Pump run time

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Thethreetheory77

Thethreetheory77

Well-known member
Apr 8, 2020
65
Longwood, Florida
I hope I am posting in the right place. Anyway, I am running my pump five hours a day. I have a Hayward single speed 1.5 hp pump. The water is crystal clear. I backed up a couple months ago from 8 hours. Do you think it’s safe to go back another hour to 4? I don’t know how long I’m supposed to run it. Everything I’ve heard says 8-10 but I realized that is untrue. I skim daily and use a skim sock (hair net) as well. Not sure if that is making a difference.
 

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Run your pump as long as you need for cleaning, surface skimming, and to mix chemicals. That's about it really. With a single speed, energy consumption is a big deal, so minimal usage is nice. As long as the water is clear with the 4-hr circulation, that's fine.

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
 
Texas Splash said:
Run your pump as long as you need for cleaning, surface skimming, and to mix chemicals. That's about it really. With a single speed, energy consumption is a big deal, so minimal usage is nice. As long as the water is clear with the 4-hr circulation, that's fine.

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
Click to expand...
I did notice going to five hours from 8 dropped my energy bill about fifty dollars! So what should I watch for by backing it up more? Clarity? The link you attached doesn’t really tell me how to figure pump run time.
 
You may also want to consider breaking your 4 hour runtime into two 2-hour blocks.

I run my pump for 4 hours each day from 8-10 a.m. and 8-10 p.m..

If your electric company has a time-of-use rate schedule, you can also reduce your bill by running your pump when the electricity is cheap.
 
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My electricity provider is a fee + delivery + wholesale price for electricity. From least at around 2-3 am to highest around 5-8 pm in summer, the total price can vary by as much as 5 cents or more per kwh. I run the pump at 1650 rpm from 2 am to 10 am. Then again from 2-4 pm to skim the daytime debris. Based on my bills before the pool, the pool pump and other electric devices are costing me less than $20 a month for electricity. Big part of the savings, though, is the VS pump. According to Pentair, at 1/2 speed (1725 rpm) it uses 1/8 the power. My total electricity cost for the last 12 months was $1,953. A pool doesn't have to enrich your utility company!
 
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pjt said:
You may also want to consider breaking your 4 hour runtime into two 2-hour blocks.

I run my pump for 4 hours each day from 8-10 a.m. and 8-10 p.m..

If your electric company has a time-of-use rate schedule, you can also reduce your bill by running your pump when the electricity is cheap.
Click to expand...
They don’t have peak and off peak unfortunately. Wonderful duke energy
 

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Thethreetheory77 said:
Thanks everyone. I haven’t noticed a change in clarity from cutting it back a few hours so I’ll keep cutting it back. How do I split run times? Add more of the time things? On and off clips or whatever they are called?
Click to expand...

Yes, assuming you have a mechanical timer.
 
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pjt said:
Yes, assuming you have a mechanical timer.
Click to expand...
I do! Also, a pool repairman came today to fix my pool light and told me that running high chlorine is bad for the pool (I dose for 10 with cya of 60) and told me my water was cloudy! It looks the same as the picture i attached. I can see the screws that attach the pool drain! I’m not sure how much more clear o can get this water lol. He said I must have high phosphates but my phosphates are 300 and to my knowledge it’s not something I really have to worry about is that correct? And why does he seem to think that liquid chlorine in high doses is bad for the pool? He was trying to push me into using tablets. I have t used tablets on 3 months.
 
I just read another post where the member heard similar stuff from her pool repairman. Crazy.
We run our pump 4 hours a day and it keeps the pool nice and clear. We also run the cleaner for 2 hours in the 4 hour window. We put on a solar cover and that seems to impede the effectiveness of the skimmers, evaporation is greatly reduced and the pool stays in the mid 80's. I'll spend a little extra time with the skimmer net on the weekend to save on the water and gas bills!
 
BadDogPSD said:
I just read another post where the member heard similar stuff from her pool repairman. Crazy.
We run our pump 4 hours a day and it keeps the pool nice and clear. We also run the cleaner for 2 hours in the 4 hour window. We put on a solar cover and that seems to impede the effectiveness of the skimmers, evaporation is greatly reduced and the pool stays in the mid 80's. I'll spend a little extra time with the skimmer net on the weekend to save on the water and gas bills!
Click to expand...
Here in Florida the pool water is like bath water right now! Super warm. I did back it up to 4 hours from five so I’ll see how it looks over the next few days. I fixed the lever her turned to use main drain back to where I had it. In my opinion the pool has looked perfect since I’ve been following tfp
 
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