How Long should I run my pool pumps

[Mr. Mohon]

Hi, I have owned and maintained a pool for about two years now and have mainly just been winging it. I have been doing a decent job with the information that I have learned form the few people that have come out to my pool so far(Mainly for repair jobs and then picked there brain).

I have had two different pool guys tell me that they estimate that my pool is about 15,000 gallon pool.

I have a variable speed Hayward TriStar Pump and Hayward 5060 Booster Pump.


My first questions for this forum is:
How long should I run my pumps each day and at which speeds?
Also how much should I change it for winter vs. summer?


If possible please tell me how many times my pump should run on a certain speed and for how long it should run for.
(example:run pump on low speed for 2hours 3 times a day,High speed 2hours 2times a day, pool sweep 2hours 1time a day.)

Thanks

[aylad]

Hi,

Basically you want to run the pump enough to turn your entire volume of water over once a day, so the run time will vary from pool to pool based on your volume and the volume that your pump is capable of. Forum traffic is very slow this time of year, but I'll shoot an email to a couple of regulars here that should be able to help answer your questions, although it may take a few days before they log in :)

Welcome to the forum!

[mas985]

The most efficient speed for the EcoStar is around 1000 RPM. So if you can get away with running the pump at that speed, then that is your best option. However, you may find that the skimmers don't work so well and if you have a cleaner, it too may not work at that speed. Then you may need to run at slightly higher speeds. Some trial and error may be necessary to get to the optimum speed.

As for run time, the short answer is for as long as it takes and I am being serious. If you find the speed where the skimmers seem to work well, then run the pump for as long as it takes to keep the surface as clean as you want.

Really, there is no set rule for how long to run a pump. As long as you get enough chlorine in the pool, that alone should be enough to keep the pool algae free. The extra run time is just to keep debris out of the pool and that is personal preference driven.

[Mr. Mohon]

Ok Thanks for all of your guys help. That info helps.