Pentair Inteliflo - RPM & GPM - is 90GPM to high?

[RichTJ99]

Hi,

I just replaced an older single speed pump with a 3HP variable speed Pentair Inteliflo. I bought a FlowVis & had it on my pool prior to pump swap. I bought a Pentair Multiport, Pentair FNS Plus DE Filter

It was:
60GPM normal operation Filter @ 8

40GPM Spa operation Filter @ 15

The inteliflo has a few default RPM speeds.
Speed 1: 750 RPM (80 watts) = 0 GPM Filter @ 0PSI - No Skimmer movement
Speed 2: 1500 RPM (267 watts) = 30 GPM Filter @ 0 PSI- Fast Skimmer movement
Speed 3: 2350 RPM (912 watts) = 60 GPM Filter @ 6PSI - "Regular" skimmer movement (similar to old pump)
Speed 4: 2950 RPM (1730 watts) = 90 GPM Filter @ 12PSI - Slower skimmer movement (surprising).

I am trying to figure the proper speeds for various devices. Previously I would run the pump 12 hours per day. I dont know if that is needed now or how to do the math on what the proper flow would be.

First off - is 90GPM to much or needed (unsafe?).

Any other advice would be great as i need:

Spa RPM
Cleaner RPM (uses a booster pump)
Heater RPM
regular RPM (normal non heating mode).

Thanks,
Rich

 

[chiefwej]

First off those speeds are just presets, you can adjust to any speed you need or want. Your goal should be to find most efficient speed for each task. For the spa a little experimentation should allow you to find the lowest speed that works well. If you want to run your heater without the spa, you will need to find the speed that will safely satisfy the heater flow switch for that task. As far as filtration, I have found that low pressure and slow speeds actually filter better, and since you have a booster pump for the cleaner, anytime the pump is running regardless of speed, you can run your cleaner. You do want some skimmer action to clear debris from the surface. So a bit of experimentation will be required.

I have the same pump, so I'll give you a suggested starting point, with the understanding that each pool is different and you have to decide what will work for your pool.

Spa - 2600 rpm

Cleaner - Any speed will work, if skimmer action is needed/desired 1600 rpm. If not 1000 rpm.

Heater - Some experimentation is required, start about 1600 rpm

Regular - If skimmer action is needed/desired 1600 rpm. If not 1000 rpm.

There is no reason to ever operate below 1000 rpm, since it only draws about 100 watts at that speed. Move up from there to find the lowest speed that provides good skimmer action. That will be your "regular speed". Since the power cost is low at slow speeds, 1000 rpm can be used to provide extra filtration that makes the water sparkling clear.

 

[RichTJ99]

Thanks for all the information - that is really great!

A few more questions:

1. Can you have the automation system control the pentair but still have the pentair display information (mine says no display when controlled by the jandy)?

This website says (Swimming Pool Turnover Rate Equations Formulas Calculator - Pump Flow Rate) = 40,000 gallons turned over 1 time in 12 hours = 55GPM

Am I better running the pump for 18 hours @ 37GPM (assuming the wattage is lower)? Is it bad to run these pumps for 18-22 hours per day - does that shorten the lifespan?

Last night I ran the hot tub it seemed like at 2700 RPM it took longer to heat than at 2000 RPM. Does water heat faster when flowing slower?

Can I set Spa (with no heat) to run at 2700 RPM, but Spa with heat to run at 2000 RPM?

I am a little confused between the difference of filtering & skimmer. Do you mean Skimmer action as in using the hose for cleaning or the pool moving water fast enough to suck junk into the skimmer?


In the attachment - what are the other items? Speed 3, speed 4, speed 7, in floor?

 

[chiefwej]

I can't help you with the automation questions. Maybe someone else will chime in on that. I have no automation system, I just use the pumps built in timer/speed controller. But I do use a solar controller and I know that when it takes over the pump, the display is not active. The way it works is the speed is preset on the pump as EXT 3, and the controller is set to activate EXT 3 when running and return control to the pump when finished.

Turnover means nothing. Many find they can keep a pool sparkling with only a couple hours a day of pump time. That's enough to mix chemicals in and get some circulation.

As far as filtration, the same quantity of water passing through a filter will be cleaner if it goes through slower. With a VS pump you can run at slower rpm rates for a fraction of the cost of higher speeds. So longer and slower = better and cheaper filtration. But if you go too slow you lose any skimmer action. So you need some period of time to skim the top of the pool.

As far as the spa, I don't know what setting your automation will allow, but in the end, it is up to you how much pressure/speed you want when using the spa. It's a very powerful pump, so I doubt you need full speed, but as to now much is a personal choice.

 

[randytsuch]

If you download the pool pump tools excel spreadsheet, and spend some time to figure it out, might help
Pump spreadsheet

I found the electricity cost calculator to be useful.

 

[jobybett]

Hi,

I have the same pump and Aqualink, no you can't get the pump display to work at the same time its linked to the Aqualink, seems I'm getting the same numbers (roughly) as you, I also added the FlowVis to see what GPM I was getting, mostly because I'm just adding a SWG and want to make sure I have a good flow rate for it, I use:

1200 - Regular 8h a day
2500 - When vacuuming by hand with brush, and spa setting
1800 - 2 sets of 30 mins to skim pool a bit better before we normally use it.

Should probably create another speed for the spa, 2500 is probably a bit high, but meh... When I first got it I turned the pump up to 3200 and got over 90 GPM so backed it down a load as I did not want to stress my pipes, and as others have said no benefit running that high.

Hope that helps

Joby

 

[SoCalGuy]

To answer your question about heating, yes, the spa will definitely heat faster at higher RPM. So in that sense, it's misleading to say turnover means nothing. The faster the water in the spa turns over the faster it will heat.

And no, you won't harm your pump running it 18 hrs a day. But you shouldn't need to run it that long in a residential pool.