Advice on SWG Run Time / Variable Speed Pump Settings

[atx78704pool]

I've gotten my pool chemistry dialed in after taking over for the pool company we were using, but I'm a little lost on the final thing - what to set my SWG run time to in terms of my pump speeds and run time. I've used the SWG run time calculator, but there isn't anything to tell it what speed my pump is running at. Below are my latest readings, current SWG and pump settings. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

FC - 7.1
pH - 7.4
Alk - 85
CYA - 80

SWG has been at 60% 24 hours a day but want to get it dialed in now that chemistry is good. Current pump schedule is below. If these can be lowered then I'm all for it to cut some costs.

2750 RPM 11am - 6pm
1850 RPM 6pm - 11am

I'm in Austin, TX - it's very hot here right now.

 

[Jimrahbe]

atx,

Pump speed has nothing to do with the amount of chlorine that a SWCG can produce.. Obviously, the pump has to run fast enough to close the flow switch, but once that happens, increasing water flow will not increase the chlorine production.

I run my pump 24/7, mostly at 1200 RPM, but I do not have a heater.. I don't see a heater in your signature..

Your CV460 is your filter and not a pump. What size pump do you have? If you have no heater and a large VS pump you can run much slower than 1850..

Tell me why you run at 2750 from 11 am until 6 pm?? What is your goal in running that fast??

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[atx78704pool]

atx,

Pump speed has nothing to do with the amount of chlorine that a SWCG can produce.. Obviously, the pump has to run fast enough to close the flow switch, but once that happens, increasing water flow will not increase the chlorine production.

I run my pump 24/7, mostly at 1200 RPM, but I do not have a heater.. I don't see a heater in your signature..

Your CV460 is your filter and not a pump. What size pump do you have? If you have no heater and a large VS pump you can run much slower than 1850..

Tell me why you run at 2750 from 11 am until 6 pm?? What is your goal in running that fast??

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks for the reply - corrected my signature to have the correct info.

Makes sense on the SWG either being on or off and RPM's not really mattering past that. I was running it higher during the day to help circulate water when it is really hot out and getting lots of direct sunlight. What do you think?

 

[Jimrahbe]

atx,

I run at 1200 RPM unless I have a reason to run faster..

I run at 2100 when the wife I and want use our pool floats, so we have that lazy river kind of motion. I run at 2800 when I want to use my waterfalls, which is almost never..

I don't understand how running at 2750 makes much of a difference in water temp..

Do you notice any difference when running at 2750 vs running at 1850??

You have a 2 HP pump and a large Cartridge filter.. I suspect that you will be able to run at about 1400 to 1500 RPM.. Not sure how much effect your UV system will have on water flow.. You will just have to experiment and see..

Speed wise, you just need to slowly reduce the pump speed until the SWCG's red low flow light just comes on.. Then increase the speed by about 200 RPM.. The green flow light should be on, and that would be the slowest speed you ever want to run. Why run the pump if you are not making chlorine.

If your SWCG is working, and you are skimming ok, there is almost no reason to run faster.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[atx78704pool]

atx,

I run at 1200 RPM unless I have a reason to run faster..

I run at 2100 when the wife I and want use our pool floats, so we have that lazy river kind of motion. I run at 2800 when I want to use my waterfalls, which is almost never..

I don't understand how running at 2750 makes much of a difference in water temp..

Do you notice any difference when running at 2750 vs running at 1850??

You have a 2 HP pump and a large Cartridge filter.. I suspect that you will be able to run at about 1400 to 1500 RPM.. Not sure how much effect your UV system will have on water flow.. You will just have to experiment and see..

Speed wise, you just need to slowly reduce the pump speed until the SWCG's red low flow light just comes on.. Then increase the speed by about 200 RPM.. The green flow light should be on, and that would be the slowest speed you ever want to run. Why run the pump if you are not making chlorine.

If your SWCG is working, and you are skimming ok, there is almost no reason to run faster.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thank you - I’ll do some experimenting with the lower speeds

 

[pjt]

I've gotten my pool chemistry dialed in

How are you testing?

what to set my SWG run time to in terms of my pump speeds and run time.

Run your pump at the lowest speed that still satisfies operating requirements (SWCG flow switch closed, skimmers skimming, etc.).

SWG has been at 60% 24 hours a day

That should produce ~6 FC every day. Better to be on the high side than the low side.

I was running it higher during the day to help circulate water when it is really hot out and getting lots of direct sunlight.

Doesn't make a difference. If you want to operate 24/7 (which I recommend), run your pump as slow as possible while still achieving your goals. I like the constant skimming, chlorination, circulation, and filtering. Each pool is different, but I can operate at 1,000 RPM (~70 Watts) which costs ~$5/month. I bump up the speed only to operate my heat pump and water features.

Paramount UltraUV2 Sanitizer

I hate to tell you this, but this isn't doing anything for you except consume FC. We get ample free UV from the sun.

Beatbot AquaSense Robotic Pool Cleaner

How do you like the robot? This is one of the models I'm considering when my current robot reaches the end of its service life.

 

[alvindo]

I run mine at 100 rpm over the minimum it takes for my swcg to kick on. I did this for 24 hours. I do run it higher from about four hours each late morning to mid afternoon, if I need to run the heater/chiller.

I figured out that on a normal summer day I lose about 2ppm of chlorine during the peak sun times. So I set my swg at 20% which for my pool replaces that 2ppm. I bump it up if I know we’re having people over. But figuring out how much FC I lose due to sunlight and how much I replenish at each 10% interval has been a huge help for me.

 

[Jquinby]

We run our VS pump 24/7, but only at full power 3 times during the day for short periods for maximum skimmer action (this is a windy/debris/buggy time of the year here). The rest of the time it's running medium/low. We run our SWG at night and schedule the pump to run just fast enough to keep it happy and generating.

 

[atx78704pool]

atx,

I run at 1200 RPM unless I have a reason to run faster..

I run at 2100 when the wife I and want use our pool floats, so we have that lazy river kind of motion. I run at 2800 when I want to use my waterfalls, which is almost never..

I don't understand how running at 2750 makes much of a difference in water temp..

Do you notice any difference when running at 2750 vs running at 1850??

You have a 2 HP pump and a large Cartridge filter.. I suspect that you will be able to run at about 1400 to 1500 RPM.. Not sure how much effect your UV system will have on water flow.. You will just have to experiment and see..

Speed wise, you just need to slowly reduce the pump speed until the SWCG's red low flow light just comes on.. Then increase the speed by about 200 RPM.. The green flow light should be on, and that would be the slowest speed you ever want to run. Why run the pump if you are not making chlorine.

If your SWCG is working, and you are skimming ok, there is almost no reason to run faster.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks -

How are you testing?

Using a TF-100 Test Kit

Run your pump at the lowest speed that still satisfies operating requirements (SWCG flow switch closed, skimmers skimming, etc.).


That should produce ~6 FC every day. Better to be on the high side than the low side.


Doesn't make a difference. If you want to operate 24/7 (which I recommend), run your pump as slow as possible while still achieving your goals. I like the constant skimming, chlorination, circulation, and filtering. Each pool is different, but I can operate at 1,000 RPM (~70 Watts) which costs ~$5/month. I bump up the speed only to operate my heat pump and water features.


I hate to tell you this, but this isn't doing anything for you except consume FC. We get ample free UV from the sun.

Makes sense - I'll see about removing it from the loop.

How do you like the robot? This is one of the models I'm considering when my current robot reaches the end of its service life.

I've been happy with it. Much easier to deal with than the Dolphin and hose in the way.

 

[atx78704pool]

I run mine at 100 rpm over the minimum it takes for my swcg to kick on. I did this for 24 hours. I do run it higher from about four hours each late morning to mid afternoon, if I need to run the heater/chiller.

I figured out that on a normal summer day I lose about 2ppm of chlorine during the peak sun times. So I set my swg at 20% which for my pool replaces that 2ppm. I bump it up if I know we’re having people over. But figuring out how much FC I lose due to sunlight and how much I replenish at each 10% interval has been a huge help for me.

So to figure that out, would the easiest thing just be to measure FC consecutive days in the morning and compare? Then set SWG to replenish that amount?

 

[atx78704pool]

We run our VS pump 24/7, but only at full power 3 times during the day for short periods for maximum skimmer action (this is a windy/debris/buggy time of the year here). The rest of the time it's running medium/low. We run our SWG at night and schedule the pump to run just fast enough to keep it happy and generating.

Thanks for the input

 

[pjt]

Using a TF-100 Test Kit

Add that to your signature. Do you have a SpeedStir?

 

[atx78704pool]

Add that to your signature. Do you have a SpeedStir?

I don't have a SpeedStir - but that looks like it would be nice to have. I'm gonna order one!

 

[alvindo]

So to figure that out, would the easiest thing just be to measure FC consecutive days in the morning and compare?

You could do that and if you weren’t at your targeted amount adjust up or down accordingly. I was a little OCD about it though. To learn my pool, I’d test first thing in the morning and then again in the evening. I adjusted my run times so that in the mornings I’m at the higher end of the FC/CYA range. Then with sun burn off and our normal use, maybe I drop 1-2 ppm by night time. But by morning I’m right back.

My initial error was targeting the bottom of the FC/cya range and then the sun, lotion, and swimmers would knock me below the ideal range by evening. Especially if we had people over. Now I try and shoot for 7-8 ppm in the morning. Then if we have people over I bump up the swg % based on how how many people are coming over.

But that’s based on my CYA. Your levels should be based on your CYA. Don’t be afraid of overshooting the target a little bit either. I learned the hard way that it’s better to 1-2 ppm too much chlorine than be too low 1-2 ppm.

 

[atx78704pool]

You could do that and if you weren’t at your targeted amount adjust up or down accordingly. I was a little OCD about it though. To learn my pool, I’d test first thing in the morning and then again in the evening. I adjusted my run times so that in the mornings I’m at the higher end of the FC/CYA range. Then with sun burn off and our normal use, maybe I drop 1-2 ppm by night time. But by morning I’m right back.

My initial error was targeting the bottom of the FC/cya range and then the sun, lotion, and swimmers would knock me below the ideal range by evening. Especially if we had people over. Now I try and shoot for 7-8 ppm in the morning. Then if we have people over I bump up the swg % based on how how many people are coming over.

But that’s based on my CYA. Your levels should be based on your CYA. Don’t be afraid of overshooting the target a little bit either. I learned the hard way that it’s better to 1-2 ppm too much chlorine than be too low 1-2 ppm.

Yeah, I'm finding in this process of taking over care for my pool from a company - that it's been hard to keep my chlorine levels up. I put a gallon of liquid chlorine in yesterday morning (started at 1 on my test) - and assumed by this morning I would be sitting in the 4-5 range, but only 1 again this morning. The sun has been really brutal here the last few days so I assume that is part of it, but maybe I need to increase my SWG up some too from where I have it? I mean how often should I be needing to add liquid chlorine to my pool to keep up? Obviously not daily (or at least I would not think so, but I'm still very much learning all this).

 

[alvindo]

Yeah, I'm finding in this process of taking over care for my pool from a company - that it's been hard to keep my chlorine levels up. I put a gallon of liquid chlorine in yesterday morning (started at 1 on my test) - and assumed by this morning I would be sitting in the 4-5 range, but only 1 again this morning. The sun has been really brutal here the last few days so I assume that is part of it, but maybe I need to increase my SWG up some too from where I have it? I mean how often should I be needing to add liquid chlorine to my pool to keep up? Obviously not daily (or at least I would not think so, but I'm still very much learning all this).

Once my pool was up and running, I’ve only ever added liquid chlorine when I slammed. My pool is covered most of the time and I live in Maryland where the sun isn’t as tough as Texas. At a CYA of 80, I’d have thought you’d be okay. Have you done an OCLT? I would add enough liquid to get you to your target, based on pool math, an hour before the sun goes down. Then I’d test after an hour, turn of the swcg, and test in the morning to see what you OCLT does. I am not an expert though. Hopefully one of the experts here can weigh in and give you better advice.

I’d also play around with pool math app to see how much chlorine your swcg generates based on your run time and percentage. A gallon of bleach would add about 4ppm I think. So if you added that and then looked at how much your swcg is making, you’d have an idea of how much FC you went through.