Pump speeds and run times

[CypressTx]

I’m in Houston TX. I think I need to review my pentair variable speed pump run times and speeds. My electric bill is higher than I’d like.
Question: during the cold months what length of times and what RPMs should I have during filteration, vacuum, and high speed? Pool is 14000 gallon puck feeder.
TIA

 

[Jimrahbe]

Russ,

Sounds like something is not right.. I can run my IntelliFlo 24/7 (1200 rpm) for less than $20 bucks a month. It would take some work for that pump to cause an increase in your electrical bill so that you would notice..

What schedule and speeds are you currently running.. ???

Here are the basic reasons to run a pump...

Each pool is a little different... You generally run a pump for three reasons:

1. To keep surface debris moving and being pushed into the skimmers. The more debris the more often you need to run the pump.

2. If you have a Salt Water Chlorine Generator (SWCG) (or a Tablet Feeder..) you'll need to run it long enough to generate the amount of chlorine needed.

3. To circulate the water to ensure the chlorine is effectively distributed throughout the pool. Two or three hours per day is all that is needed for this to happen in most pools.

There really is no one answer that fits everyone.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[CypressTx]

I agree somethings not right. I’m running it between 2000-3000 rpm but I’m still dealing with pucks for now so need them to dissolve until I get a stenner. Can you tell me what your winter schedule and rpms are so I can have something to compare?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Russ,

I am really the last person to ask about pump run times as I run my IntelliFlo 24/7, 365 days a year. Poor pump doesn't even get Christmas off...

Most of the time the pump runs at 1200 rpm.

In the Summer, Spring and Fall, this makes sense for me, as I am constantly generating chlorine (a little at a time)..

In the Winter, it does not make as much sense as the SWCG is off. I just like the idea of not going through the priming cycle and not having to worry about freeze protection..

I will be the first to admit that it is not at all practical and certainly not needed..

Keep in mind that I do not have a heater or water powered cleaner that I have to run.. to run my waterfall wall takes 2800 rpm.. so I only run it about 15 minutes a day to keep the pipes chlorinated..

At 1200 rpm my pump uses about 180 Watts of electrical power.. At 2000, that goes up 3 x to 610 Watts and at 2800 it goes up by 9 x to 1640...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[shingles]

I run my IntelliFlo at 1500rpm for 6 hours a day right now. At 1,500RPM, the pump reports 227watts. Assuming that's true: 227 * 6 * 7 / 1000 = 9.534 kw/h a week. Even at $0.10 (I pay about $0.05-$0.07), that is about $0.95 per week or less than $4 a month. The IC60 is supposed to be about 100watts, so that's 100*6*7/1000 = $0.42 per week. So in total about $5.50 per month right now. If you are running it 24 hrs a day and at or near max rpm, I can see it being a little costly.