Need suggestion on run times for Variable Speed pump

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S

Sangster

0
Oct 24, 2011
33
Pool Size
14000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair iChlor 30
Hi folks, I'm new.

We just moved into a rental with a 14k in-ground pool. It has a screened enclosure and we're in Florida.

The pump/filter/salt-water chlorinator is all new when we moved in. It's a Pentair SuperFlo VST Variable Speed Pump using a Pentair Clean N Clear RP cartridge filter. It has the Pentair iChlor Salt Chlorine Generator.

Right now, the pool is great, super clear, clean, etc. We have a pool guy that the landlord hired. He installed and set everything up and comes once a week. He maintains chemicals, cleans filter when needed, etc.

We also don't have "peak time" rates with our power company. There is a rate for the first 1000 kwh and then a different rate for power usage above that.

He currently has the pump running at max 3450 rpm for 6 hrs, 2500 rpm for 6 hrs and then 1500 rpm for 12 hrs.

Everything I'm reading on here seems to indicate that max speed 3450 rpm would be for the "Quick Clean" setting, which is set to run for 2 hrs if I manually press that button.

My goal is to maintain pool clarity, etc but take advantage of the power ($$) savings of the VSP.

What do you experts suggest for run times at the various speed settings?
 
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You should never run the VS pump at max speed.

You set the speeds and times based on what is needed to be done.
First, you must run the pump long enough and at a sufficient rpm to close the flow switch on the SWCG and generate the chlorine you need each day.
After that, is skimming. Which in a screen enclosure is not really necessary.

After that, is pool owner preference.

Run the pump at all times at the slowest rpm that will achieve the result you need. Does the pool have a pump powered cleaner?
 
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mknauss said:
You should never run the VS pump at max speed.

You set the speeds and times based on what is needed to be done.
First, you must run the pump long enough and at a sufficient rpm to close the flow switch on the SWCG and generate the chlorine you need each day.
After that, is skimming. Which in a screen enclosure is not really necessary.

After that, is pool owner preference.

Run the pump at all times at the slowest rpm that will achieve the result you need. Does the pool have a pump powered cleaner?
Click to expand...
It has a vacuum port for a manual vacuum, but no robot or anything automatic. Just the port I would plug the long hose into with the vacuum head on the end of a pole.

I changed it to 3000 rpm from 8am - 10am, 2000 rpm from 10am - 4pm, and then 1400 rpm from 4pm - 8am. We'll see how it goes.
 
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I run mine at 2300 rpm for 1hr 2x daily and 1100rpm for 2hr 2x daily. I also turn it on low speed when swimming. Been fine so far. During summer heat and heavier use I may bump it up some.
 
Sangster said:
I changed it to 3000 rpm from 8am - 10am, 2000 rpm from 10am - 4pm, and then 1400 rpm from 4pm - 8am. We'll see how it goes.
Click to expand...
That is fine. I suspect you can go much lower in rpm. Remember, water 'turnover' is meaningless. You only need to run the pump to make your chlorine.
 
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I set my VS pump at 1100 during the week when the solar cover is on. When the cover comes off I like to set it at 1600 because I like the way skimmer works at that speed. I started with a 12 hour a day run time but have decreased to 8 hours a day. I might go even lower on pump time but, based on my energy monitor, the pool is only using ~$0.21 of electricity a day at these settings.

Unless you have some kind of waterfall feature, you can definitely set the pump at a lower speed.
 
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sduda210 said:
I set my VS pump at 1100 during the week when the solar cover is on. When the cover comes off I like to set it at 1600 because I like the way skimmer works at that speed. I started with a 12 hour a day run time but have decreased to 8 hours a day. I might go even lower on pump time but, based on my energy monitor, the pool is only using ~$0.21 of electricity a day at these settings.

Unless you have some kind of waterfall feature, you can definitely set the pump at a lower speed.
Click to expand...
I like your idea of lower speed with the solar cover on. I think I’ll switch it up.
 
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mknauss said:
That is fine. I suspect you can go much lower in rpm. Remember, water 'turnover' is meaningless. You only need to run the pump to make your chlorine.
Click to expand...
I'm new to this as well. I'm interested in why you're saying that water turnover is meaningless. It seems like everything I'm reading says to turnover the pool at least once a day. Isn't filtration also needed?
 
rrdubya said:
Isn't filtration also needed?
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Filtration is exactly what’s needed. But here’s the thing. With the ever mixing pool water returns, you can ‘turnover’ your full volume of water and only see maybe half of it go through the filter. A good chunk of it will go through the filter several times while other parts won’t do it once.

Let’s use 50% for easy math. On the first full turnover you filter half of your water. On the second full turnover you get another 50%, but half of that was already filtered. So 200% turnover only nets 75% of the pool water going through the filter.

You need as much filtering as you need. It take X amount of runtime to accomplish that, regardless of your volume. Your own specific pool will need varying levels of filtration over the season with more in the spring and fall, as pollen, leaves, farm dust, etc enter the pool.

So the one size fits all turnover myth fails for 2 reasons. If your water is clear you can decrease runtime until it isn’t and then slightly adjust upwards until it’s clear again. If your water isn’t clear you need more runtime regardless of whether you reached your ‘turnover’ or not. :)
 
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Oly said:
This pdf should be referenced in the TFP wiki room. :deal:
Click to expand...
It is in Pool School. We try to not duplicate PS and Wiki.
www.troublefreepool.com

Determine Pump Run Time

To figure out how many hours you need to run your pump, you need to know how fast your pump works. You can find this here.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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