How long/speed to run SuperFlo VS pump?

[o2_intake]

All season
Inground
35,000k gallon

Currently pump at default of:

S1 Duration 2 hr 3000 rpm
S2 Duration 10 hr 1400 rpm
S3 Duration 2 hr 2200 rpm

I get that you want to run fast at first for skimming purposes... but why does it go slow than faster again? Wouldn't decreasing speed as time goes on be better?

Also, how long is a good time to run each speeds? Isn't 14 hours excessive, especially if we got the VS to save electric costs.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Some folks SWG requires a faster speed to work. Others like to see continuous movement and filtering of the water. Skimmer action is important to those with tree debris so they run it for that.

If you don't want to run it 14 hours you don't have to. At low speeds it shouldn't be too costly so it allows for more time on. Your call If you notice a lessening in your water quality you can tweak it.

Maddie

 

[Jimrahbe]

02,

Here is my standard answer to your question followed by a couple of comments...

Each pool is a little different... You generally run a pump for three reasons:

1. To keep surface debris moving and being pushed into the skimmers. The more debris the more often you need to run the pump.

2. If you have a Salt Water Chlorine Generator (SWCG), or a 3" tab dispenser (Ugh!!), you'll need to run it long enough to generate the amount of chlorine needed.

3. To circulate the water to ensure the chlorine is effectively distributed throughout the pool. Three or four hours per day is all that is needed for this to happen in most pools.

For reference, I can run my pump at 1,200 RPM, 24/7 for less than $20 bucks a month.. Your pump should be about the same.

I currently run at 1,200 RPM to allow my SWCG to work and at 1,400 a few times a day to help with the skimming. I also run for about 15 minutes a day at 2,700 to flush the pipes in my waterfall wall. So, 90% of the time I run at 1,200 RPM. At those speeds my pool works perfectly for me...

You need to find what works perfectly for you. I suggest you reprogram your pump and see what works for you. I'd run as slow as you want for say 8 hours and see what happens, and then adjust from there.

My filter pressure is only about 2 PSI when running at 1,200. This is perfectly fine.. the lower the pressure the better, as long as you have good flow going back to your pool.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[o2_intake]

02,

Here is my standard answer to your question followed by a couple of comments...

Each pool is a little different... You generally run a pump for three reasons:

1. To keep surface debris moving and being pushed into the skimmers. The more debris the more often you need to run the pump.

2. If you have a Salt Water Chlorine Generator (SWCG), or a 3" tab dispenser (Ugh!!), you'll need to run it long enough to generate the amount of chlorine needed.

3. To circulate the water to ensure the chlorine is effectively distributed throughout the pool. Three or four hours per day is all that is needed for this to happen in most pools.

For reference, I can run my pump at 1,200 RPM, 24/7 for less than $20 bucks a month.. Your pump should be about the same.

I currently run at 1,200 RPM to allow my SWCG to work and at 1,400 a few times a day to help with the skimming. I also run for about 15 minutes a day at 2,700 to flush the pipes in my waterfall wall. So, 90% of the time I run at 1,200 RPM. At those speeds my pool works perfectly for me...

You need to find what works perfectly for you. I suggest you reprogram your pump and see what works for you. I'd run as slow as you want for say 8 hours and see what happens, and then adjust from there.

My filter pressure is only about 2 PSI when running at 1,200. This is perfectly fine.. the lower the pressure the better, as long as you have good flow going back to your pool.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

I read " Three or four hours per day" seems sufficient elsewhere as well.. but it never says at what speed. 4 hours at 1200 rpm circulates much less water than 4 hours at 2200.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Jimrahbe]

02,

It does not really matter...

For the distribution of your sanitization (chlorine) a little circulation is just as good as a lot of circulation.

If you want to experiment you can run your pump at 1,000 RPM... Add Liquid Chlorine at one end of the pool and wait half an hour, then check the FC level at both ends.. do it again at the hour mark, then again in another hour.. etc. See what differences you get, if any..

Not sure how you are chlorinating your pool, but as I said above, if you are using 3" tabs, you have to run it long enough to add the amount of chlorine you need. Most of us here either use Liquid Chlorine or SWG's..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[o2_intake]

Currently set it at 2500rpm 2 hours and 1100rpm for 2 hours, let's see how it goes.

 

[randytsuch]

Currently set it at 2500rpm 2 hours and 1100rpm for 2 hours, let's see how it goes.

35000 gal is a big pool, I would expect you want to run it a lot longer at the low speed.
I have a 20,000 gal pool, give or take, and am running my VSP at 1000 for 12 hours and at 1500 for 2 hours, and water looks good.
I think this will cost about $4.40 a month to run, using DWP rates.

Randy

 

[Jimrahbe]

35000 gal is a big pool, I would expect you want to run it a lot longer at the low speed.
I have a 20,000 gal pool, give or take, and am running my VSP at 1000 for 12 hours and at 1500 for 2 hours, and water looks good.
I think this will cost about $4.40 a month to run, using DWP rates.

Randy

Randy,

Curious why you think the OP should run his pump longer?? What would be the advantage?

I run my pump a lot longer, but mainly because I have a SWCG.

You may well be correct, just looking for a rational reason.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[o2_intake]

35000 gal is a big pool, I would expect you want to run it a lot longer at the low speed.
I have a 20,000 gal pool, give or take, and am running my VSP at 1000 for 12 hours and at 1500 for 2 hours, and water looks good.
I think this will cost about $4.40 a month to run, using DWP rates.

Randy

Does yours skim at the 1500 and 1000 rpm? I made mine at 2500 for 2 hrs just to skim, than 1100 just to move water. For my pool, anything lower than ~1800, the dust just goes toward, but passed the skimmer.

 

[Jimrahbe]

O2,

My pool skims fine at 1,200 and slightly better at 1,400...

But that is the whole point.. Each pool is a little different and you need to find the speed, or speeds, that work best for you.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[randytsuch]

Randy,

Curious why you think the OP should run his pump longer?? What would be the advantage?

I run my pump a lot longer, but mainly because I have a SWCG.

You may well be correct, just looking for a rational reason.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Well I may be running my pool longer than I need to, but since its not costing very much to run, and it looks good, I don't mind.

I actually may change to run at a higher speed for skimming for 2 hours, and maybe cut back on the low speed time.

But I just thought for that size pool, didn't seem like enough pump run time at those speeds.

Randy