Pump Schedule / RMP & IntelliCenter Circuits / Scheduling

[rangerks]

Looking for some help on pump run schedules and a question on the pump RMP circuits. I have an IntelliCenter i8ps and Variable Speed pump. No SWG, adding liquid bleach daily. After running pump for two weeks for pool startup I'm ready to start dialing in pump run schedule and reduce run times. There's a lot of combined info and questions so bear with me here;

1. It seems that for every different RMP I want to set the pump to run at, I need to add a new circuit, is this really the case? Is there a way to adjust pump RMP levels in the schedule without adding additional circuits?
Current circuits;
Pool, Spa, Air Blower, Lights, Fountain, Jets, Spillway, Pool High. That leaves me AUX 7 as my remaining circuit and my understanding is the i8PS includes Pool/Spa + 7 additional circuits

2. Current Pump Run Speeds per Circuit (in RPM)
Spa: 2600
Spillway: 2550 (when Spillway is running, do the pool returns also run?)
Pool: 1250
Pool High: 2600
Jets: 3450
Air: 3150
Fountain: 2800

Looking for suggestions on if these speeds look adequate. Couple notes; The pool is shaded about half of the day and sits under a number of oak trees, there is pretty constant leaf fall.

3. Current Pump Schedule - looking for suggestions based on criteria/questions below
a. First time pool owner, would like to stay conservative (on the longer) side of pump run time until I'm comfortable with the suggested 2-6 hour/day run times as suggested is OK
b. As noted above, there is a decent amount of leaf fall every day so getting them into the skimmer is helpful. Does running the Pool High for multiple times per day vs one time for a longer period have any better outcomes?
c. I typically add chemicals/brush, ect between 6:30am-7:30am or 7:00pm-8:00pm - like to have the pool running at this time, does it need to be on high?

Current Schedule:
1:00 AM - 1:30 AM: Spillway (turn over spa)
3:00 AM - 5:00 AM: Pool
6:30 AM - 7:30 AM: Pool High (chemical adds/brushing)
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM: Pool High (leafs to skimmer)
1:00 PM - 1:30 PM: Spillway (turn over spa)
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM: Pool (typical swim time during the week)
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Pool High (chemical adds/brushing)
10:30 PM - 11:00 PM: Pool High (leafs to skimmer)
In total i'm running the pool @ 1250 RMP for 4 hrs/day, @ 2550 RMP for 1 hr/day and @ 2600 RMP for 3 hrs/day for a total of 8 hours.

4. Feature Circuits
What are people using the feature circuits for, any examples that people find useful to share?

There's a lot of info and questions mixed into this post so anyone that could help provide some insight, comments, suggestions I would be greatly appreciative.

-Kyle

 

[Jimrahbe]

Kyle,

I see nothing wrong with your schedule, but that said, your schedule is what you want to do with your pool, not what someone else thinks you should be doing..

Keep in mind that the only time you need to use an Aux Circuit is if you need a physical button or you need to control something that runs off of 240 or 120 volts.. like a blower, etc.. Other wise, you should be using a Feature Circuit.. a feature circuit works the same as an Aux circuit, except it has no relay.. It is what I use to change pump speeds.

As an example.. If I am in the pool mode running at 1200 RPM, I can have a Feature circuit for 1500 RPM and another one for 2000 RPM. You can turn Feature circuits on via an Icon or with a schedule...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[MyAZPool]

Hi rangerks
In response to your question regarding what others use FEATURE circuits for. Here is an example of my i5PS AUX Circuits and FEATURE Circuits.
The FEATURE Circuits relate to my pump speeds, valve actuators and the heater control.


Here is a screenshot of my CIRCUIT Groups (macros) and their embedded FEATURE Circuits thrown in for good measure, if you are looking for ideas on how one might configure those.


Please let me know if you are curious about embedding FEATURE Circuits within the CIRCUIT groups or if you have more questions about scheduling. You can get fairly creative with how both of those are configured.
For the most part, there is no right way or wrong way concerning any of the above (with some exceptions). They are customizable to YOUR pool and YOUR requirements.
All the best...
r.