Freeze protection temperature setting?

[stephenson]

Hi All,

Location is north west Florida - we have the occasional freeze.

I have adjusted my Hayward controller to run the pump on low speed at 35F, but thought I would check with others in like mild climates. Our equipment is beside the house and is in a wind protected area. Pool water temp was around 50F.

A scenario might serve as a backdrop - last night's lowest temp was 32F, with yesterday's highs in sunny 50s. After touching 32F, the temp headed back up by 7 am and then in low 60s, today. In this sort of scenario is there really a threat to pump or above ground plumbing?

Could I simply run the pump on low speed from 10-11 pm? Are there other clever options to letting the system control at a preset temp?

 

[Silver_2000]

I have mine set to 35 degrees since the temp sensors are not 100% accurate - in the winter I turn the VSP down to 1000 rpm or so so they only use about 150 watts

 

[ajw22]

Equipment freezing does not know about wind and wind chill. Only actual temperature makes a difference.

To understand when you need to worry about the pool or equipment freezing read The Physics of Freezing and Freeze Protection.

Preparing Pool for Cooler Months - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Silver_2000]

Your link says "Wind Speed: Wind blowing over the pipe greatly increases the heat loss of the pipe."

which suggests wind would have some impact

 

[ajw22]

Your link says "Wind Speed: Wind blowing over the pipe greatly increases the heat loss of the pipe."

which suggests wind would have some impact

Wind will not get the temperature below the actual air temperature.

Pipe temp is 50F, air temp is 34F. Wind may accelerate pipe getting down to 34F but will not go below that and freeze.

Focus on actual air temperature and duration actual temperature is below freezing.

 

[KJB1]

I live in about the same climate. Last December our pool was filled and I didn’t know or even worry about freezing. Of course now that I read about it I am concerned. I plan to just run the pump on a timer from 6:00-7:30 or 8:00am. That’s usually the coldest time of the day right now and while not really needed it will put my mind at ease. Once every few years we get into the 20s I’ll probably just manually turn the pump on to run for a few hours if that happens. Our sprinkler valves with 3/4” pipe never have frozen so I think we are fine anyway.

 

[stephenson]

So, yes, AJW, I understand that point. Mine relates to speed of freezing in very light freeze areas.

Was looking for some low cost, low noise solutions (equipment is close enough to be heard from bedrooms) that recognize the different factors in this area. I previously had pool that I closed for winter - hated doing that as it was a PITA - here is easy enough to keep the pump running on low.

BTW - it occurs to me running on low from late evening to early morning may have some benefit - I won't hear it cycle as it did last night from off-on high speed prior to shifting to - low speed - back to off and repeat. I am assuming since so close to the set point that it generates a bit of heat, the OAT sensor picks up the change and hence, the cycling. Maybe not even much more cost as the high speed component only runs the single time as it preps for low speed.

 

[ajw22]

What model pump are we talking about?

Please create your signature with details of your pool and equipment so we can better provide pertinent advice.

On some VS pumps you can adjust the pump prime speed and prime time so it will not be so noisy when the pump starts.

 

[mas985]

A scenario might serve as a backdrop - last night's lowest temp was 32F, with yesterday's highs in sunny 50s. After touching 32F, the temp headed back up by 7 am and then in low 60s, today. In this sort of scenario is there really a threat to pump or above ground plumbing?

The plumbing will never freeze under those conditions.

We get temps well below that and I never use freeze protection. It takes many hours of sub freezing temps for water to even start to freeze. I cover many different scenarios in this thread:

The Physics of Freezing and Freeze Protection

Recently, there have been a lot of questions from those living in moderate climates about using automatic freeze protection or running pumps to prevent freezing and what a pool owner should do when temperatures drop so I thought it might be useful to have a thread which dealt with the issue from...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Silver_2000]

last winter I lost half my above ground plumbing because I couldn't run the pumps due to no power north of Dallas. So my pool is set to run at 33 degrees. A $3000 lesson not covered by ins ... Wind chill temps don't impact plumbing but wind will cool the plumbing faster ....

 

[mas985]

last winter I lost half my above ground plumbing because I couldn't run the pumps due to no power north of Dallas. So my pool is set to run at 33 degrees. A $3000 lesson not covered by ins ... Wind chill temps don't impact plumbing but wind will cool the plumbing faster ....

This is the biggest reason why I am not a big fan of using a pump to prevent freeze damage. Draining the pad equipment is far more effective, for equipment pads above water level, although not as convenient. But the conditions where the temperatures and duration are sufficient for freeze damage are usually pretty rare in moderate climates so they really should not occur all that often.

 

[Silver_2000]

I now know how easy it is to drain ... But at the time I was also distracted by keeping the house warm, feeding the grandkids who were here because we had a generator, keeping the house pipes from freezing. Next time Ill just flip the breakers and drain the pumps and the filter when the temps are going to be below 20 for any length of time. Ill also leave the freeze protection on. Im also stubborn enough to still prefer my pressure side cleaner rather than a robot. Less work. Just let it run ...