Thoughts on long run times

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Modawg2k

Modawg2k

0
May 4, 2013
347
Phoenix, AZ
I know TFP's take on how long to run the pool..... basically you can run it for short amount of time as long as things are keeping clean. I had a pool guy over last week to repair something and he was saying to run the VS pump at low speed for practically 24/7 (minus peak electrical hours), and then to include the high speed function for like 4-5 hours. In general, would it be hard on a pool pump & salt cell and decrease their lifespan if it were to run so long everyday, even at low speeds and lower generation time/hour?
 
I use to run my pump for 10-12 hours pending season. After reading here I lowered it to six hours. 7-9, 12-2 and 4-6. I haven't seen a difference except in a lower power bill..lol. It's still a bit chilly, so we aren't using the pool and I m sure when we do I will increase run time or adjust to later times. When in use pump is on.
 
And what was his reasoning for this? What does he say this will improve versus the recommendations here? Why does he believe you need to run at high speed for several hours in addition to circulating the pool 24/7?
 
I think you should run your pump to best serve YOUR needs and wants. Someone else’s will be different from yours. My refrigerator runs on and off 24/7 for the past 20 plus years, your pump running all the time won’t hurt it. I run my pump 10am to 2pm then 4-8 pm, both times on low speed. Those are the times I will most likely use the pool and want it to be skimmed. During these hours the SWG is producing chlorine when the sun and swimmers will be using it up the most, so it keeps up with proper ppm. Use what best fits your needs.
 
Dawg,

Sounds to me like your pool guy thinks that what keeps your water clear and algae free is the filter, when in fact it is the chemical balance of your pool water.

I personally like to run my pool 24/7 because I have a SWCG and I like to generate a little chlorine all the time. I also like the continual skimmer action... Like you, I have a VS pump, so the cost to run my pump 24/7 at 1200 rpm is less then $20 bucks a month... If I had a single speed pump I would be running the SWCG at 100% output and the pump for as short a period of time as I could.

I don't see anything wrong with running 24/7, and I doubt it will hurt anything, but I would not do it just because my pool guy thought it was a good idea or that it was required, because it is not..

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.
 
Ok. Seems better now.
I was going to say that while misguided, lots of pool peeps kind of assume that homeowners don’t balance and sanitize their water effectively, so they view constant filtering as a bit of extra insurance (which is technically not wrong...just not necessarily applicable with TFPers.)
 

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PoolCT, I was thinking about MoDawgs pool guy in my comment, not you...although you may share the view (as I do) that more filtering=better. And as CF points out, if you know the effect of what you put in, then you're on a TFP diet ;)
 
I appreciate the discussion. Yeah this guy was referring to keeping the water crystal clear all the time, not so much in regards to chemical levels, even though they are related. I was only using him for a pipe repair, I manage my own pool and I'm perfectly fine with how it looks.... but I wouldn't mind having that crystal clear look more often throughout the day. I've already dialed in how long to have my high speed on for my cleaning system, so really it's just about having the low speed on.

I'm curious if I run the pump and IC cell longer at lower generation %, will that reduce the calcium buildup? The cell is getting more downtime per hour, much less actually if I run the pump all the time. Before, I would have buildup real fast and my generation % would be high since I tried to reduce my pump run time.
 
As an electrical engineer I can tell you that temperature cycling has a HUGE influence on component failure. No matter what rating a device is for. Heat up and cool down causes expansion and contraction. More start up/stop conditions and you get more temperature cycling. How much of an effect is VERY hard to tell. And of course One instance/experience is not a statistical sample. Over the past few decades, I have tested many components which were fine under room temperature use or even heat/cold extremes only to fail from turning on/off many cycles or doing temperature cycling in a temperature chamber. If there are circuit boards for example like a variable speed pump and the motor heat has any effect on the temp of the boards, I'd want to reduce my cycles. LCD screens etc all fall prey to temp cycling. Variable speed pumps are great cause you have that slow ramp up and the motor technology is so much better unlike a single speed pump pumps and the infamous startup capacitor (who here has had a failed start up capacitor on a single speed motor, be it your pool or your AC/heater?) . Ramping up/down a VS pump I'm not so worried about, but if I had a single speed motor, I'd want to limit its start/stop cycles per day if I did not have to sacrifice something else.
 

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