How long should I run my pump/SWG, what times, and what percentage?

[chiquilin94]

Hi TFP community, new pool owner here...

• How long should I run my VS pump? Any specific times you recommend? Is it better to run in the early morning or morning into day?
• At what percentage should I have my SWG set to?
• Any specific RPMs I should consider?
  • I currently have it at 1750.

 

[jgofnj]

It all depends. I am in NJ so it may not apply.

Right now I run my SWG (IC40) at 40% for 11 hours a day and Chlorine levels are steady and in the high end of the acceptable range. But come Late June/July, that will change (bump to 60%).

I run my VSP pump 11 hours a day 5 hours on around 1750 PRM and 6 hours on around 1200 RPM from 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM, then 1:00AM-2:00AM. This has been my sweet spot, my pool is always crystal clear and very clean.

I know a lot of people love to run their VSP 24 hours a day.

 

[PoolStored]

Hi TFP community, new pool owner here...

• How long should I run my VS pump? Any specific times you recommend? Is it better to run in the early morning or morning into day?

You run your pump to skim, chlorinate, heat, filter etc. How long to run depends on your situation.

I run 24/7 at 1750 (more on that later). It skims everything just fine, chlorinates, heats and filters. If you have different requirements (skimming action needs higher RPM for your satisfaction), then throw in a period of time that skims how you like.

The nice thing about 24/7 is you get very even chlorination, instead of ups an down with smaller run times.

• At what percentage should I have my SWG set to?

Know your daily FC demand for you pool and use Effects of Adding in Pool Math to set your % to keep your FC where it needs to be for your CYA
Link-->FC/CYA Levels

• Any specific RPMs I should consider?
  • I currently have it at 1750.

Clean your filter. (note your filter pressure so that you know your clean pressure). Turn on your SWG and your heater so both are running. Reduce your pump rpm until the heater turns off OR, the SWG turns off, due to low flow. Note that rpm. Add 100 RPM and then multiply by 1.1. This is your minimum RPM (more later). The 100 is to keep a buffer. The .1% increase is to accommodate a dirty filter and still allow the SWG and heater to run.

Example: You lowered your RPMs to 1200 and the heater kicked off. Add 100 = 1300. Then by 1.1 = 1430. Run your pump at 1450 ( round to nearest 50).

Clean your filter when pressure rises 25% from baseline clean filter. If you run at your min RPM (1450 in example) and do clean with 25% rise, your SWG and heater should always work. Doing this allow the filter to get dirty and the SWG and Heater to continue to work.

Running my 1750RPM for my heater and SWG costs me about $24 a month, 24/7.

 

[Jimrahbe]

94,

You need to run your SWCG long enough to make the amount of chlorine your pool uses each day. This depends on the size of your SWCG and the size of your pool. It is not magic, it is math..

It make no sense to me, to run your pump if you are not making any chlorine, so this means the speed of your pump has to be fast enough to turn on the cell's flow switch.

The rest is up to you.

Another reason to run the pump is to skim your pools surface. Normally, the time it take to generate the chlorine you need is more that enough to skim your pool.

One option is to run the cell at 100% output and the pump for the shortest amount of time it takes to make the chlorine you need. This option is what someone with a single speed pump would want to do.

Another option is to run the cell at lowest possible output, but run the pump 24/7 at a low RPM.

A third option is anything in between.

I personally love running 24/7 at 1200 RPM, most of the time. This allows me to make a little chlorine all the time, and skim all the time. I've been doing this for over 10 years and doubt that I will ever go back to starting and stopping my pump each day. The cost to run 24/7 is less than $20 bucks a month.

You will just have to experiment and figure out what works best for you.

Thanks,

Jim R.