Pump - watts used increases throughout the day

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Gr33nPool

Member
Apr 15, 2019
8
Palm Desert, CA
I have a Pentair IntelliFlor VF variable speed pump and an in-ground, chlorinated pool. I'm running the pump on Filter Mode. The watts output of the pump, after priming, first rests at about 240 but increases at a rate of about 10 w per hour. Is this a sign of a problem elsewhere?

I don't know if it's relevant but: There are no bubbles coming out of the return lines in the pool, and filter pressure is at 5 PSI and doesn't change.

I thought the issue might be coming from the air relief valve on top of my cartridge filter (Clean and Clear Plus) and when I took the valve apart found the small o-ring damaged. I replaced the o-ring (with what seems like the appropriate fit--I couldn't find documentation on the size of the installed o-ring) but the issue with the watts creeping up continues.

Any ideas on why the watts increases over the hours the pump is on is appreciated! Thank you!
 
WF,

I would think if it were head pressure increasing due to a dirty filter, the filter PSI would go up and it would not start over again the next day.

But... One guess is as good as another... :mrgreen:

Jim R.
 
10 watts calculates out to .083 of an amp . Eventhough the psi doesn't climb so he says but at lower rpm the gauge is ineffective and won't show much to the naked eye but still could be increased by a minute fraction. That could be enough to up the wattage by 10 easily. Has the OP cleaned the filter in the recent past? Doing it now wouldn't hurt but can possibly prove me wrong.
 
If the wattage increases by 10, that is roughly 4.16% at 240 watts. If the 5psi gauge also went up 4.16%, Or even anything relatively close to that, It would be impossible to tell.
 
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It's too small to worry much about.

However, if you trust the precision of the gauges and meters (I don't), it means your water flow is actually increasing as the wattage consumption increases.

A restriction of water flow would result in less electricity being used.

Again, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
I wouldn't worry about it either, but you could take the cartridge out and run it for the day to see what happens. No wattage increase means the filter is just doing its job; stuff can settle to the bottom overnight so it *might* be a tad less restrictive the next morning. Wattage increase with no cartridge might mean motor inefficiency due to heat buildup (bearings/bushings heating up or binding, etc).

Alternatively, you might want to get a better pressure gauge...... I went through a number of them before getting this one.
 
It could be a small drop In efficiency as the drive temperature increases. If you turn off the pump for awhile and turn it back on and the power drops again, this is likely the cause.

Also, as head loss increases, wattage consumed decreases so it would not be related to higher head loss or pressure.
 

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If the head loss increases and the pump tries to compensate for the lower gpm by increasing the rpm, then the watts will increase.

Is the rpm changing?

Can you run rpm instead of gpm?
 
[QUOTE="mas985,

Also, as head loss increases, wattage consumed decreases so it would not be related to higher head loss or pressure.
[/QUOTE]
That's backwards. This is all unimportant but, if the filter is minutely starting to fill up so to speak that's more head not less head (loss). Head loss would be a leak decreasing pressure. Then wattage can be this plus 10 he talks about.
 
At a single speed, increasing the resistance (head loss) reduces the amount of power used because the flow rate decreases.

If the flow rate was maintained while the resistance was increased, then the amount of power used would increase.

For the VF pump, the flow rate measurement is not that accurate. So, maybe the pump is changing rpm throughout the day.

Check the rpm and pump pressure from the pump display and note the readings vs. the watts.

 
5 psi on a cartridge filter at 250 watts is way too high. The pressure should be close to zero.

What is the elevation of the pressure gauge relative to the surface of the water?

What size cartridge filter do you have?

When was the last time you cleaned the filter?

Are you sure that the gauge is working?

Does the gauge go to zero when the pump is off?

What GPM are you running?

With the pump being 11 years old, the readings might just be somewhat unreliable.
 
Thank you everyone for your contributions. Here are some more details in response:
- The pump and filter are out of direct sunlight
- The cartridge filters are clean (I gave them a spray and also soaked them over night in TSP, then sprayed with the hose again, all last week), the filters may be a bit old (left by previous homeowner when I moved in 3 years ago)--the inside of the cartridge folds are lightly stained.
- Other indicators: I don't see an indication of RPM anywhere in the menu or its options. In the Features menu, on the other hand, I see that GPM flow rate is set at 50 GPM. However, when the pump is running all I see is watts.
- Cartridge size: I have a Pentair Clean and Clear Plus (website says: Cartridges are sized 100 sq. ft. per 10,000 gallon of pool water; points to Pleatco PCC60 replacement cartridges which are 14 1/8 inches - filter uses 4 cartridges).
- pressure gauge appears to be working, it does lower to 0 when pump is off.
- pressure gauge is about 3+ feet above pool surface.
-watts climb until the pump is turned off, then return to 240 watts when turned back on.
The potential issue of head loss points to a faulty pressure relief valve, is that correct?

Thanks again everyone, this is a great community.
 
Last edited:
The pressure relief is probably not related.

You really don't need 50 gpm. You can turn it down to 25 gpm.

It might just be that the pump is adjusting the speed to maintain the gpm setting.

Unless the wattage is fluctuating more than about 20%, I don't think that I would worry about it too much.

Can you check the pump pressure as described in the video posted earlier?

Do you have a heater?
 
Ok, it's difficult to determine if there's any significant problem.

Just keep an eye on it to see if the watts are going a lot higher.

I would lower the gpm to 25 gpm and remove the heater if you're not going to use it.
 

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