Thoughts on running pump 24/7

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Z

Zaffor

Well-known member
Sep 27, 2019
189
Miami
Pool Size
15000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Greetings
I have read through several posts related to pump run time and speed and I am curious to see what the community thoughts are (regarding pump health and longevity) with pump running 24/7. I am currently running my pump at 1350RPM and with a clean filter I get about 25GPM which keeps my swg creating chlorine and the spa spilling over evenly. I always assumed that the on/off caused more wear on the pump vs continuous running. Is there any truth to this? Is there any benefit for running pump 24/7 or would I be better suited by bumping speed up a notch and just running 16-18hrs?
I know for filtration and chlorine generation I dont need extra time, but what about pump health? These VS pumps are a little costly and would be great to maximize life expectancy.

thanks
 
I have run my pools 24/7 for years.

Start/stops and thermal cycles are what ages electrical and electronic equipment.
 
Z,

I have three IntelliFlo pumps that have been running 24/7/365 for years.. One is over 10 years old, one is over 8 years old, and the one at my house is about 7 years old... They have never had any issues....

Like you, they all run at a low RPM to keep my SWCG working.. For me that is about 1200 RPM.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Z,

I have three IntelliFlo pumps that have been running 24/7/365 for years.. One is over 10 years old, one is over 8 years old, and the one at my house is about 7 years old... They have never had any issues....

Like you, they all run at a low RPM to keep my SWCG working.. For me that is about 1200 RPM.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
At 1200 i dont get enough flow to keep the spa overflowing nicely since its elevated. I think I have to make some of my pool returns a smaller outlet diameter ( i think they brought washer looking things to create a smaller diameter outlet) to create more backpressure so they all flow more evenly. I have to shut my 3way on returns/spa floor returns quite a bit to spa side to get the spa to overflow evenly while keeping some flow on the return eyeball fittings. May not change my need to run 1350 but perhaps get more even flow throughout all returns in pool. At 1350 im using about 160w

My second intelliflo feeds all water features and i keep that running at 650rpm which reports only 35w.
 
Z,

I don't have a spa or a heater so slow is not an issue for me.. Each pool is different, so there is no magic speed that works for everyone.

How about setting up your pool's signature so, we understand what you have... See mine or Allen's at the bottom of our posts..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
I run at 1,800 RPM with a Pentair gas heater.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Z,

I don't have a spa or a heater so slow is not an issue for me.. Each pool is different, so there is no magic speed that works for everyone.

How about setting up your pool's signature so, we understand what you have... See mine or Allen's at the bottom of our posts..

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
How do I set that? I did post it all on a build thread. I ran the heater through a bypass which I automated because I knew it would create flow restriction. I go from 25 to about 18-19 gpm if i flow through heater. I programmed the pump to flow at 30gpm when heater turns on and bypass activatea
 
Figured I'd jump in on this thread since I found it researching this exact question. As I've mentioned to a few of you guys prior, my minimal flow to keep my SWG flowing is 1500. With that understanding, I will set my baseline RPM between 1600-1700. My plan was to run the pump 24/7 at baseline with a possible 3-4 hour window in the evening at higher RPM if I see I need extra skimming. Wear and tear related to start/stops does make sense to me as a benefit of running 24/7. Are there any other pros or cons to running 24/7 vs timed? Would I see a significant difference in energy related costs between the two? This intelliflo VSF seems pretty energy efficient.
 
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How much an hour does it cost to run the pump? From what I've heard Southern Florida isn't cheap. I'm sure your kilowatt hour is at least $.10.

I would balance the cost of running 24/7 with the cost to repair it every few years.
 
kevreh said:
I would balance the cost of running 24/7 with the cost to repair it every few years.
Click to expand...

What cost to repair??? I would never suggest running a single speed pump 24/7, but the IntelliFlo is a different beast..

It costs me less than $20 bucks a month to run my IntelliFlo 24/7.. Probably closer to $10 bucks, but I say $20 because not everyone has the same electrical rates.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
What cost to repair??? I would never suggest running a single speed pump 24/7, but the IntelliFlo is a different beast..

It costs me less than $20 bucks a month to run my IntelliFlo 24/7.. Probably closer to $10 bucks, but I say $20 because not everyone has the same electrical rates.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
Even assuming the $20 mark it seems like even best case scenario of not running 24/7 only saves you $5-10
 
Jimrahbe said:
Just one reason I run 24/7.. I also like to make a little chlorine all the time and skim all the time.. Running 24/7 is not required, it is just something I personally like to do.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
Unless I find some significant reasoning on not running 24/7, I plan to do the same. Also seems easier to me as a newbie to dial in my chlorinator as well
 
kevreh said:
How much an hour does it cost to run the pump? From what I've heard Southern Florida isn't cheap. I'm sure your kilowatt hour is at least $.10.

I would balance the cost of running 24/7 with the cost to repair it every few years.
Click to expand...
Its actually .12 / kwh but at 1350rpm im only consuming around 175w which looks to be around 15$/month baseline. My feature pump also runs 24/7 to keep my fountain bubblers barely overflowing but at 650rpm only using around 35w which is less than some light bulbs.
 
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GeauxTigerz said:
Unless I find some significant reasoning on not running 24/7, I plan to do the same. Also seems easier to me as a newbie to dial in my chlorinator as well
Click to expand...
Another 24/7 fan here. The constant skimming was heavenly. When crud falls in the pool it generally floats for a while whether it be leaves, twigs or pollen. When it falls in the pool during a 12 hour off cycle, it will be waterlogged and sitting on the bottom by the time the filtering/skimming starts again. And at that point, no amount of running will get it. Some heavier things did fall to my pool bottom of course, but it was a low percentage. Most of the stuff was in the skimmer 5 mins later.

The added added bonus was a topped off chlorine level no matter what was happening. I always had 4 FC to spare. As long as we weren’t having a blow out party, I was ready to go for the 4 friends coming over without ever thinking of it. The same goes with big storms and extra hot days. I was prepared before they happened so the thought never crossed my mind

It really took all the guess work and prep work out of it.

about 4 times a season I had to adjust the SWG run time (%) up/down to match the UV from the sun. Up for the first half of the season as the sun angle got stronger and down for the back half. Those 4 occurrences took 1 minute each. It could not be any easier than that.
 
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Variable speed pumps are new to me. I see the logic of running them longer, but being cheaper than single speed due to the lower RPM and lower energy cost. If you have a booster pump, do you need to run the pump at a higher rpm?
 
kevreh said:
Variable speed pumps are new to me. I see the logic of running them longer, but being cheaper than single speed due to the lower RPM and lower energy cost. If you have a booster pump, do you need to run the pump at a higher rpm?
Click to expand...
No, booster pump is fine doing it’s job as long as there is any reasonable flow.
 
Zaffor, adjust your pump speed to whatever is needed to keep the SWG flow switch active. Mine is only 1050 RPM. And that is 63 Watts! I run 24/7/365.
 

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