Pump speed for winter

[ejs873]

I have a Jandy variable speed pump and run it at 3000 rpm from 930-6 daily in the spring-fall. How low can I go in the winter? I think last year, which was my first winter I did 2700rpm for about 6 hrs a day, but I have read some things where people go down under 2000 rpm...

 

[an1vrsy]

You have a variable speed pump. You can turn it down to save on energy costs. I run my vsp at about 1500 rpm’s. At that speed the swg is happy with the flow. I set a schedule to run at 1800 rpm to do some skimming in the morning and afternoon. My energy bill loves the lower rpm’s

 

[ejs873]

You have a variable speed pump. You can turn it down to save on energy costs. I run my vsp at about 1500 rpm’s. At that speed the swg is happy with the flow. I set a schedule to run at 1800 rpm to do some skimming in the morning and afternoon. My energy bill loves the lower rpm’s

Thanks. I don't have a SWG so that speed should be plenty ..

 

[Texas Splash]

I'll go a bit further by adding a couple more things to consider:
1 - Even next season, there's no need to run it at such a high rpm for so long. A lower rpm of about 1500 - 1800 should be plenty to skim the water. Bump up rpms once or twice a day just to purge air or for cleaning.
2 - This winter, ensure the water is moving 24/7 when we get those cold spells. You know what I mean ... freezing. Freeze protection "should" work, but keep an eye on it to be sure. Again, a low rpm is fine just to keep water moving. Have a Plan B if you should lose power for an extended period of time.

 

[ejs873]

I'll go a bit further by adding a couple more things to consider:
1 - Even next season, there's no need to run it at such a high rpm for so long. A lower rpm of about 1500 - 1800 should be plenty to skim the water. Bump up rpms once or twice a day just to purge air or for cleaning.
2 - This winter, ensure the water is moving 24/7 when we get those cold spells. You know what I mean ... freezing. Freeze protection "should" work, but keep an eye on it to be sure. Again, a low rpm is fine just to keep water moving. Have a Plan B if you should lose power for an extended period of time.

Thanks! Yes.. I got lucky last year.. drained everything about 3 hrs before we went black for 3 days! One thing I noticed about my Jandy pump is that it kicks on at about 45 degrees.. which is crazy. I have no idea how to change that and apparently neither does the pool installer. 45 seems high to run the pump.. unnecessary wear and tear!

I will definitely adjust my schedule now, thanks!

 

[Jimrahbe]

Evan,

Why do you run your VS pump so fast in the summer? As others have pointed out, it is just not necessary.

I run my 3 HP IntelliFlo 24/7, most of the time at 1200 RPM.. At that speed, it costs me less than $20 bucks a month...

PS.. I appreciate you using a real first name..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ejs873]

Evan,

Why do you run your VS pump so fast in the summer? As others have pointed out, it is just not necessary.

I run my 3 HP IntelliFlo 24/7, most of the time at 1200 RPM.. At that speed, it costs me less than $20 bucks a month...

PS.. I appreciate you using a real first name..

Thanks,

Jim R.

No clue! Lol. That's what the pool company told me to do. However after dealing with them, I should know they don't know anything!

How many hours should I run it a day in summer/winter? 930-6 seemed to work fine this summer. Never any water issues.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Evan,

We think that you should run the pump for a purpose... In my case, I have a SWCG and I like to generate a little chlorine all the time. I also like to skim all the time, so 24/7 works for me..

Other people are the opposite, they only want to run the pump for the least amount of time possible.

So, there is no one answer, it is up to you. If you use chlorine tablets in a feeder, you will need to run long enough to generate the amount of chlorine your pool needs. If you use Liquid Chlorine, and all you want to do is mix up the chemicals, then 4 hours a day is enough for most people.

Some people love their waterfalls and spillover spas, so for them, they might want to run their pumps 12 hours a day..

Again, the point is to run the pump to accomplish some goal.

We do not buy into the myth that you have to "turnover" X amount of water per day.. Your pool stays clear and sanitized due to the chemicals in the water, not the number of times the water passes through your filter. The filter is there to capture things that fall into your pool. As long as you are happy with the way the surface of the water looks, then you are good.

Thanks,

Jim R.