Pump run time of day recommendations for Phoenix, AZ summer?

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Diannapool22

Diannapool22

0
Aug 14, 2018
75
Scottsdale, AZ
Hi all,

This summer I have my pump running from 6pm-2am, as I thought I read somewhere it's more practical to run it at night. This also works for me so I can add liquid chlorine in the evenings while the pump runs, and I also am on a plan from the electrical company which charges 3x the price for electrical use from 3pm-6pm in exchange for cheaper pricing the rest of the hours.

However when we have storms roll in at night, large amounts of debris get in the pool and can jam the vac. Are there other advantages to running the pump during the daytime?

Thanks!
Adam
 
One advantage of running during the day is that CL is reduced by UV sunlight and mostly near the surface of the pool. If the pump is running during the day, this layer of reduced CL would be replenished (i.e. mixed with higher FC levels) even though no additional CL is added. However, this may or may not be a benefit depending on the CYA level and the quantity of algae spores entering the pool.

The only real advantage of running at night that I can think of is that in some locations, electricity is cheaper during the night.
 
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mas985 said:
One advantage of running during the day is that CL is reduced by UV sunlight and mostly near the surface of the pool. If the pump is running during the day, this layer of reduced CL would be replenished (i.e. mixed with higher FC levels) even though no additional CL is added. However, this may or may not be a benefit depending on the CYA level and the quantity of algae spores entering the pool.

The only real advantage of running at night that I can think of is that in some locations, electricity is cheaper during the night.
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Thanks for the reply! There is a good amount of leaves/debris entering the pool (on windy days) so I like the idea of stirring up the FC in the water during the day, bringing the higher FC to the surface. I may give that a shot. Electricity costs the same for me all hours besides 3-6pm on weekdays. It would also be nice to not have to hear the pump running when I am in the backyard during the evening.
 
Another advantage of running the pump at night is to cool the pool if desired. Here we regularly get 40+ Celsius (aka 105+ Fahrenheit). Running the pump at night helps prevent the pool from becoming like a warm soup.
 
Cooling by evaporation occurs both day and night. Evaporation depends primarily on water temp, dew point temperature and wind speed. Dew point doesn't change much over 24 hrs:

Scottsdale, AZ Hourly Weather Forecast | Weather Underground

Scottsdale Weather Forecasts. Weather Underground provides local & long-range weather forecasts, weatherreports, maps & tropical weather conditions for the Scottsdale area.
www.wunderground.com

If anything water temp is usually higher during the day (as is wind) which means more evaporation would occur.
 
The advantages of running a pool during the night time are evident. Mainly to pool owners adding chlorine using an erosion type feeder. Any others with water low in CYA will benefit from adding chems at night, which obviously means running the pump as well.
 
Rbkirk said:
The advantages of running a pool during the night time are evident. Mainly to pool owners adding chlorine using an erosion type feeder. Any others with water low in CYA will benefit from adding chems at night, which obviously means running the pump as well.
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Please explain (in detail) why this is the case. You say it is better but don't explain why.
 
mas985 said:
Cooling by evaporation occurs both day and night. Evaporation depends primarily on water temp, dew point temperature and wind speed. Dew point doesn't change much over 24 hrs:

Scottsdale, AZ Hourly Weather Forecast | Weather Underground

Scottsdale Weather Forecasts. Weather Underground provides local & long-range weather forecasts, weatherreports, maps & tropical weather conditions for the Scottsdale area.
www.wunderground.com

If anything water temp is usually higher during the day (as is wind) which means more evaporation would occur.
Click to expand...

My pool is covered almost all the time, so evaporation is minimal, and heat loss as a result of evaporation is also minimal.

I was thinking of heat loss/gain by convection, in the summer here the typical night time temperature is around 25 where as it is 40 by day. In the day the top layer of water heats up substantially due to solar irradiation primarily and convection secondly. If I run the pump during this time I have substantial heat gain. By running the pump at night I avoid that, and in fact the mixing results in a small temperature drop at night. The net effect is that the average temperature is lower by running the pump at night compared to running it during the day.
 
A covered pool will always have a much higher water temperature than an uncovered pool. If you are trying to reduce the water temperature, why leave it covered? It is counter productive.
 
Adam, as a fellow SRP 3 to 6er myself, I can relate. It doesn’t say in your signature area what type of pump you’re running. Are you using a VSP or a single speed?

Just as an example of time management, this is how I run my pump. (I have a VSP)

M-F 7am to 1pm 1700rpm
M-F 6:30pm to 9:30pm 2200rpm
Sat & Sun 9am to 4pm 1500rpm

This schedule (M-F) allows me to add chemicals in the morning, shut down for the 3-6 range, then clean up the pool after our late afternoon winds we get, and any storms.
Sat & Sun is just an all day slow filtering, as that is when the pool gets used the most. :cheers:
 
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Hi AZrob- nice to see a local on here! I am in Chandler right now (I work at Intel). We got hit pretty hard with monsoons (finally) on Wednesday night which prompted this thread.

I do have 'single speed pump' listed in my signature, but not sure if you are looking for more info than that. I also have an old school mechanical dial timer for the pump, so it's tedious to change by weekday vs weekend. I put in a wifi switch for the pool light, so could add another for the pump to be able to more easily set schedules. When/if my pump fails, I will replace with VSP. I have not looked into cost yet, I would think over time it may pay for itself.

Thanks for chiming in,
Adam
 
Sorry Adam, I did miss that in your sig. You’ll definitely want to get that VSP sooner rather then later, the savings in electricity is huge. (My pump payed for itself in the first year)
Don’t waste your money on more WiFi switches, a VSP will have its own timer right on top. No need for mechanical timers anymore. :cheers:
 
Arizonarob said:
Sorry Adam, I did miss that in your sig. You’ll definitely want to get that VSP sooner rather then later, the savings in electricity is huge. (My pump payed for itself in the first year)
Don’t waste your money on more WiFi switches, a VSP will have its own timer right on top. No need for mechanical timers anymore. :cheers:
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Any models/brands you recommend? How difficult is the swap/install? I would like to do it myself
 
mas985 said:
A covered pool will always have a much higher water temperature than an uncovered pool. If you are trying to reduce the water temperature, why leave it covered? It is counter productive.
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I cover it mostly for the safety of knowing that nobody can fall in to the pool, and to keep it clean.

To keep the the temperature in check, I found running the pool during the night vs during the day makes a big difference to the temperature.
 
Diannapool22 said:
Any models/brands you recommend? How difficult is the swap/install? I would like to do it myself
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I bought a Hayward -- a bit of brand loyalty. If I had to do it again, I'd probably go with Pentair. There seems to be more 3rd party "stuff" compatible with Pentair than Hayward, from my own experiences. If you're comfortable working with electricity and like purple fingers (primer), they're pretty easy to install. I spent more time on moving some of the plumbing than the wiring and configuration.
 
DAB942 said:
I bought a Hayward -- a bit of brand loyalty. If I had to do it again, I'd probably go with Pentair. There seems to be more 3rd party "stuff" compatible with Pentair than Hayward, from my own experiences. If you're comfortable working with electricity and like purple fingers (primer), they're pretty easy to install. I spent more time on moving some of the plumbing than the wiring and configuration.
Click to expand...
Around $1000 pretty typical price?
 
Adam, you can expect to pay anywhere from $1200 and up for a pump and install. It will depend on which model pump you pick out.

IMHO it is well worth the few hundred a pool company will charge for the install, to get the long term warranty. BUT, as one of our members goes by, if the pump was to have a problem, it will usually be seen within the first 30 days anyway.

I’ll let Jim give you his 2 cents on Pentair pumps. @Jimrahbe
 
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