My Filter Pump Only Runs on the Weekends - Figuring Out my Variable Speed Pump

[finley_pool]

This is yet another variation on a question that gets asked a lot (setting up a VS pump), but here goes:

I bought my house two years ago and just left all the pool equipment running the way it had been. I also kept the same pool cleaning service, which means a guy comes by every week and vacuums the bottom of the pool and adds chemicals if necessary. And frankly, the pool has been fine and clear.

But, I finally looked at how my Jandy ePump is programmed and it seemed odd. It's only set up to run from 9AM to 4PM on weekends at 2750 RPM. From what I've read, I would think you'd want the filter pump to run every day. Also 2750 RPM seems a bit high.

Here is some other information:
- The pool is 25 ' x 15' x 4', so shallow and about 11000 gallons in all.
- The pool has a solar cover that is basically on it whenever we aren't swimming, so not a lot of debris gets in it.
- I do always turn on the filter pump about an hour before we use it so that the hot water on top mixes with the cool water below. And then I turn it off when we are done.
- I have a big Jandy filter (CL460). The pressure gauge reads at 10 (clean) when the pump is running at 2750RPM. It reads at basically 0 when I experimented with 1550RPM.
- I have no idea what TDH is. The pipes to the pump run underground and they traverse about 40 feet.

Any thoughts? Should I be running the filter pump every day? Can I lower the RPM and save energy?

Thanks. I know everyone's busy, and any advice you can give me is greatly appreciated.

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
That would seem very odd to not run the pool pump, especially during summer, and not have any water clarity issues.
How do you chlorinate?
You should be able to reduce the pump speed depending on how you chlorinate. Also I would suggest running the pump at least 4-6 hours per day.
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry.

 

[HermanTX]

I have had 3 separate pool service man (over the past couple of years) state that you should run your pump 1 hr for every 10 degrees of temperature plus 1 to 2 hrs depending on pool size. So 90 deg weather means 9 hrs. plus 1 or 2 so min. 10 hrs. Not sure if this is a rule of thumb or based on data. Although it does make it easy to adjust your pump times as you move through the seasons. Submitted as a planning tool only.

 

[mknauss]

1 hr for every 10 degrees of temperature plus 1 to 2 hrs depending on pool size.

No science in that.
The primary reason to run a pool pump is to generate/distribute the chlorine and skim the surface. That can take a couple hours or more, depending on each situation. Brushing/running a robot that disturbs the wall areas is as important in keeping the pool clean.

 

[finley_pool]

Thank you for the replies!

Clearly I need to have a conversation with my pool service folks to see what they are doing.

What I believe is that they put chlorine in on Friday (but not sure in what form, if I had to guess I think liquid chlorine) and then the filter pump running on Friday afternoon and the weekends distributes it. I know sometimes they put acid in tool. That's also when they do the vacuuming of the walls and bottom (by vacuum, I mean they turn one of the valves to vacuum, which cause the filter pump to suck very hard through one port and they screw in what looks like a vaccuum).

I'll bump this thread again when I have the answer to: "How do you chlorinate?"

Thanks!

 

[mknauss]

You will need to decide if you are taking control of your pool and water chemistry or leaving it to a pool service.
To be honest, TFPC and a pool service do not mix. TFPC is based on pool owner testing and maintenance of their pool water.

 

[finley_pool]

Fair enough.

The truth is that I'll probably leave it to a pool service for the midterm. Nevertheless, just like my car, I like having some basic knowledge about how my pool is working and maintained. In particular, what sent me down this rabbit hole was that I was curious whether there were any potential energy savings in tuning my VS pump, and that's what lead me to discover this odd filter pump schedule.

Thanks again for your quick replies.