VS pump air bubbles in winter

[Patriotryan]

I have a VS pump. I run it all summer at 2400rpm during the day and 1600rpm at night. Never had any problems or education on what rpm I should really be using so have been happy with those settings. All summer I rarely if ever will see air bubbles in my pump basket or in my filter housing. When the weather turns like we experience now things change around 10deg C overnight and the pool water is less than 65deg now too. The vs pump basket will have around 1/8-1/4 inch water level down inside the lid after 12-16 hours of running at 1600rpm. Last winter I bumped the speeds up to 1800 rpm daytime and 2000 rpm night time. This solved the issues around bubbles in the lid. Is there an explanation why I see this due to the colder weather and colder water? I am not thinking I have a leak. But I do like to understand what I see and why. Also I don’t like having to purge air from my filter occasionally due to this condition.

Thanks!

 

[1poolman1]

I have a VS pump. I run it all summer at 2400rpm during the day and 1600rpm at night. Never had any problems or education on what rpm I should really be using so have been happy with those settings. All summer I rarely if ever will see air bubbles in my pump basket or in my filter housing. When the weather turns like we experience now things change around 10deg C overnight and the pool water is less than 65deg now too. The vs pump basket will have around 1/8-1/4 inch water level down inside the lid after 12-16 hours of running at 1600rpm. Last winter I bumped the speeds up to 1800 rpm daytime and 2000 rpm night time. This solved the issues around bubbles in the lid. Is there an explanation why I see this due to the colder weather and colder water? I am not thinking I have a leak. But I do like to understand what I see and why. Also I don’t like having to purge air from my filter occasionally due to this condition.

Thanks!

Colder weather, colder water, colder lid O ring, not as pliable. When running, the pump lid will pull down on the O ring and seal tighter but can't do it as well when the rubber is colder. A little more lube might help, but it is not really an issue. You don't have to purge the filter, it has an air-relief tube and screen for that process.

 

[reggiehammond]

Do you have a real need to be running the VS pump at 2400 rpm? Burning more electricity for likely same results you'd see at 1200 rpm for a fraction of the power usage. I run 24/7 at 1400 rpm for less than 150 watts.

 

[Patriotryan]

Do you have a real need to be running the VS pump at 2400 rpm? Burning more electricity for likely same results you'd see at 1200 rpm for a fraction of the power usage. I run 24/7 at 1400 rpm for less than 150 watts.

Our heater will not turn on if the flow is less than required to run the heater. I have found any less than 2400rpm the heater flow is intermittently low causing the pool temp to be less than ideal. It’s also why it only runs at the “heater” rpm for the daytime when we want it heated (10am-7pm)

 

[IUsedToSail]

Excuse my east coast mid atlantic ignrorance... Did I read that correctly, you don't need to Winterize your pool in Vancouver?

 

[Patriotryan]

Excuse my east coast mid atlantic ignrorance... Did I read that correctly, you don't need to Winterize your pool in Vancouver?

Lol! Yeah it’s really not required. You can’t even find a local pool company that offers the service. We only get a very short window of freezing temps. So the pump runs 24h day when the temperature is below zero. The rest of the time it just circulates a small amount daily to keep it clean and ready for re-opening. We still “close” the pool but it just entails the water features and heater being drained and winterized.