Hi. Brand new pool owner here...just starting to learn...so I've got some questions that are likely pretty basic for the veterans in the crowd. Apologies in advance for my ignorance! I've read through all the Pool School articles and browsed the forums and wikis, but some foundational questions still linger.
Essentially, I'm trying to understand how all the equipment interacts together to produce the desired results, and then how I should program/automate everything with my IntelliCenter.
I've got a pretty good grasp on my filter, so no issues there.
And I understand from Pool School that my SWG produces FC when my pump is running (according to the SWG % setting that I select).
And obviously I know what a heater does
But setting everything up efficiently and effectively remains a bit of a mystery. For example...
For the pump:
-I've heard that the SWG will not kick in unless the pump is running at a certain speed, but I can't find anything further on this. Is there any truth to this? If so, what speed should I be running it on?
-I'm also not sure what would be the best set-up in terms of run time. I understand the principles of running it long enough for the SWG to produce sufficient FC and keep the pool free of debris (and the recommendation of starting with 8 hours/day at lower speeds). I've also spoken with people who swear by running the pump 24/7 to produce FC more evenly over time, and I note that Pool School states "With a salt water pool, chlorine is typically added all day (running the pump 24/7) at slow speeds, with the SWG constantly adding chlorine, hence the likelihood of algae is greatly reduced". Should I be interpreting this quotation as I should be running my pump 24/7 and, if so, at what speed (or should I set it up to run at different speeds at different times)? Really struggling to understand the tipping point between keeping the pool sanitized / clean and paying unnecessarily for electricity consumption!
-Others have recommended to me to run the pump for 8 hours (or whatever it takes) overnight when electricity is cheapest, and also when actively using the pool to keep the circulation flowing, which makes sense to me.
-Finally, I take it that I should be running the pump while/after adding any and all chemicals, correct? I gather that higher speeds will obviously distribute the chemicals quicker, but am I correct in assuming there is no need to crank the pump up faster if I am in no rush for the chemicals to work their magic (e.g. adding chemicals in the evening once all finished with swimming for the day)? And is 30 minutes enough to mix everything in?
Now, for the heater:
-I read somewhere (can't remember where, but it was before I discovered TFP) that the SWG only produced FC when the water temperature is above ~66 deg. Any truth to that? If so, I assume I should be programming my heater to keep the water temp at this level as a bare minimum? (really only applicable in early-Spring / late-Fall where I live when I'm trying to squeeze out that last bit of swim time during the shoulder seasons!).
-As a steady state though (e.g. throughout the summer when air/water temps are naturally warmer), are there any best practices for heater programming (e.g. set it to come on at a certain time and to a certain temp everyday, or just turn it on manually a few hours before wanting to take a dip)? I do have a solar blanket which I use regularly to preserve heat.
-Finally, a local pool store told me that the pump needs to be running for at least 5 minutes before the heater is turned on, and remain running for 5 minutes after the heater is turned off, or else there is a risk that the heater could cause damage to the PVC pipes with no water circulation. They even had a picture of a melted pipe as evidence. I asked around and none of my pool-owning friends had ever heard of that. Any truth to this, or was the store cherry-picking a one-off example as a cautionary tale? They used this example as justification for keeping the pump running 24/7...they didn't try to sell me anything related.
Like I said at the beginning of this post (which turned out to be longer than I intended - sorry!), I'm really just trying to get a baseline for how to set everything up. I'm sure I'll become more comfortable with my equipment and able to make adjustments with time. But, for now, I'm hoping to better understand the basics of how the components interact so I don't program things in a way that is unnecessary or counterproductive.
Lots of questions here, so if anyone can point me to a good article, forum post, YouTube video, etc that explains some of this, that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.
Essentially, I'm trying to understand how all the equipment interacts together to produce the desired results, and then how I should program/automate everything with my IntelliCenter.
I've got a pretty good grasp on my filter, so no issues there.
And I understand from Pool School that my SWG produces FC when my pump is running (according to the SWG % setting that I select).
And obviously I know what a heater does
But setting everything up efficiently and effectively remains a bit of a mystery. For example...
For the pump:
-I've heard that the SWG will not kick in unless the pump is running at a certain speed, but I can't find anything further on this. Is there any truth to this? If so, what speed should I be running it on?
-I'm also not sure what would be the best set-up in terms of run time. I understand the principles of running it long enough for the SWG to produce sufficient FC and keep the pool free of debris (and the recommendation of starting with 8 hours/day at lower speeds). I've also spoken with people who swear by running the pump 24/7 to produce FC more evenly over time, and I note that Pool School states "With a salt water pool, chlorine is typically added all day (running the pump 24/7) at slow speeds, with the SWG constantly adding chlorine, hence the likelihood of algae is greatly reduced". Should I be interpreting this quotation as I should be running my pump 24/7 and, if so, at what speed (or should I set it up to run at different speeds at different times)? Really struggling to understand the tipping point between keeping the pool sanitized / clean and paying unnecessarily for electricity consumption!
-Others have recommended to me to run the pump for 8 hours (or whatever it takes) overnight when electricity is cheapest, and also when actively using the pool to keep the circulation flowing, which makes sense to me.
-Finally, I take it that I should be running the pump while/after adding any and all chemicals, correct? I gather that higher speeds will obviously distribute the chemicals quicker, but am I correct in assuming there is no need to crank the pump up faster if I am in no rush for the chemicals to work their magic (e.g. adding chemicals in the evening once all finished with swimming for the day)? And is 30 minutes enough to mix everything in?
Now, for the heater:
-I read somewhere (can't remember where, but it was before I discovered TFP) that the SWG only produced FC when the water temperature is above ~66 deg. Any truth to that? If so, I assume I should be programming my heater to keep the water temp at this level as a bare minimum? (really only applicable in early-Spring / late-Fall where I live when I'm trying to squeeze out that last bit of swim time during the shoulder seasons!).
-As a steady state though (e.g. throughout the summer when air/water temps are naturally warmer), are there any best practices for heater programming (e.g. set it to come on at a certain time and to a certain temp everyday, or just turn it on manually a few hours before wanting to take a dip)? I do have a solar blanket which I use regularly to preserve heat.
-Finally, a local pool store told me that the pump needs to be running for at least 5 minutes before the heater is turned on, and remain running for 5 minutes after the heater is turned off, or else there is a risk that the heater could cause damage to the PVC pipes with no water circulation. They even had a picture of a melted pipe as evidence. I asked around and none of my pool-owning friends had ever heard of that. Any truth to this, or was the store cherry-picking a one-off example as a cautionary tale? They used this example as justification for keeping the pump running 24/7...they didn't try to sell me anything related.
Like I said at the beginning of this post (which turned out to be longer than I intended - sorry!), I'm really just trying to get a baseline for how to set everything up. I'm sure I'll become more comfortable with my equipment and able to make adjustments with time. But, for now, I'm hoping to better understand the basics of how the components interact so I don't program things in a way that is unnecessary or counterproductive.
Lots of questions here, so if anyone can point me to a good article, forum post, YouTube video, etc that explains some of this, that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.
