Filtering / how much time

The basics of swimming pool maintenance.
New swimming pool owner's questions.
Help getting started with daily pool care.
kccats

Filtering / how much time

Postby kccats » Thu 08 Jun, 2006 22:18

I have a 22,000 gal inground pool.
I generaly turn my pump on at 6:00 am and turn it off at 9:00 pm.

I am looking to reduce my electric bill but still want to turn my pool over at least twice.

I know there has to be a formula that I can figure out either a straight run time or a split run time to get my turn over and still save some money by having it not run as much.

Any help would be most apprediated.


LauraLee

Postby LauraLee » Fri 09 Jun, 2006 13:26

I have seen many posters here state they only run their filter a certain amount of hours a day. I have a 20,000 gal. inground and I've been told repeatedly by my pool company to run the filter 24/7 for the entire season. I tried turning it off at just during the night but ran into problems within a week or two every time. Without it running there is no chlorine from the automatic chlorinator, no skimming being done, and the water stagnants. I spent more in chemicals getting it back to crystal clear again than I would have for the electricity to run the filter. What does your pool company recommend?
kccats
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri 09 Jun, 2006 06:13

Postby kccats » Fri 09 Jun, 2006 20:32

I dont' have a pool company....
However, I opened my pool a full 2 months early and run the hours posted above with no problems whatsoever.
kccats
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri 09 Jun, 2006 06:13

Still looking

Postby kccats » Mon 12 Jun, 2006 19:38

Im still looking for a formula is there is even one to be had.
If you know it, please post it! :D
Guest

Postby Guest » Sun 25 Jun, 2006 18:14

find the gallonage of your pool and divide it by the flow rate of your filter pump. that will give the amount of time to circulate the entire pool once
Walter
Swimming Pool Pro
Swimming Pool Pro
Posts: 167
Joined: Fri 07 Jul, 2006 08:11
Location: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Contact:

Postby Walter » Fri 07 Jul, 2006 08:59

depends on the pool and location. Here is South Carolina if the pool sits in the sun we run it for 12 hours during the hot times(daytime), for cold months run for 6 hours at the coldest times to prevent pipes from freezing. If you have trees over your pool recommend a pool cleaner to pick up debris.
We are a custom pool and spa builder. We can only offer suggestions with the information given. Don't hesitate to email me if you have a questions and I will answer it as best as I can or point you in the right direction.
jim4040

Postby jim4040 » Sun 17 Dec, 2006 05:02

What pool user said
dynamictiger
Swimming Pool Superstar
Swimming Pool Superstar
Posts: 290
Joined: Thu 23 Nov, 2006 17:23
My Pool: one of them is 713,342 gallons
I look after lots and lots
Location: Perth, Western Australia

Postby dynamictiger » Sun 17 Dec, 2006 16:31

This is a classic question. Pool turnover time is directly relative to electricty costs, pump sizing and chemical costs in your area. here is some relevant information.

Generally speaking a pool pump is normally sized domestically to turn the pool volume over once in around 4 hours. Some are faster, some slower but for rule of thumb this is usually good enough.

The tricky bit is that the more the water is turned over the less chemical is required in the pool. This is logical when you think it through. Dirt in the water consumes chemical, dirt in the filter is not in the water and whilst there maybe some chemical consumption in the filter it tends to be after the pool has used the chemical anyway.

By design the pool returns and skimmers are usually located in the top two thirds of the pool. This means we are filtering by what is termed the dilution system. Whilst the intricacy of this is not required here, essentially this means to completely turn the entire volume of the pool once you need to circulate seven times the pool volume. Having said that domestic pools usually turnover the pool volume twice in a session.

Additional devices like automatic cleaners can assist in improving circulation as they wander about at random meaning water normally out of reach of your skimmers or returns is mixed as well.

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. Generally a guide is the longer you can filter the water the better the outcome will be.

HTH

Return to “Basics for New Pool Owners”

Who is online at the Pool Help Forum

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests