Vacuuming with Pentair Intelliflo VS Pump

[GMusic]

I have a pool with a VS pump, two skimmers and a two drain set up.

How should I set the pump (RPMs) and skimmers and drains (open, partially open or closed) in order to best vacuum the pool?

I did some searching, but had trouble finding the answer. Thanks.

 

[Jimrahbe]

GW,

Just to be clear... Are you talking about vacuuming with a hose or some type of cleaner? Or are you talking about how to run the pump normally?

Our pools and equipment are almost the same, so I'll tell you what I do..

I have my main drain only open about 10%, maybe a little less... (You may have to covers, but they are really only one drain...)

My two skimmers are open so that they each have about the same suction.. For me, this means that the valve for the skimmer that is farthest way is open more than then skimmer that is closest to the equipment pad.. My guess is 70% open for the far skimmer and 30% open for the near skimmer.

I run my pump 24/7 at 1250 RPM most of the time.. (Note that running 24/7 is not a requirement, it is just a personal choice for me.) I like that I am making a little chlorine all the time and that I am skimming all the time.. I do ramp my pump speed up to 1500 RPM, 3 times a day for an hour, just to help with the skimming, but in the big picture I don't beleive it makes a lot of difference one way or the other. Another reason that I run 24/7 is that it makes the programming for the EasyTouch simpler and I never have to Prime my pump..

It takes about 1100 RPM to close my SWCG's flow switch, so I run at 1250 just to make sure it stays shut. Running less than 1000 RPM is not advised...

Skimming will just removed what is floating on the surface.. I have a Robot to vacuum my pool. Basically it runs off of low voltage DC and sucks all the dead bugs and whatever off the bottom of the pool. It also goes up the walls and cleans the waterline tile..

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[GMusic]

Thank you. That is very helpful with respect to the general set up and I am going to take a look at my settings with your comments in mind.

I apologize for being ambiguous in my question. I was referring to vacuuming the floor of the pool with a hose and vacuum head. I have not done that before and was not sure what the right amount of pressure was, etc.

 

[Jimrahbe]

GW,

OK... An IntelliFlo can suck the paint off the walls inside your house, so you will need to adjust things to work for you..

I assume that you have a separate vacuum line that the hose is plugged into. I would start with the vacuum valve open at 50% and your skimmer open at 50%.. Depending on your set up that might be hard to do, but the idea is that you do not want all the suction coming from the vacuum line..

I would have the pump running at 2000 RPM and try it and see what happens.. If the vacuum head sticks to the floor than lower the RPM or shut off some the vacuum line. If the suction is weak increase the RPM or open the vacuum line a little more. You will just have to experiment to see what works for you.

So.. once you manually vacuum your pool, I would expect to see you back here asking about which Robot is the best...

Good luck and make sure your tell us how things worked out, as it might help others in the same situation.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[GMusic]

Thank you.

I do not believe I have a separate line for the hose. I think I will need to plug the hose into the skimmer.

I also have a main drain which has a valve.

Funny you should mention robotics. I am ordering one in the next couple days. There is a fair amount of stuff in the pool so I figured I should vacuum it before I start using the robotic.

 

[Newdude]

I have 2 main drains and 2 skimmers. I close off both drains and the non vaccuum skimmer completely Then i use between 1700 and 2150 rpms depending on the amount of cleaning i need. A quick touch up doesnt need as much as after a storm or if ive been too busy to vaccuum for 2 weeks. Also i prefer to vaccuum while in the pool with a snorkel mask. Makes it feel less like work and more like swimming. It also helps see every inch clearly to have less missed spots. But it changes the physics of pushing the vaccuum due to different angles on the pole, so that is almost always 2150 rpms to keep suction. Keep in mind your pump might respond differently than mine so start on the lower range of rpms and gradually increase until it gets harder to push. Then dial down a bit. It would be a big help to have someone who could change speeds while you push the vaccuum.