High speed or Low?

[tcat]

Century B2982 motor. I'm new to 2 speed motors.

High (7.4 amps):
Run 3-4 hours
Better skimming action, Poolskim "cyclones" (quite amazing)
Better circulation
Filter pressure 25 psi

Low (1.4 amps):
Run 8-9 hours
Main skimmer doesn't do a thing, Poolskim "works"
Could be stagnant areas?
Filter pressure 8 psi
A little cheaper to run, even 9 hours.

Which one is best? Better motor life? Better filtering? Better chemical dispersal? What is "normal" for those that have a 2 speed motor?

 

[karmabiker]

Low - for the WAAAAY better electric bill.

... and supposedly the filter works better on low.

 

[Donldson]

You will still have a decent amount of circulation in your pool on low, stagnant areas shouldn't be a problem. I run mine 24/7, which is overkill I know but it actually uses less power than if I ran high for 4 hours so I figure why not. The main skimmer will still work just fine, I have to empty my basket every day, and with the pool skim you shouldn't have a problem.

If in doubt give it a week or two and see what you think of the results.

 

[tcat]

Low is what I figured, what's to point of a two speed pump if it wasn't better on low. Actually my skimmer does not do much on low, I can place a cottonwood tree cotton (it's like a feather) 3" in front of the skimmer and it won't get sucked in. Anything within an inch normally goes in, but that's not much. The Poolskim is what gets 80%, main skimmer 10%, left in pool 10% (new stuff), that's on low. Think I'll set mine at 10 hours 10am-8pm.

I forgot to turn off my DIY chlorinator, ran my pump on high for an hour and sucked about 3 quarts of Clorox into the pool. I would guess my FC is at least 10-12. No harm in that, right? Just go without for a couple days (normal is 4-6).

 

[mas985]

Low speed will save more money in energy cost but you also have to take into account other requirements. I find skimming is somewhat diminished on low speed as well and most of the skimming will occur in the first hour anyway so running on high speed for an hour to get good skimming and cleaner action might be a solution which is what I do. There is diminishing return after the first hour so then it might make sense to switch to low speed after that for just circulation and chlorination.

 

[mpnret]

In NJ I pay .16 per KW. based on that and 5 hours high/10 hours low it looks like you would save about 50 cents a day by using low. Guess you have to decide if 50 cents/day is worth it for the main skimmer to work and the better poolskim performance.

 

[tcat]

Yeah, I'm beginning to think worrying about electricity is more an A/C thing than a pool pump thing. Maybe I save $1-$2 per month on low, that wasn't much of concern. My recent usage:

 

[linen]

High speed is also for vacuuming.

 

[tcat]

What's that? Aquabot 4WD

High speed is also for vacuuming.

 

[mpnret]

Yeah, I'm beginning to think worrying about electricity is more an A/C thing than a pool pump thing. Maybe I save $1-$2 per month on low, that wasn't much of concern.

I know it's that way for me. My 1hp super pump II (single speed) is only costing me about 35 cents a day to run. On the other hand my central A/C can add hundreds of dollars to my bill per month.

 

[karmabiker]

Craziness... I guess it really does depend on the pool and plumbing. On high mine costs well north of a buck a day, on low - less than 30 cents. Pressure on low is 4psi, on high is 28 ... small pipes and at least a couple of hack job repairs along the way (that I have identified so far).

 

[mas985]

It is somewhat counter intuitive but smaller/higher head loss plumbing results in lower power consumption from a pool pump. It is only when the pool owner compensates for the lower flow rates with longer run times, that it becomes more expensive.

 

[tcat]

So I think this is correct (at 12 cents per KW):

Low, 1.4A x 240V = .336 KW x .12 = 4 cents x 8 hours = 32 cents per day

High, 7.4A x 240V = 1.78 KW x.12 = 21 cents x 4 hours = 82 cents per day

So an extra $15/mo to run on high.

Cost to "run" my pool: $10 Elec + $18 (7-121oz. Clorox) + $6 (1 gallon MA) = $34.00 per month!
(plus "incidentals" like floats, beer, robot, 15 minutes per week "labor")

Thank you BBB and TFP!