Suggestions for Variable Speed Pump Schedule

[wildfan]

Purchased a Pentair Intellipro VSP last year. Had it on a schedule that seemed to work fine but am now thinking I had it running too much/too high RPMs. 2550 8 hrs peak, 2250 8 hrs semi-peak and 1950 8 hrs non-peak.

Concerned a little more about costs this year and know this pump can perform well at lower speeds.

Any suggestions? Thank you.

 

[HermanTX]

I run my VS pump at 2350 for about 4 hours for skimming. It does go up to 2500 when the booster pump for my cleaner starts but that is only a couple of hours a week. The rest of the time it is at 1700 rpm. The only time it goes above 2350 for any length of time is if I put on the spa or the heater.

You do not indicate that you have a salt system, so you really only need the pump to circulate your chemical additions and for skimming. You probably can run it less then 24 hrs if you wish. You do not need to target a turnover for your pool.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Wild,

I run my IntelliFlo 24/7, at 1200 RPM most of the time. This speed allows my SWCG to make all the chlorine my pool needs and keeps the pool well skimmed.

To do this, costs me less than $20 bucks a month.

The two main reasons to run a pump are to make chlorine and skim the surface water. If you are using chlorine tablets, you will need to run long enough and fast enough to dissolve the tablets. Only you can determine what time and speed that will take. If you use Liquid chlorine, mixing chemicals only takes a couple of hours, so in that case your limiting factor is how long you want to skim the pool.

One reason that I run 24/7 is that it just makes it dirt simple for me. I generate a little chlorine all the time and I skim all the time. It is not something anyone has to do, but it is something that I personally like to do.

There is no "one size fits all" things here. You will just have to determine what works best for you and your pool.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[wildfan]

Thank you Jimrahbe. I do run the pump 24/7 and I use liquid chlorine. No SWCG.

Assuming I should ramp up the RPMs when I turn on the jets in the spa?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Assuming I should ramp up the RPMs when I turn on the jets in the spa?

Wild,

Yes!!!... That is kind of the whole point of having a VS pump. You can adjust the speed for whatever task is at hand. Run slow in the Pool mode and faster in the spa mode, another speed for a waterfall, and maybe one more for vacuuming, etc.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[wildfan]

I run my VS pump at 2350 for about 4 hours for skimming. It does go up to 2500 when the booster pump for my cleaner starts but that is only a couple of hours a week. The rest of the time it is at 1700 rpm. The only time it goes above 2350 for any length of time is if I put on the spa or the heater.

You do not indicate that you have a salt system, so you really only need the pump to circulate your chemical additions and for skimming. You probably can run it less then 24 hrs if you wish. You do not need to target a turnover for your pool.

No salt system. Good info and recommendations. Thank you very much.

 

[wildfan]

Wild,

Yes!!!... That is kind of the whole point of having a VS pump. You can adjust the speed for whatever task is at hand. Run slow in the Pool mode and faster in the spa mode, another speed for a waterfall, and maybe one more for vacuuming, etc.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Learn so much from this site. Thanks again!