Swim University Hey there is an important calculation missing in this video. Especially for below ground pools. When sizing your pump with the gpm and total feet of head, you need to calculate each 90 degree elbow into your equation and add 5 feet per 90 degree fitting. Not doing this will throw off you dynamic head calc and where the pump motor falls on the curve. Yes Variable speed and Ecm pumps can compensate. However, you are very technical and I think you would appreciate the accuracy.
I also run my included pump in my above ground coleman 24/7, only unplug to swim. I go through filters every week (because i added a skimmer that sucks in a lot of bugs) and i have negligible bill impact because of solar panels. Water is clean and maintenance is way, way lower than it used to be when i only ran my pump 6 hrs a day.
I wired mine up to a WIFI controlled switch and can adjust on / off times remotely from anywhere... Usually during peak time in the heat of the day I will have the pump run for 10 min every hour from when the sun hits the pool just to move water around then on for 6 or so hours in the evening / nite. Foul weather days it gets run 8 hours in the evening.
I run my pump 24/7. I was taught, if you are pumping water, you have a pool. If you aren't pumping water, you have a pond. The cost isn't that much vs adding chemicals to rectify problems.
I have lived in my house for 21 years and have been running my pump 24/7. When I tell the service people that they freak out! I tell them I’ll only run it during the day and they think they have saved me. My electric bill isn’t any more than my neighbors who don’t have a pool at all. When I bought the house, the pump/motor was already probably ten years old. I replaced the whole thing once and recently replaced the impeller and the motor once. So its probably better to run it all the time instead of it going on and off every day.
I run my pump from April to September straight through. 3/4 hp sat-rite pump, sand filter with a 17000 gallon doughboy partial above ground with deep end in ground pool. I hate to have water standing still. Heat with a heat pump. Costs a little under $100/mo combined. Eastern Washington.
*Pentair IntelliFlo VSF,* from 20 GPM overnight/morning to 55 GPM in evening while heating, runs 24/7. Electricity costs only $25/month. Water probably turns over 3 times daily and its always beautiful.
We recently upgraded from an overworked 1.5 HP single speed pump to a Pentair Intelliflo3 3 HP. We were running the old pump 12 hours at the rate of 75ish GPM at the cost of $1.97 per day. The VS pump runs 14 hours @ 20 GPM, 50 GPM for 6 hours, 78 GPM for 4 hours. Daily cost is now $0.96 a day and I'm turning the water over 4x a day.
Inherited a pool with a house we bought last year. I closed it last year in October just a few weeks after moving in. Opened it today. Watched this video and other videos - almost finished opening it, but done for tonight. Gonna follow your system to run the pump at night - hooked up my pump to a photocell light sensor timer outlet which I used to use during the winter at the front of the house so the Christmas lights would come on immediately when the sky got dark… Got a switch to control how long it stays on - I switched it from 6 hours for Christmas lights and 8 hours now for the pool. 👍🏽
There always seems to be important things left out with these discussions: a) Diffusion of chemicals in a liquid b) Amount of suspended particular matter in a given season c) Likelihood of an algae bloom from organic debris load How much turnover of water is needed really depends on many factors. Summertime swimming in the pool will assist mixing/diffusion of chemicals naturally. Even with no swimming, there will be slow diffusion even if a pool pump was kept off entirely. Aside from salt pool run times to develop necessary chlorine levels, run times are really more about trying to filter out fine debris/particles to keep water clear. So in the summer with lots of swimming, particles get stirred up/suspended and one needs to increase run times to filter out the filtered particles to keep water clearer. Come winter time in many locations (say Phoenix) when people aren't typically swimming, the run times can be dramatically reduced as long as one has enough chlorine (or other algeacides) as particulate debris will settle to the bottom and be picked up by one's automatic cleaner. One can run a filter 24/7, 365 days per year but that costs $$ regardless if one has a variable speed pump. It is worthwhile to experiment to find the pump run time for one's pool given the season/pool use/exposure to organic debris, etc. A pool service company will always opt for longer vs. shorter pump times because it makes sense to assure a customer's pool is staying crystal clear. If your DIY pool care, take some time to experiment on number of hours needed to keep things crystal clear depending on things mentioned above.
I have a uv in ground vinyl lined pool. I run it 8-12 hours. 16,500 gallons. Shock 1x a week, or if a lot of use I may do a double shock if I know no one is using it for a day or 2. But then when you shock it you have to run it for 24 hours. I ran my pump one month 24/7 just to see. It was 430$, If I run it 8-12 hours (10 hour avg) it's 220$. This is in middle TN. My neighbors run ac 24/7 in summer they pay 90 a month. The pool really amps up your bill, that's for sure.
I just want to say thank you for all these videos. I bought your pool care handbook and it’s been a super valuable resource. The pics are VERY helpful! Thanks again!!!
Run it 6-8hrs during day time because daylight is the highest risk for algae growth. At nights letting pool stagnate allows debris to settle to the floor so u will have a clearer pool.
I have been running my pump 3 hours from 6pm to 9pm for the last 8years since I bought in 2013 and I only use chlorine tablets for my chemical maintenance I live in California high desert.Clean my DE filter once a year by removing the 8 manifolds ,I have no issue what so ever,I test the water with the strips to know if I am low in chlorine.If I plan to swim or my grandkids . M
@@drewangell1457 My electric pump is single speed. Since I posted this message, I also added a solar pump, which is only good on sunny days, but the solar pump is variable speed. So, I am reducing my electric usage by way of supplementing with the solar pump.
Hi, was a pool operator for 30 years and learned a lot of tricks. I have a 10,000 pool and only my wife and I use down here in Fl. I keep my Chlorine about 10 ppm CY about 30ppm and run the pump 1 hour a day . Water stays perfectly clear no algae or diatoms. Secret is I use liquid pool chlorine keep it high at 10 ppm add about 5-10 ounces a day and maintain 30 ppm stabilizer . And do not pee in the pool 😄
@@misha-elministries5246 but why not turn it around then, more pump less chlorine, I have my salt water pool chlorine between 1-3 ppm and run the variable speed pump 7 hours a day. Don't you think the cost of chlorine is the same or more as the electric power needed for the pump? And maybe you also have solar on your roof in Florida? Just intrested..
@@KennethRouwen I am retired , I run the pump 1 hr per day just me and my wife . Pool stays nice and clear . Costs 32 cents a day to run pump ,14 dollars a month for Chlorine plus the stabilizer I put in once a year.
What?!? This is insanity lol. The goal is to swim in less chemicals and the purpose of running the pump is to filter your water of debris and etc. So gross lol. Say you're filtering roughly 480 gallons of your 10,000 gallon pool a day. 🤮
The advice to start at 4 hours and increase if the water clarity decreases and likewise decrease if the clarity remains is a sound one. And despite pooh-pooh’ing turnover rate, it’s still a nice ballpark estimate. I have an 11,000 gallon pool with a 1.5HP pump that runs about 70 GPM; to turn its capacity over once is a little over 2-1/2 hours. If conventional wisdom states 1-2x turnover is desired, split the difference at 1-1/2x turnover and ... voila! 4 hours almost on the dot.
I run my pump on my 26ft aboveground pool 24/7. I figure chemicals are more expensive than the power to run my filter. I live in FL and do not want water sitting. I think in the summer time it is cheaper to run the pump than fight with issues with the water
Turnover rates are now widely disregarded as a standard for residential pools. They were set up many years ago as a guideline, not based upon any particular scientific measure. I have been servicing pools since 1995. I have several that only run 3 hours a day. Most need to run longer, but not excessively. Six hours is about standard on my pools. (My average weekly service customer has been with me for about 10 years, some much longer, so I have empirical knowledge of long term results). The short answer is, you need to run your pool as long as your pool needs to run, that's it. Thanks for the videos, overall very informative and a good resource for pools owners.
I live in the California foothills. I just got the Pentair super max variable speed installed. Three hours on high speed and two hours on medium speed. The third speed is not needed. My pool guys say that’s fine. They set it. It replaced a single speed Hayward that cost a kings ransom each month. Super quiet 🤫
I run mine all day every day, forever... its a pentair VS. I run it on speed 3... Cost of electricity in the midwest is dirt cheap.. only costs about 15-20$ per month... So I recommend it haha
I have a cheapo Intex sand filter but I do the same thing. I live in the Midwest too and the dent to my electric bill is negligible. Totally worth it for a pool that's always clean and requires almost no maintenance. I only need to shock maybe once a month running it this way too!
We recently upgraded from an overworked 1.5 HP single speed pump to a Pentair Intelliflo3 3 HP. We were running the old pump 12 hours at the rate of 75ish GPM at the cost of $1.97 per day. The VS pump runs 14 hours @ 20 GPM, 50 GPM for 6 hours, 78 GPM for 4 hours. Running 24 hours a day instead of only 12. Daily cost is now $0.96 a day and I'm turning the water over 4x a day.
The simple way to approach this if you are a new pool owner, with say a 16000 gal pool I'd start 12 hours, run it for a couple weeks Every week shock, if it gets a little green, brush everything everywhere then double shock it. Here in TN it's 90+ every day during the summer, so the algae just wants to go nuts. I started at 24/7 then went to 15 hours, then 12, and now I'm about 8-12. 1x a week it runs overnight when shock is added. Get a taylor kit for $50 ish bucks, and some test strips (amazon is like 15$ for 100). Test strips for quick testing to see if you in the ballpark, I use the taylor if I'm about to double or triple / quad shock my pool (gotta make sure things are lower so it doesn't go nuts on the ratings). Watch these vids, learn a bunch. I've had my pool for 1 month. My first trip to leslies pool supply was 400$ and change. Now? I buy baking soda off amazon for $18 for 2x15 lb bags, pool essentials liquid bleach (10%, not the clorox 6% crap) for less than 4$ a gal at walmart. Some hardness stuff is the only thing I have to use, and not that often as here in TN we have almost hard water so it helps I guess.
Agreed, but I’d throw borax in there for raising pH without raising alkalinity too much. Also, there’s nothing wrong with Clorox as a pool sanitizer, and it lasts months longer than the higher potency stuff.
tishtashtishtash seeing what I said 10 months ago. I put “pool Rx” the blue one in my pool. All algae went away. Also my chlorine can be .5 vs 3-4. Crystal clear. Reduced my chemical bill be 75%. Also, I can run pump every other day for 8 hours. Sometimes I’ll run it for 4 everyday. Saved me 200+ $ a month.
Cold pool, hot roof... a stirling engine converts heat to mechanical energy replacing the pool pump while heating the water in the pool... usually this is not done because of fowling issues, so a closed loop sterling engine would work even better with a lower boiling point working fluid and heat exchanger to pool water, fouling would be minimal and easy to clean routinely and it even could produce electricity perhaps to run the salt reactor or lighting. Funny thing is solar panels are hot and would benefit from cooling and could act as your heat source, win win.
I run my pool pump 24/7 while open. Electric bill goes from around $100-200 during the winter to $300/month during the summer. A/C is a big part of that too though. I estimate my pool pump costs $50 per month. 1Hp Motor. 15k gallon inground.
24/7 1350 rpm from 10pm to 10am, 1800 from 10am to 10pm. I have a high speed skimmer setup on a feature to flow more water over the spa tiered spillway and/or to get some high speed skimming. $18 a month to run the pump like this.
@@sidewayzmike no that's not what i was talking about. though those do seem to work. i meant i setup a feature mode that is on-demand. if there's some bugs or cotton tree stuff floating on the surface, or i want my tiered spa to trickle a little more water as a feature i hit the button. it runs the pump up to 2800 for as long as i choose. The extra rpm skims a little faster than the 1800 for a quick skim.
Yeah, if I host guests, and its night fall, I might go over to the pump and hit "quick clean" mode so I can get my waterfall to run more, lol. Because my slow more is anything after 8pm. Also did the color change led light (amazon) and it is cool af.
There is no way to know if you are turning over all the water in your pool because as the "clean" water comes back into the pool it is immediately mixed with the "less clean" water in the pool. The result is that 'all' the water in the pool very gradually gets pulled through the pump and filter and there is no way of knowing what percentage of the water actually went through the filter. Some water went through multiple times and some perhaps didn't go through. The way you know if you are running your pump enough is by looking at the water and testing the water. Your pool's need for chemicals complicates the process of course. But eventually you get a feel for how long, and when, is best for your pool and equipment.
unfortunately for smaller pools like Intex 12' and 14' and similar sized pools, these calculations are woefully inadequate. Our 12' works out to 1,700 gallons total, and it came with a horrible little 250 gph cartridge pump. I upgraded that to a 1,500 GPH cartridge pump, but it still didn't work very well. Last year I upgraded again to the Intex 12" sand filter with 1,600 GPH pump, and it's been AWESOME! It says 2,800 gallon minimum pool size, but it's been working great with our 1,700 gallon capacity. I run a timer so that it runs 3 times a day for 1 hour each, which theoretically should be around 3 water changes every day. Shock, chlorine tablet and baking soda once each week keeps everything nice and clean all summer.
don't bacteria and algae grow faster in the heat and sun? so wouldn't running your pump at night instead of during the day cause more algae and bacteria?
Your pool water needs to circulate at least once through your pump and filter. That means at least 8 hours a day, but it depends on the size of your pool.
I run my pump 4 hours a day. Salt waters system. My pump is 75 GPM 1.5hp. My pool is 24' round and roughly 14000 gallons. I can move 18000 gallons theough my pool in 4 hours and its crystal clear from spring till fall. Figure out what your flow rate and then start saving on your electric bills!
My experience is I run 8974 gallon pool 2.5 hours during the coolest part of day 5am until 730am. My turnover rate is 1.24, calculated by pool company. Live in north Texas. Had capacitor go out his year & waited nearly one week with no pump. My pool look great & I added liquid chlorine daily & after the sun goes down. Chlorine does the best work at night as during day sunlight eats up the chlorine. I have a 2 horsepower pump with 60 square foot DE filter with a chlorinator(uses chlorine pucks for CYA) set on a medium setting. Never use shock. Chemicals are all within range including hardness, as this makes water feel soft. During winter, I run my pool only once a week as long as water temp is below 70 degrees as algae cannot grow in the lower water temp. I do have a freeze guard should in winter pool temps drop.
Does the day temperature play a big factor in how many hours a day you leave the pump on? Like, a hot summer day of 90 degrees vs a cold day in the winter of 50 degrees? Thx.
Turnover of pull water is a myth! If you add chemicals, run your pump for about 30 mins. For everyday pump running, run it fast enough and long enough to get good skimming action for the top of your pool. If you have a SWG, then you need to run long enough to produce the required amount of daily chlorine and fast enough to produce adequate flow through SWG. If you have a heater, you need to run long to reach your heat output and fast enough to produce adequate flow through heater. If you do not have a variable speed pump, you want to figure out the least amount you can run your pump to help save on electrical cost. As you run the pump slower, the power consumption goes down by the cube root factor of speed (pump affinity law). So running a pump at half your normal speed actually reduces the power consumption to an 1/8th of the original value!
Absolute rubbish. If the whole body of water is turned over once, you’re only filtering out about 40% of the entire body of water. Two turnovers will yield about 80% of your water being filters. After 4 turnovers you’re looking at 98% of the water being filtered. Sure, your method might clear the top of debris, but the water itself is not really being filtered at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if the water was cloudy all the time since you’re not filtering out most of the suspended particulate in the water. Running your pool 30min is not going to cut it. Don’t preach this method, you clearly don’t know what you’re talking about. I take care of 20 pools every week. If I applied your theory, I would show up to 20 unsightly pools.
How about a video about how to set a pool timer? I mean, it does seem basic, but there have got to be some pointers, right? For instance, on my timer it has two pins. One to turn on one to turn off…can i get extra pins so i can have two pumping “shifts”? How do you set the current time?
THIS. Every video I've watched so far just breezes right through the turning pump on and off and none show how to actually set the darn timer. Total novice here.
I got a 26ft and put it up 2 months ago. 0 experience with running a pool and I have been able to maintain it pretty well. If you have a cartridge filter, I reccomend a sand filter, I got mine off of amazon for 160!
There's no easy answer, but much of the time it will depend on the bather load and how much crap is floating in the air from trees, bushes, and other debris. In an ideal situation with one or two users that *SOAP SHOWER* before each use you can get away with much less filtering than a pool full of sweaty hot bodies jumping in every afternoon. (pool party?) Sunscreen will also cloud the water and clog filters.
Something to consider....if you buy a new above ground and use the crappy pump that came with. Just run it 24 hrs. Turning it on and off will fry it quicker. 😊
I’m in Texas now with the winter freeze. New pool owner... just learning the how to’s now. I might be in trouble. I know the water is flowing and pump is working. Has been continuously now. Have a Hayward VS pump.
Hello!! i'll be installing a UV light system to keep my pool clean; could you please create a video showing proper installation of the Pura Vida UV light system and how UV is used to clean your pool?
I doubt it'll hurt. At all. We now have the standard Intex cartridge filter/pump to replace the same size one for our Coleman Swim Vista II 18'x48", when it burned out... We run ours 24/7. No problems whatsoever... We do have to change out our filter once a week, but I found a filter cleaner spray at Walmart and it works Amazingly Well! It's Clorox Brand & in a pump bottle. It literally dissolves the gunk right off the filter.
I have two timing pins(or whetever they are called) on the timer. I have it set to run from 8am -10pm in the summer. (14 on, 10 off) 10am - 6pm (8 on, 12 off) in winter or daylight savings time. (live in the hot humid south) I shock weekly with pre-dissolved shock in a bucket of pool water. Everyone says do it at night and then run it for 8 hours. I don't want to have to mess with the timer pin to make it run for 8 hours into the night every week. The sun drops behind my house at around 5pm . No direct sunlight. So what if I add it then let it filter until the 10 pm shut off. That's 5 hours. My point: Does adding shock have to be "at night" or just after the direct sun is not on the pool?
When the kids were younger and the pool was used a lot i would run it 8 hr a day min. Now there is. much less use and no pee! So it runs 4 hr in summer and 2 in winter. Use common sense, keep your filters clean and your chemicals balanced, easy peasy. About17k gal pool in so cal
The purpose of the pump is to filter the water. Pump the water just enough to keep the water clear. If the water is clear start cutting back the timer. When it gets cloudy turn it up. Summer will take more winter less, it ain't rocket science folks.
Just pumping 1x your pool volume in 8 hours isn't filtering 1x your pool water because your system isn't perfectly circulating. You want to filter 100% of the pool water ever 24 hours. You need 3 turn overs to filter 95% of the water and 4 turn overs to get 98%. To the 8 hour rule of thumb is based on 1 turnover in an 8 hour period and doing that 3 times in 24 hours to get 95% of the water filtered in 24 hours approaching the 100% filtration in 24 hours target. So you would need to run 24/7 to get 3 turn overs with a pump sized for one turn over in 8 hours.
I have a Tork 1109A 24 hour timer. Initially, it seemed to work fine. Now when it comes around to the off key, it locks the clock and keeps running. Have I put the off key on wrong? I cant seem to get it right.
hey there! set up the intex easy set up pool and the input filter has slowed and now not moving. what is the best way to unhook hoses to take filter out to clean/ HELP!
What if my pump is overpowered? As in, one turnover can be done in 1.5 hours. Can I just run the pool pump for 1.5 hours at least? Or do I still need to run that pump for at least 8 hours? I know that ideally it should run 24/7. But I am asking for the recommended minimum.
Swim University on the advice of my pool tech the for the last half of the pump run cycle 5 hours we lowered the pump gpm rate. The water is appreciably clearer and cleaner.
I test pool filters at my job and derating the flow rate works well to both let it capture more stuff and maintaining the “cake” that keeps your filter working it’s best.
Matt, dude... I don’t have a pool. Not likely I ever will. But I DO have a major addiction to Moneylab. And watching how entertaining you make pool care begs the question: when the fk will you launch the Moneylab channel?
my filter seeps water out around the valve where it tightens down. not much but it needs to be fixed. what should I do? First time pool owner and just opened it today. 7/12/20
I just bought a house with a pool. I know nothing about pools but after 1 week it turned green. A pool person came out and told me to run the pump for 24hrs to shock the pool. Following day the pump motor went out. Technician said I needed a new pump, told him it was running for 24hrs and he said that's why it went out. Is he right?
No, he is not right. True, if the pump runs for 24 hours a day, it will likely wear out 3 times as fast as one being used daily for 8 hours. But that's not the kind of thing that wears a pump out overnight unless the pump was on it's last legs to begin with or it was run without water. The pump in my pool runs about 7 hours a day and has for the last 15 years. I'd love to be able to run it 24 hrs a day, but the electric bill would be way high.
does it have to be 8 hours? i calculated my pool 20' Diameter and 48" depth to be around 8k gallons, so with my 2400GPH pump i only need to run it for 4 hours and it would cycle 9600 Gals in 4 hours. wouldnt that also be good?
You only need to use a timer on your pump if only like 3 people use it and you occasionally have more than 5 people in the pool. If you have kids that are gross and swim all the time i suggest running it 24/7.
No body is swimming in ours but im still running the pump everyday and it's covered...i run for at least 4 hours and sometimes 6. I have a 530 gph pump and 1400 gallon pool
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How long do you run your pool pump every day during the hottest part of the pool season?
How do you find out how many gallons does a pool have ...measurements
Swim University Hey there is an important calculation missing in this video. Especially for below ground pools. When sizing your pump with the gpm and total feet of head, you need to calculate each 90 degree elbow into your equation and add 5 feet per 90 degree fitting. Not doing this will throw off you dynamic head calc and where the pump motor falls on the curve. Yes Variable speed and Ecm pumps can compensate. However, you are very technical and I think you would appreciate the accuracy.
I have the Intex sand filter pump and run it 24/7. The added expense is worth it to me for a clean pool. Once it gets nasty it's so hard to bring back
I also run my included pump in my above ground coleman 24/7, only unplug to swim. I go through filters every week (because i added a skimmer that sucks in a lot of bugs) and i have negligible bill impact because of solar panels. Water is clean and maintenance is way, way lower than it used to be when i only ran my pump 6 hrs a day.
I wired mine up to a WIFI controlled switch and can adjust on / off times remotely from anywhere... Usually during peak time in the heat of the day I will have the pump run for 10 min every hour from when the sun hits the pool just to move water around then on for 6 or so hours in the evening / nite. Foul weather days it gets run 8 hours in the evening.
I do 6hrs on and 6hrs off - I run 6am-Noon and 6pm-Midnight and my pool does great!
Never had a problem with pool chemistry since I started running pump 24/7. I highly recommend it.
I run my pump 24/7. I was taught, if you are pumping water, you have a pool. If you aren't pumping water, you have a pond. The cost isn't that much vs adding chemicals to rectify problems.
Same here
I like that theory. My pentair vs is doing 12 n 12 program. My only concern, is what time of the day, do I want my water features to function? 🤷
@@sidewayzmike Does running the water feature cost more??
@@HAULUUZ not at all. It's just a valve that I open and close to let my waterfall operate. All in the same water circuit.
I have lived in my house for 21 years and have been running my pump 24/7. When I tell the service people that they freak out! I tell them I’ll only run it during the day and they think they have saved me. My electric bill isn’t any more than my neighbors who don’t have a pool at all. When I bought the house, the pump/motor was already probably ten years old. I replaced the whole thing once and recently replaced the impeller and the motor once. So its probably better to run it all the time instead of it going on and off every day.
I run my pump from April to September straight through. 3/4 hp sat-rite pump, sand filter with a 17000 gallon doughboy partial above ground with deep end in ground pool. I hate to have water standing still. Heat with a heat pump. Costs a little under $100/mo combined. Eastern Washington.
I am seeing the same cost in Ohio. Around $100
*Pentair IntelliFlo VSF,* from 20 GPM overnight/morning to 55 GPM in evening while heating, runs 24/7. Electricity costs only $25/month. Water probably turns over 3 times daily and its always beautiful.
We recently upgraded from an overworked 1.5 HP single speed pump to a Pentair Intelliflo3 3 HP. We were running the old pump 12 hours at the rate of 75ish GPM at the cost of $1.97 per day. The VS pump runs 14 hours @ 20 GPM, 50 GPM for 6 hours, 78 GPM for 4 hours. Daily cost is now $0.96 a day and I'm turning the water over 4x a day.
Nice video. No wonder i have slight algae issues running my tiny pools pump only 2 hours a day. Jeez lol.
Inherited a pool with a house we bought last year. I closed it last year in October just a few weeks after moving in. Opened it today. Watched this video and other videos - almost finished opening it, but done for tonight. Gonna follow your system to run the pump at night - hooked up my pump to a photocell light sensor timer outlet which I used to use during the winter at the front of the house so the Christmas lights would come on immediately when the sky got dark… Got a switch to control how long it stays on - I switched it from 6 hours for Christmas lights and 8 hours now for the pool. 👍🏽
There always seems to be important things left out with these discussions:
a) Diffusion of chemicals in a liquid
b) Amount of suspended particular matter in a given season
c) Likelihood of an algae bloom from organic debris load
How much turnover of water is needed really depends on many factors. Summertime swimming in the pool will assist mixing/diffusion of chemicals naturally. Even with no swimming, there will be slow diffusion even if a pool pump was kept off entirely. Aside from salt pool run times to develop necessary chlorine levels, run times are really more about trying to filter out fine debris/particles to keep water clear. So in the summer with lots of swimming, particles get stirred up/suspended and one needs to increase run times to filter out the filtered particles to keep water clearer. Come winter time in many locations (say Phoenix) when people aren't typically swimming, the run times can be dramatically reduced as long as one has enough chlorine (or other algeacides) as particulate debris will settle to the bottom and be picked up by one's automatic cleaner.
One can run a filter 24/7, 365 days per year but that costs $$ regardless if one has a variable speed pump. It is worthwhile to experiment to find the pump run time for one's pool given the season/pool use/exposure to organic debris, etc. A pool service company will always opt for longer vs. shorter pump times because it makes sense to assure a customer's pool is staying crystal clear. If your DIY pool care, take some time to experiment on number of hours needed to keep things crystal clear depending on things mentioned above.
I have a uv in ground vinyl lined pool. I run it 8-12 hours. 16,500 gallons. Shock 1x a week, or if a lot of use I may do a double shock if I know no one is using it for a day or 2. But then when you shock it you have to run it for 24 hours. I ran my pump one month 24/7 just to see. It was 430$, If I run it 8-12 hours (10 hour avg) it's 220$. This is in middle TN. My neighbors run ac 24/7 in summer they pay 90 a month. The pool really amps up your bill, that's for sure.
I just want to say thank you for all these videos. I bought your pool care handbook and it’s been a super valuable resource. The pics are VERY helpful! Thanks again!!!
Awesome! So happy it helped!
Run it 6-8hrs during day time because daylight is the highest risk for algae growth. At nights letting pool stagnate allows debris to settle to the floor so u will have a clearer pool.
I have been running my pump 3 hours from 6pm to 9pm for the last 8years since I bought in 2013 and I only use chlorine tablets for my chemical maintenance I live in California high desert.Clean my DE filter once a year by removing the 8 manifolds ,I have no issue what so ever,I test the water with the strips to know if I am low in chlorine.If I plan to swim or my grandkids .
M
My pump running 24/7 doubles my electric bill, so I put it on a timer that turns the pump on different times throughout the day.
Did you have a variable speed pump?
@@drewangell1457 My electric pump is single speed. Since I posted this message, I also added a solar pump, which is only good on sunny days, but the solar pump is variable speed. So, I am reducing my electric usage by way of supplementing with the solar pump.
Hi, was a pool operator for 30 years and learned a lot of tricks. I have a 10,000 pool and only my wife and I use down here in Fl. I keep my Chlorine about 10 ppm CY about 30ppm and run the pump 1 hour a day . Water stays perfectly clear no algae or diatoms. Secret is I use liquid pool chlorine keep it high at 10 ppm add about 5-10 ounces a day and maintain 30 ppm stabilizer . And do not pee in the pool 😄
But those are pretty high chorine levels, they keep the water clear but can also cause skin and eye irritation
@@KennethRouwen 10 ppm is the max allowed in public pools here in Florida . It may be irritating to some people.
@@misha-elministries5246 but why not turn it around then, more pump less chlorine, I have my salt water pool chlorine between 1-3 ppm and run the variable speed pump 7 hours a day. Don't you think the cost of chlorine is the same or more as the electric power needed for the pump? And maybe you also have solar on your roof in Florida? Just intrested..
@@KennethRouwen I am retired , I run the pump 1 hr per day just me and my wife . Pool stays nice and clear . Costs 32 cents a day to run pump ,14 dollars a month for Chlorine plus the stabilizer I put in once a year.
What?!? This is insanity lol. The goal is to swim in less chemicals and the purpose of running the pump is to filter your water of debris and etc. So gross lol. Say you're filtering roughly 480 gallons of your 10,000 gallon pool a day. 🤮
Thank you for all the good advice. Much appreciated. 8 hours works for me, maybe since I'm the only one who uses it.
👍You're welcome :-)
The advice to start at 4 hours and increase if the water clarity decreases and likewise decrease if the clarity remains is a sound one. And despite pooh-pooh’ing turnover rate, it’s still a nice ballpark estimate. I have an 11,000 gallon pool with a 1.5HP pump that runs about 70 GPM; to turn its capacity over once is a little over 2-1/2 hours. If conventional wisdom states 1-2x turnover is desired, split the difference at 1-1/2x turnover and ... voila! 4 hours almost on the dot.
One pool builder in FL says to run the pump one hour per 10 degrees temp: 80 degrees = 8 hrs.
I run my variable speedpump 24/7. Here's my schedule: 8am-10am at 2850rpm. 10am-8pm at 2250rpm. 8pm-8am @1500. Hope this helps.
I have a VS pump as well, but not sure what speed to run it at, is there a way to calculate what the speed should be?
I run my pump on my 26ft aboveground pool 24/7. I figure chemicals are more expensive than the power to run my filter. I live in FL and do not want water sitting. I think in the summer time it is cheaper to run the pump than fight with issues with the water
at what RPM's? lower like 750 for 24/7?
Turnover rates are now widely disregarded as a standard for residential pools. They were set up many years ago as a guideline, not based upon any particular scientific measure. I have been servicing pools since 1995. I have several that only run 3 hours a day. Most need to run longer, but not excessively. Six hours is about standard on my pools. (My average weekly service customer has been with me for about 10 years, some much longer, so I have empirical knowledge of long term results).
The short answer is, you need to run your pool as long as your pool needs to run, that's it.
Thanks for the videos, overall very informative and a good resource for pools owners.
Thanks for the feedback and info! And if you have any ideas for more videos, I'd love to hear them. Sounds like you know a ton ;-)
Pretty much the same for me. No algea ever.
I live in the California foothills. I just got the Pentair super max variable speed installed. Three hours on high speed and two hours on medium speed. The third speed is not needed. My pool guys say that’s fine. They set it. It replaced a single speed Hayward that cost a kings ransom each month. Super quiet 🤫
I run mine all day every day, forever... its a pentair VS. I run it on speed 3... Cost of electricity in the midwest is dirt cheap.. only costs about 15-20$ per month... So I recommend it haha
That's a great pump!
I have a cheapo Intex sand filter but I do the same thing. I live in the Midwest too and the dent to my electric bill is negligible. Totally worth it for a pool that's always clean and requires almost no maintenance. I only need to shock maybe once a month running it this way too!
We recently upgraded from an overworked 1.5 HP single speed pump to a Pentair Intelliflo3 3 HP. We were running the old pump 12 hours at the rate of 75ish GPM at the cost of $1.97 per day. The VS pump runs 14 hours @ 20 GPM, 50 GPM for 6 hours, 78 GPM for 4 hours. Running 24 hours a day instead of only 12. Daily cost is now $0.96 a day and I'm turning the water over 4x a day.
Awesome find. I’ll buy your video. Thank you
What about salt water systems for an above ground pool. I have a 15ft by 48in above ground pool with a sand / salt water filter?
The simple way to approach this if you are a new pool owner, with say a 16000 gal pool I'd start 12 hours, run it for a couple weeks Every week shock, if it gets a little green, brush everything everywhere then double shock it. Here in TN it's 90+ every day during the summer, so the algae just wants to go nuts. I started at 24/7 then went to 15 hours, then 12, and now I'm about 8-12. 1x a week it runs overnight when shock is added. Get a taylor kit for $50 ish bucks, and some test strips (amazon is like 15$ for 100). Test strips for quick testing to see if you in the ballpark, I use the taylor if I'm about to double or triple / quad shock my pool (gotta make sure things are lower so it doesn't go nuts on the ratings).
Watch these vids, learn a bunch. I've had my pool for 1 month. My first trip to leslies pool supply was 400$ and change. Now? I buy baking soda off amazon for $18 for 2x15 lb bags, pool essentials liquid bleach (10%, not the clorox 6% crap) for less than 4$ a gal at walmart. Some hardness stuff is the only thing I have to use, and not that often as here in TN we have almost hard water so it helps I guess.
👍
Agreed, but I’d throw borax in there for raising pH without raising alkalinity too much. Also, there’s nothing wrong with Clorox as a pool sanitizer, and it lasts months longer than the higher potency stuff.
tishtashtishtash seeing what I said 10 months ago. I put “pool Rx” the blue one in my pool. All algae went away. Also my chlorine can be .5 vs 3-4. Crystal clear. Reduced my chemical bill be 75%. Also, I can run pump every other day for 8 hours. Sometimes I’ll run it for 4 everyday. Saved me 200+ $ a month.
Cold pool, hot roof... a stirling engine converts heat to mechanical energy replacing the pool pump while heating the water in the pool... usually this is not done because of fowling issues, so a closed loop sterling engine would work even better with a lower boiling point working fluid and heat exchanger to pool water, fouling would be minimal and easy to clean routinely and it even could produce electricity perhaps to run the salt reactor or lighting. Funny thing is solar panels are hot and would benefit from cooling and could act as your heat source, win win.
I run my pool pump 24/7 while open. Electric bill goes from around $100-200 during the winter to $300/month during the summer. A/C is a big part of that too though. I estimate my pool pump costs $50 per month. 1Hp Motor. 15k gallon inground.
24/7 1350 rpm from 10pm to 10am, 1800 from 10am to 10pm. I have a high speed skimmer setup on a feature to flow more water over the spa tiered spillway and/or to get some high speed skimming. $18 a month to run the pump like this.
Are you talking about those venturi skimmer baskets? The ones that look like they are making a mini tornado inside the skimmers?
@@sidewayzmike no that's not what i was talking about. though those do seem to work. i meant i setup a feature mode that is on-demand. if there's some bugs or cotton tree stuff floating on the surface, or i want my tiered spa to trickle a little more water as a feature i hit the button. it runs the pump up to 2800 for as long as i choose. The extra rpm skims a little faster than the 1800 for a quick skim.
Yeah, if I host guests, and its night fall, I might go over to the pump and hit "quick clean" mode so I can get my waterfall to run more, lol. Because my slow more is anything after 8pm. Also did the color change led light (amazon) and it is cool af.
There is no way to know if you are turning over all the water in your pool because as the "clean" water comes back into the pool it is immediately mixed with the "less clean" water in the pool. The result is that 'all' the water in the pool very gradually gets pulled through the pump and filter and there is no way of knowing what percentage of the water actually went through the filter. Some water went through multiple times and some perhaps didn't go through. The way you know if you are running your pump enough is by looking at the water and testing the water. Your pool's need for chemicals complicates the process of course. But eventually you get a feel for how long, and when, is best for your pool and equipment.
Depends on what kind of pump you have variable speed or single speed...
I have a 2 speed pump. 12 hrs on normal speed (8am-8pm) and 12 on low (8pm-8am)
Another variable, If you have a heat pump you have to run the pump to get desired water temp.
I live in Texas where it is hottttt...how can I keep my pool water from getting hot?
unfortunately for smaller pools like Intex 12' and 14' and similar sized pools, these calculations are woefully inadequate. Our 12' works out to 1,700 gallons total, and it came with a horrible little 250 gph cartridge pump. I upgraded that to a 1,500 GPH cartridge pump, but it still didn't work very well. Last year I upgraded again to the Intex 12" sand filter with 1,600 GPH pump, and it's been AWESOME! It says 2,800 gallon minimum pool size, but it's been working great with our 1,700 gallon capacity. I run a timer so that it runs 3 times a day for 1 hour each, which theoretically should be around 3 water changes every day. Shock, chlorine tablet and baking soda once each week keeps everything nice and clean all summer.
don't bacteria and algae grow faster in the heat and sun? so wouldn't running your pump at night instead of during the day cause more algae and bacteria?
I have solar panels and like to run mine from sun up to sun down so I don’t spend a lot on electricity
What is the ideal schedule for a Variable Speed Pump? Please include Times and RPMs. Thanks!
Exactly what im looking for
Your pool water needs to circulate at least once through your pump and filter. That means at least 8 hours a day, but it depends on the size of your pool.
I run my pump 4 hours a day. Salt waters system. My pump is 75 GPM 1.5hp. My pool is 24' round and roughly 14000 gallons. I can move 18000 gallons theough my pool in 4 hours and its crystal clear from spring till fall. Figure out what your flow rate and then start saving on your electric bills!
Yes to knowing your flow rate! Love to hear it!
My experience is I run 8974 gallon pool 2.5 hours during the coolest part of day 5am until 730am. My turnover rate is 1.24, calculated by pool company. Live in north Texas. Had capacitor go out his year & waited nearly one week with no pump. My pool look great & I added liquid chlorine daily & after the sun goes down. Chlorine does the best work at night as during day sunlight eats up the chlorine. I have a 2 horsepower pump with 60 square foot DE filter with a chlorinator(uses chlorine pucks for CYA) set on a medium setting. Never use shock. Chemicals are all within range including hardness, as this makes water feel soft. During winter, I run my pool only once a week as long as water temp is below 70 degrees as algae cannot grow in the lower water temp. I do have a freeze guard should in winter pool temps drop.
Does the day temperature play a big factor in how many hours a day you leave the pump on? Like, a hot summer day of 90 degrees vs a cold day in the winter of 50 degrees? Thx.
So you run your pool pump in the winter never heard of that before
I've been running mine 24/7 for 3 years. Huge inground pool and I'm scared not to.
How many hours when it's a small vinyl Intex pool 12' x30" ?
Turnover of pull water is a myth! If you add chemicals, run your pump for about 30 mins. For everyday pump running, run it fast enough and long enough to get good skimming action for the top of your pool. If you have a SWG, then you need to run long enough to produce the required amount of daily chlorine and fast enough to produce adequate flow through SWG. If you have a heater, you need to run long to reach your heat output and fast enough to produce adequate flow through heater. If you do not have a variable speed pump, you want to figure out the least amount you can run your pump to help save on electrical cost. As you run the pump slower, the power consumption goes down by the cube root factor of speed (pump affinity law). So running a pump at half your normal speed actually reduces the power consumption to an 1/8th of the original value!
Absolute rubbish. If the whole body of water is turned over once, you’re only filtering out about 40% of the entire body of water. Two turnovers will yield about 80% of your water being filters. After 4 turnovers you’re looking at 98% of the water being filtered. Sure, your method might clear the top of debris, but the water itself is not really being filtered at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if the water was cloudy all the time since you’re not filtering out most of the suspended particulate in the water. Running your pool 30min is not going to cut it. Don’t preach this method, you clearly don’t know what you’re talking about. I take care of 20 pools every week. If I applied your theory, I would show up to 20 unsightly pools.
How about a video about how to set a pool timer? I mean, it does seem basic, but there have got to be some pointers, right? For instance, on my timer it has two pins. One to turn on one to turn off…can i get extra pins so i can have two pumping “shifts”? How do you set the current time?
THIS. Every video I've watched so far just breezes right through the turning pump on and off and none show how to actually set the darn timer. Total novice here.
This video helps a lot. Thank you. My daughter 22 got a pool for free. And I have been left trying to learn how to manage it.
Glad it helped!
I got a 26ft and put it up 2 months ago. 0 experience with running a pool and I have been able to maintain it pretty well. If you have a cartridge filter, I reccomend a sand filter, I got mine off of amazon for 160!
There's no easy answer, but much of the time it will depend on the bather load and how much crap is floating in the air from trees, bushes, and other debris. In an ideal situation with one or two users that *SOAP SHOWER* before each use you can get away with much less filtering than a pool full of sweaty hot bodies jumping in every afternoon. (pool party?) Sunscreen will also cloud the water and clog filters.
Thank you so much. I run ours 24/7, just wondered how hard on the pump that is.
Something to consider....if you buy a new above ground and use the crappy pump that came with. Just run it 24 hrs. Turning it on and off will fry it quicker. 😊
I’m in Texas now with the winter freeze. New pool owner... just learning the how to’s now. I might be in trouble. I know the water is flowing and pump is working. Has been continuously now. Have a Hayward VS pump.
Should you filter while swimming or after swimming
I run my Pentair Intelliflo at 1500rpm for 14 hours a day for a little less than $10 a month
Hello!! i'll be installing a UV light system to keep my pool clean; could you please create a video showing proper installation of the Pura Vida UV light system and how UV is used to clean your pool?
I have solar panels and run 8 hrs a day from 10 to 6 pm
Our intex manual said run pump 6 hours. 18 ft x48”. Do we run the risk of burning out the motor if we go to 8 hrs/day?
I doubt it'll hurt. At all. We now have the standard Intex cartridge filter/pump to replace the same size one for our Coleman Swim Vista II 18'x48", when it burned out... We run ours 24/7. No problems whatsoever... We do have to change out our filter once a week, but I found a filter cleaner spray at Walmart and it works Amazingly Well! It's Clorox Brand & in a pump bottle. It literally dissolves the gunk right off the filter.
@@cruisintrkrs4105 great information, thanks
I've got solar panels for my electric so prefer to run it from 10-6pm
I have two timing pins(or whetever they are called) on the timer. I have it set to run from 8am -10pm in the summer. (14 on, 10 off) 10am - 6pm (8 on, 12 off) in winter or daylight savings time. (live in the hot humid south) I shock weekly with pre-dissolved shock in a bucket of pool water. Everyone says do it at night and then run it for 8 hours. I don't want to have to mess with the timer pin to make it run for 8 hours into the night every week. The sun drops behind my house at around 5pm . No direct sunlight. So what if I add it then let it filter until the 10 pm shut off. That's 5 hours. My point: Does adding shock have to be "at night" or just after the direct sun is not on the pool?
Hi there, I need help on my above ground pool!
When the kids were younger and the pool was used a lot i would run it 8 hr a day min. Now there is. much less use and no pee! So it runs 4 hr in summer and 2 in winter. Use common sense, keep your filters clean and your chemicals balanced, easy peasy. About17k gal pool in so cal
The purpose of the pump is to filter the water. Pump the water just enough to keep the water clear. If the water is clear start cutting back the timer. When it gets cloudy turn it up. Summer will take more winter less, it ain't rocket science folks.
Learned so much from you thank you.
Thanks so much! Such good information!
I run my variable speed pump all day everyday all summer doesn’t cost much at all
It does here in Texas. Electric rates are ridiculous here.
What size pool and pump do you have
I also run mine 24/7. Being in FL, I dont want water sitting still!
Just bought a variable speed pump for that reason.. That's the way to go!!!
The link to the calculator does not work
Just pumping 1x your pool volume in 8 hours isn't filtering 1x your pool water because your system isn't perfectly circulating. You want to filter 100% of the pool water ever 24 hours. You need 3 turn overs to filter 95% of the water and 4 turn overs to get 98%. To the 8 hour rule of thumb is based on 1 turnover in an 8 hour period and doing that 3 times in 24 hours to get 95% of the water filtered in 24 hours approaching the 100% filtration in 24 hours target. So you would need to run 24/7 to get 3 turn overs with a pump sized for one turn over in 8 hours.
If my pool is only 840 gallons.. Do I still need to run it 8 hrs a day...My buddy runs his 3 times a day for 30 min
I have a Tork 1109A 24 hour timer. Initially, it seemed to work fine. Now when it comes around to the off key, it locks the clock and keeps running. Have I put the off key on wrong? I cant seem to get it right.
So my question is do you shock an run the pool before a rain an thunder storm or just best too do it after a storm?
hey there! set up the intex easy set up pool and the input filter has slowed and now not moving. what is the best way to unhook hoses to take filter out to clean/ HELP!
What if my pump is overpowered? As in, one turnover can be done in 1.5 hours. Can I just run the pool pump for 1.5 hours at least? Or do I still need to run that pump for at least 8 hours? I know that ideally it should run 24/7. But I am asking for the recommended minimum.
Any truth to the belief that running your variable speed pump at a slower/lower rate increases the effectiveness of your sand filter?
Sure! Running water slowly through ANY filter (even your home water filter) will result in better filtered water.
Swim University on the advice of my pool tech the for the last half of the pump run cycle 5 hours we lowered the pump gpm rate. The water is appreciably clearer and cleaner.
I test pool filters at my job and derating the flow rate works well to both let it capture more stuff and maintaining the “cake” that keeps your filter working it’s best.
Can you run a pump with the cover over a above ground pool
I run mine 8 - 10 hours a day. Turning it on at 7am. I usually get in around 5pm.
Long enough to sweep the floor or before use.
What speed and timings would you recommend for a variable speed pump?
Matt, dude...
I don’t have a pool. Not likely I ever will. But I DO have a major addiction to Moneylab. And watching how entertaining you make pool care begs the question: when the fk will you launch the Moneylab channel?
There is one!
Swim University 👍🏼 yeah... per my tweet, oops.
Am a YT junkie. Not sure how I missed it.
I run mine 24/7 all summer. I may shut it down on a cooler evening to put a liquid blanket on it overnight.
I run my pool all day, so my electric bill is anywhere from $100 - $150 usd more than normal
Right now in middle of July 24/7
I have a timer that automatically turns on the pump and turns it off
How do I know if my husand put the hoses on right
If you have solar (PV) run it from sun rise to sunset.
Great info! 👏🙂☀️
When draining a pool for excessive rain, does the filter pump need to stay on?
Yes that’s what sucks the water right?
How do you factor pool heating into this equation?
my filter seeps water out around the valve where it tightens down. not much but it needs to be fixed. what should I do? First time pool owner and just opened it today. 7/12/20
👍👍👍👍best channel I found👍👍👍SUBSCRIBED
Pls help me with my question. Can I run lx wp200-|| 24/7? Thank you very much
Hi what happens if i leave my pool without filter on for 4 days while i am away?
why do that.......either get a timer or ask a neighbor
Hi,
Do i need to calculate volume water inside the B.tank if pools come with Balancing Tank?
Just seen the rest of video
I just bought a house with a pool. I know nothing about pools but after 1 week it turned green. A pool person came out and told me to run the pump for 24hrs to shock the pool. Following day the pump motor went out. Technician said I needed a new pump, told him it was running for 24hrs and he said that's why it went out. Is he right?
No, he is not right. True, if the pump runs for 24 hours a day, it will likely wear out 3 times as fast as one being used daily for 8 hours. But that's not the kind of thing that wears a pump out overnight unless the pump was on it's last legs to begin with or it was run without water.
The pump in my pool runs about 7 hours a day and has for the last 15 years. I'd love to be able to run it 24 hrs a day, but the electric bill would be way high.
Really helpful
I just turn mine off at night before bed and turn it back on before work. I probably run mine 12-14 hrs a day. I have a 14-28ft saltwater pool
does it have to be 8 hours? i calculated my pool 20' Diameter and 48" depth to be around 8k gallons, so with my 2400GPH pump i only need to run it for 4 hours and it would cycle 9600 Gals in 4 hours. wouldnt that also be good?
What rpm should i run my pool pump
a good rule of thumb is 1 hour / 10 degrees of average daily temperature.
My pool service co. say to leave pool pump on 24x7 because turning it on and off inceases chances of damaging the pump. ???
You only need to use a timer on your pump if only like 3 people use it and you occasionally have more than 5 people in the pool. If you have kids that are gross and swim all the time i suggest running it 24/7.
No body is swimming in ours but im still running the pump everyday and it's covered...i run for at least 4 hours and sometimes 6. I have a 530 gph pump and 1400 gallon pool
Actually just did the calculator it said the pool has 1,282 gallons. So the pump is very efficient lol