Tips for my SWG after changing to Variable Speed Pump

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bostonpool

Well-known member
May 29, 2017
117
Worcester, MA
Hi folks:

I've got a 45 year old pool that I've owned for 7 years. Up until now I've had an Aqua Rite 120 SWG with single speed pump. But this winter I changed out the pump and DE filter and now have a Pentair SuperFlow Variable Speed pump.

For the past 7 years, I've run my pump for 12 hours. 8 AM to 8 PM. And usually my SWG was running between 50-75% to hold my FC where I wanted it.

But I'm wondering if my SWG settings need to change given my new variable speed program? Currently its running the "default" program of 3000 RPM for 2 hours starting at 8 AM, 1400 RPM for 10 hours, and then 2200 RPM for 2 hours. Then off.

Do I have to worry about SWG production when the pump is running for 10 hours at 1400 RPM? Will it produce less chlorine than with my single speed pump?

I've read some folks just run the pump "low and slow" 24/7. Not sure why I'd want to do that.

FWIW my pool is 32,000 gallons. Gunite. With only one skimmer.
 
bostonpool said:
Do I have to worry about SWG production when the pump is running for 10 hours at 1400 RPM? Will it produce less chlorine than with my single speed pump?
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No. No.
bostonpool said:
I've read some folks just run the pump "low and slow" 24/7. Not sure why I'd want to do that.
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Energy consumption is lower and filtration is better at lower speed.

I run about 1400 with my superflo and it costs me about $20 a month. Chlorine is produced all day and keeps FC levels steady.
 
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bostonpool said:
Do I have to worry about SWG production when the pump is running for 10 hours at 1400 RPM? Will it produce less chlorine than with my single speed pump?
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Nope. The flow switch either activates or it doesn't. The cell is on or of accordingly.
bostonpool said:
I've read some folks just run the pump "low and slow" 24/7. Not sure why I'd want to do that.
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It's dirt cheap and 24 hours at low RPMs is equivalent to 2.something hours of full throttle for me. (I forget if it was 2.3 or 2.7).

I'm filtered and skimmed and the FC is topped off around the clock. 12 hours is a long time for stuff to blow in the pool, get waterlogged and sink. Most of my crud finds the skimmer no matter when it lands. If the wind is blowing the wrong way, it doesn't matter but everything rights itself as soon as the breeze stops.
 
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You may want to just monitor the FC levels until you're dialed in, as you have gone from 12 hours to 14 - which is essentially a 16% increase in runtime, but even that should be barely noticeable.
Also, double check that your SWG is getting sufficient flow at the lowest speeds to activate - mine would not at 1400rpm due to the way the plumbing is - so I have to run mine a little faster in order to trigger the flow switch.
 
To set the pump speed for the SWG, run the pump down until the SWG just turns off. Add 200 rpm and run at that speed. Will give some protection against filter starting to get dirty lowering flow.
 
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Most run 1100 to 1700. Depends on equipment, SWG/heater etc., and skimming performance. Make sure your weir functions and water level is at the middle of skimmer.
 
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1200 RPMs (110W) works great for me, but I run 1500 (220W) because we like the look of the water running a little more and it's still cheap.
 
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PoolStored said:
No. No.

Energy consumption is lower and filtration is better at lower speed.

I run about 1400 with my superflo and it costs me about $20 a month. Chlorine is produced all day and keeps FC levels steady.
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If you’re running 24/7, did you still install a timer with the RJ?
 
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I run about 2000 right now - but I'm an obsessive tinkerer, and I'm always tweaking something. With the solar cover, I don't think surface skimming is very effective at any speed - when we pull the cover before a swim, I often bump the pump up to 2500-2800 to get more water movement to aid skimming.

Putting that in context - 2000 RPM runs about 400 watts on my pump - 25% of the power draw of the old single speed (and at like 10% of the noise, and 75% of the water flow)

SWG is connected via a TP-Link Smartplug, and the pump current is monitored via a sensor that feeds into a Node-Red implementation on RaspberryPi that will turn the smart plug off if the current draw drops below a certain point (which would suggest the pump isn't pumping any more - it also sends me an email / text)
SWG also has a regular flow switch - so I have a level of redundancy just in case
 
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