Pump/filter schedule

[pandan74]

Hello!
I have a question about the schedule. What is better, to run the filter for shorter time (6-7 hours) at higher speed, or longer (8-9 hours) at lower speed? I am trying to balance the energy costs with the quality of water. I have a sand filter, Pantair inteliflo vari pump, in-floor cleaning system, 9000 gallons pool. Thanks!

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello! The answer will be different for many pool owners based on their location, pool type/size, and local conditions. Pools that receive a lot of wind or surface debris may need to run a pump longer to skim the water's surface. For some, nighttime is their quiet time when winds seem to settle down so they don't need a lot of water movement. So it really varies. A higher speed shouldn't be necessary unless you are running a vacuum or the in-floor cleaning system. I'd say continue to experiment. Try running at about 1300-1400 rpm for a few hours with the occasional ramp-up of rpms to run the cleaning system, vacuum, add chemicals, or purge the VSP of any air bubbles if needed. If the water looks good, back-off by an hour and see if the water condition can handle less run time.

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

 

[Jimrahbe]

74,

Sounds to me like you are trying to run to get X water turnovers a day... Since turnovers are a myth, it is not necessary to do that.. Run for whatever works for you, but don't let the turnover myth get in your way.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[pandan74]

Thank you both for your reply and suggestions.
Jimrahbe, I was not even aware about the "water turnover". A few months ago I bought a house with a pool and as the first time pool wonder I am trying to figure out many things and get an expedite course of a pool maintenance .
The previous owners (or whoever was taking care of the pool for them) scheduled the pump for 7 hours a day at 2800 rpm. Works fine but the energy bill was... quite high. For now I lowered speed to 2400 rpm and run for 9 hours (7am -4pm). I am in Tucson AZ, so we have windy days with lots of dust but usually it's not so bad. However I have 3 Goldens and they swim every day (every evening). Usually I run the pump for an additional hour (@ 2400rpm) after the dogs and clean the skimmer and the main drain (the dog hair don't go through the main drain cover so I need to remove them by hand from the bottom of the pool).
Texas Splash, I'm not sure if 1400 rpm would work with the in-floor cleaning system. I think (I may be wrong though) the heads need some pressure to pop up and do the job. I can try.

 

[Texas Splash]

I'm not sure if 1400 rpm would work with the in-floor cleaning system. I think (I may be wrong though) the heads need some pressure to pop up and do the job. I can try.

No worries. Use whatever rpm you need to during the cleaning phase. For general water circulation, you can drop-down to the lower rpms and hopefully that will work better for you.