How to determine speeds and schedules for a variable speed pump

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P

poolnewbie4

0
Sep 20, 2018
66
N TN
Pool Size
20000
Surface
Fiberglass
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
I got a new variable speed pump installed a few weeks ago and I need to set the schedule and speeds now that I'm done with my SLAM. According to the manual of my new Pentair Superflo VST pump, the default schedule is as follows:

8 AM-10 AM - 3000 RPM
10 AM-8 PM - 1400 RPM
8 PM-10 PM - 2200 RPM
10 PM-8 AM - pump off

The manual says that this schedule is designed to provide sufficient daily turnover for a typical pool. How do I know if these speeds and schedule are sufficient for MY pool? I've got an 15x35 rectangular fiberglass pool with 2 returns and only one skimmer. I have no pool cleaning robot. I've got a few trees near our pool but the skimmer usually catched most of the debris when I had a single speed pump unless it was windy or stormy. I vacuum the pool out every 1-2 weeks if I'm not able to get debis out with a net. I've got no heater any more and no salt water generator. I'm chlorinating with liquid chlorine and add chlorine an hour before dark. After doing a search on here, I saw a post where someone suggested that you need to run the pump at a high enough speed to skim the surface. How do I determine how high of a speed I need to run it to sufficiently skim the surface? I don't have a robot and only have one skimmer, so I want to make sure that it skims well enough to get any debris that falls into the pool. I don't want to run the pump at night in case it is windy or stormy at night. The schedule Pentair suggested sounds good to me since the pump is off for 10 hours at night, speed is increased at 8 PM when I typically add chlorine, and its at a low speed during the majority of the day. I don't understand the need to have the pump at full speed (3000 RPM) from 8 AM - 10 AM though, so I'm curious to know if I need to do this or not. I got this variable speed pump because i want to save money on electricity so I don't want to run the pump at a higher speed than is necessary to adequately skim the surface.
 
poolnewbie4 said:
The manual says that this schedule is designed to provide sufficient daily turnover for a typical pool. How do I know if these speeds and schedule are sufficient for MY pool?
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They have nothing to do with your pool, it's environment, or the point in the season.

Run the pump for a reason, such as skimming. Start at low RPMs and increase 100 at a time to find when the weir door starts bobbing away. Add 100 RPMs to account for slightly less flow as the filter gets dirty. That's your skimming speed and run it anytime you wish to skim. Repeat for each function such as heating, swg, water features, etc.

Skimming/filtering change throughout the season. You need more time in the spring/fall with heavy crud falling and much less in the mod season.

*When* crud falls is almost as important. If the pump is off for 12 hours, that's a long time for it to be breezy to fill the pool with crud, and a long time for the crud to get waterlogged and sink. Many of us run 24/7 beacuse it's so cheap when running a low RPM.
 
4,

I run my VS pump 24/7, mostly at 1200 RPM.. To do this costs me less than $20 bucks a month.. I have a SWCG and like making a little chlorine all the time and skimming all the time. I also like the pool better when there a little motion to the water.

The idea that you have to "turnover" x amount of water per day is a very large myth... It is just not true.. Chemicals keep your pool sanitized and algae free.. The filter is only there to capture the things that fall into your pool and float. By the time algae starts collecting in the filter, you have already lost the algae war... :mrgreen:

I do not understand your concern about running at night. :scratch: It is your pool and you are free to run it anyway you want, but having the skimmer run overnight will just keep your pool cleaner and less stuff will drop to the floor.

There is zero reasons to run the pump anywhere near full speed unless you had a spa.. I ramp my speed up to about 2000 RPM, once a day, just to clear the air that collects in my pump basket, when I run at 1200 RPM.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
4,

I run my VS pump 24/7, mostly at 1200 RPM.. To do this costs me less than $20 bucks a month.. I have a SWCG and like making a little chlorine all the time and skimming all the time. I also like the pool better when there a little motion to the water.

The idea that you have to "turnover" x amount of water per day is a very large myth... It is just not true.. Chemicals keep your pool sanitized and algae free.. The filter is only there to capture the things that fall into your pool and float. By the time algae starts collecting in the filter, you have already lost the algae war... :mrgreen:

I do not understand your concern about running at night. :scratch: It is your pool and you are free to run it anyway you want, but having the skimmer run overnight will just keep your pool cleaner and less stuff will drop to the floor.

There is zero reasons to run the pump anywhere near full speed unless you had a spa.. I ramp my speed up to about 2000 RPM, once a day, just to clear the air that collects in my pump basket, when I run at 1200 RPM.

Thanks,

Jim
Click to expand...
I like to keep the pump off at night in case it is windy or stormy at night and the skimmer fills up with leaves or sticks. Our pump got damaged once because the skimmer filled up with leaves and it lost prime for a while and I didn't know that it had happened because it was nighttime. Ever since then, I'm leery about running the pump at night. I find that very few leaves fall to the floor at night unless it is windy.

If I wanted to run the pump for 14 hours during the day/early evening, and keep the pump off for 10 hours at night, should I just keep it at the same low speed for those 14 hours since I don't have a spa? Would it help distribute the chlorine better if I increased the speed when I typically add chlorine at night and keep it at that higher speed for several hours before the pump shuts off for the evening?
 
poolnewbie4 said:
should I just keep it at the same low speed for those 14 hours since I don't have a spa?
Click to expand...
Yes
poolnewbie4 said:
Would it help distribute the chlorine better if I increased the speed when I typically add chlorine at night and keep it at that higher speed for several hours before the pump shuts off for the evening?
Click to expand...
No
 
Most people shoot for about 8 hours per day. Seems plenty to clean the surface and bottom as well as mix chemicals assuming you run the speed at a modest rate. Do you have a way to convert RPM to GPM? A FlowVis?
 
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