Need new pump: VS with solar panels?

[1poolman1]

That's good news since that's exactly what I have, a Intermatic mechanical timer. I just placed the order, so hoping to have this setup working in a couple weeks. Thanks for all the help!

The instructions will say to have the trippers right next to each other. Better to have the off tripper about 1/2hr. ahead of the on. As they wear, Intermatic timers tend to get "stuck" if the trippers are too close to each other. You'll understand if you watch the video. Once you get this set up, remember to only use the "start & stop" buttons on the motor when doing service, like filter cleanings, etc. Otherwise you interfere with the cycle. Not really a big thing, just needs "getting used to" and the cycle will reset the next day. After your initial setup you should never need to touch your time clock except to re-set the time for DST or a power outage.

 

[John Rock]

That's good news since that's exactly what I have, a Intermatic mechanical timer. I just placed the order, so hoping to have this setup working in a couple weeks. Thanks for all the help!

So I installed the new V-Green 165 motor, which went without a hitch.

Here are my observations so far:

1. It is very loud at full speed, so if I needed to run this like a single speed, I would probably try something else.
2. I don't know if it's a power thing, but I noticed that my sand filter pressure got high within a day after backwash, to a point where I had to backwash because I was getting low flow in the returns. My pool wasn't clear and the pollen and tree debris was intense, but I had to backwash everyday to maintain flow, always at top speed of course.
3. I'm able to prime my solar panels.
4. I was able to make it work with my solar controller as planned. I used the 12v+ out from the motor as the STEP 2 in, so by default it runs at that set speed. I then run that same 12v+ to the solar controller and it sends the signal back when it's ON, going to STEP 3. So I have a dual speed setup going on, with the option to shut it all down via the Intermatic timer if that becomes part of the plan.

Now that my pool is clear, I'm starting with this setup to see:

1. When solar is working, speed is 3100 (I would like to bring this down as low as possible to mitigate motor noise)
2. When solar is NOT working, speed is 1800 (goal here is to make sure I always get the min. required pool circulation in 24h)

There's no science to this however, so if someone has a better suggestion for my pool, I'm all ears, thanks!