How do you "tune" a Variable Speed Pump?

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RichTJ99

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Sep 16, 2016
273
Katonah NY
Hi,

So i am in the process of changing some pool equipment & was reading about the VS pumps. I have an Iaqualink computer for the pool & Jandy told me that all VS pumps have a low voltage 4 wire adapter which I can plug into the Iaqualink.

They said when the booster pump is scheduled, the Iaqualink can change the pump settings to 3000RPM & slow it down to 1200 RPM after. If the spa is turned on it can change the speed to 2500 RPM & then back to a lower speed after.

Sounds great to me.

My question is - how do I know the 'proper' speed for the pump when in slow mode? Slow enough to keep the water flowing but fast enough to keep cleaning the water through the filter?

I am a little confused.

I have a 40K gallon pool, 2 skimmers on the side of the pool, 2" pipe & a current 2HP motor (not sure if that is the right one).

Thanks,
Rich
 
For just skimming most settle around 1100 to 1200 RPM all you need is enough movement that debris will make it into the skimmer. I have mine at 1150 rpm at that speed it takes about 5 min to go from stand still to the surface completly skimmed off. about 80% of the debris is skimmed in the first couple minutes. For my Polaris with booster I run at 2200RPM you don't have to run at 3000 for the booster to work.
 
One thing you should look for when operating on lower speeds is that the water goes over the skimmer weir door instead of around the sides.
 
You can also throw a few leaves in the pool and see how they move as long as they make it to the skimmer you are good. At lower speeds a VS pump will pull about 1 AMP so you could run 24 hours if you want many do just that thought it is not necessary. 4 to 8 hours will usually suffice.
 
I was reading about the VS pump. Does this sound right?

Current Pump: 29 kWh per day
30 days @ $0.11
$95.63 per month (using 5 months)

$478.17 per year

New Pump: 1.74 kWh per day
30 days @ $0.11
$5.63 per month (using 5 months)

$28.71 per year

Pentair Intelifo
3450 RPM
Intelliflo: 97 GPM, 2720 Watts, 2.14 Gallons/Watt-hr
1000 RPM
Intelliflo: 30 GPM, 140 Watts, 12.86 Gallons/Watt-hr

Cost:
Single speed pump replacement: $500
Variable Speed Pump Replacement: $900

Pays for itself in less than 2 years.
 
RichTJ99 said:
Hi,

So i am in the process of changing some pool equipment & was reading about the VS pumps. I have an Iaqualink computer for the pool & Jandy told me that all VS pumps have a low voltage 4 wire adapter which I can plug into the Iaqualink.

They said when the booster pump is scheduled, the Iaqualink can change the pump settings to 3000RPM & slow it down to 1200 RPM after. If the spa is turned on it can change the speed to 2500 RPM & then back to a lower speed after.

Sounds great to me.

My question is - how do I know the 'proper' speed for the pump when in slow mode? Slow enough to keep the water flowing but fast enough to keep cleaning the water through the filter?

I am a little confused.

I have a 40K gallon pool, 2 skimmers on the side of the pool, 2" pipe & a current 2HP motor (not sure if that is the right one).

Thanks,
Rich
Click to expand...

Its not one size fits all as chlorinators and heater require a min flow to function properly or they will shut off.

One answer is the minimum speed needed to run all of your gear.

One answer for simple skimming I use is that I turn the pump down till I can just make out 3 "harmonics" in the incoming water into the skimmer.

Which in my pool is about 165 watts.

This is minimum effective speed I can and effectively skim.

UD
 
Dave,

I see in your sig you have a Jandy RS8, I have a RS4. I called tech support & they said that I can set the Jandy so:

Normal operation - (Jandy changes pump to 1100RPM)
Pool Heater on - (Jandy changes pump to 2000 RPM)
Spa mode - (Jandy changes pump to 3000 RPM (or appropriate)
Cleaning Mode - (Jandy changes pump to 2500RPM).

They made it sound like i change the mode in one touch that the RPM would automatically adjust. All controlled from a plug (4 wire) that goes from the pump to the RS4 Jandy.

Is that correct?

Thanks,
Rich2017-06-06 19.59.20.jpg

Davegvg said:
Its not one size fits all as chlorinators and heater require a min flow to function properly or they will shut off.

One answer is the minimum speed needed to run all of your gear.

One answer for simple skimming I use is that I turn the pump down till I can just make out 3 "harmonics" in the incoming water into the skimmer.

Which in my pool is about 165 watts.

This is minimum effective speed I can and effectively skim.

UD
Click to expand...
 
RichTJ99 said:
I was reading about the VS pump. Does this sound right?

Current Pump: 29 kWh per day
30 days @ $0.11
$95.63 per month (using 5 months)

$478.17 per year

New Pump: 1.74 kWh per day
30 days @ $0.11
$5.63 per month (using 5 months)

$28.71 per year

Pentair Intelifo
3450 RPM
Intelliflo: 97 GPM, 2720 Watts, 2.14 Gallons/Watt-hr
1000 RPM
Intelliflo: 30 GPM, 140 Watts, 12.86 Gallons/Watt-hr

Cost:
Single speed pump replacement: $500
Variable Speed Pump Replacement: $900

Pays for itself in less than 2 years.
Click to expand...
What are you assuming for runtime of both pumps? Most single speeds on a typical pool need only a couple of hours per day.
 
RichTJ99 said:
Dave,

I see in your sig you have a Jandy RS8, I have a RS4. I called tech support & they said that I can set the Jandy so:

Normal operation - (Jandy changes pump to 1100RPM)
Pool Heater on - (Jandy changes pump to 2000 RPM)
Spa mode - (Jandy changes pump to 3000 RPM (or appropriate)
Cleaning Mode - (Jandy changes pump to 2500RPM).

They made it sound like i change the mode in one touch that the RPM would automatically adjust. All controlled from a plug (4 wire) that goes from the pump to the RS4 Jandy.

Is that correct?

Thanks,
RichView attachment 62995
Click to expand...

Hmm.. I have to set everything manually.

I have all 2" plumbing and sweeps vs 90's and a large sand filter all adding up to pretty good flow.

My min useable skim RPM is 1550 so I think Jandys default 1100 is a pipe dream for most pools- oh... you can turn it down that far, but you'll get squat for skimming.

Solar and heating are 2750 and 3000 watts respectively. The faster you move the water the more effective they are.

2500 is s decent speed for cleaning and will work with most cleaners.


Dave
 

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I run my Intelliflo at 1100 rpm for skimming, filtering, making chlorine with the SWG and solar standby. It uses 150 watts. I run it at 1950 rpm for solar and it uses 550 watts.
 
From what I remember the intelliflow has a more efficient curve than the EPump and it moves more water at a lower RPM.

Solar wants X amount of flow per panel - in my case I have 12 panels each sweet spot is 4 GPM so 48 GPM is optimum.

The really high end pentair the VF will give you a GPM number whereas I used a Blue and White flow gauge to setup the RPM to try to match 48 GPM.

That B&W gauge failed in the most bizarre way Ive ever seen the pip that measures flow simply vanished - gone.
Im going to replace it with a newer type gauge Ive seen online.

UD
 
Low speed skimming is far more sensitive to filter pressure build up than full speed skimming.

The reason I allow 3 lines of harmonics is that if I only allow one as the filter pressure build the skimming ceases.

I set the pump to see 3 after a backwash at 2 I know I'm starting to load up, and when Im down to one its about time to backwash again.

This usually works out to be about 60% above the starting pressure.

UD
 
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