signature. I've updated it and saved it now. Hopefully that's the correct information that I should have provided.

 

[pooldv]

Apparently I didn't save my signature. I've updated it and saved it now. Hopefully that's the correct information that I should have provided.

Signature looks good.

It takes a few times reading through and a little practice. But, once you get it figured out it is easy and your pool will be great.