Pool Pump Power

For anything to do with the garden and pool
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joddle
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Pool Pump Power

Post by joddle »

I have posted in the Spain part of LMH but forgot about this section dealing with pools so if any one can help I would be most pleased. The problem is described fully in this thread https://www.laymyhat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29615
Thanks
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joddle
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Post by joddle »

Further to this - and relating to a pool in Spain - how long should a pool pump run each day in the winter when the pool is not is use? Our next door neighbour's pool man has cut down their pump timer to just 1 hour per day and says the pool is fine - but our own pool man insists that the pump needs to be running for 3 hours twice a day so in all that is 6 hours per day! Is that excessive?
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Moliere
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Post by Moliere »

If it’s any use, our poolman sets ours in the middle - 2 hours twice a day. Check the consumption of your pump, you’ll probably find it’s pretty minimal in the big scheme of things.
Jumping is just dressage with speed-bumps.
Marks
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Post by Marks »

joddle wrote:Further to this - and relating to a pool in Spain - how long should a pool pump run each day in the winter when the pool is not is use? Our next door neighbour's pool man has cut down their pump timer to just 1 hour per day and says the pool is fine - but our own pool man insists that the pump needs to be running for 3 hours twice a day so in all that is 6 hours per day! Is that excessive?
I run my pump for an hour in the morning and an hour at night, both times on the Iberdrola Plan Noche rate so pay about 17 cents a day.
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joddle
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Post by joddle »

Moliere wrote:If it’s any use, our poolman sets ours in the middle - 2 hours twice a day. Check the consumption of your pump, you’ll probably find it’s pretty minimal in the big scheme of things.
I am finding at night the pump consumption is sometimes about 2000 kwh and sometimes as low as 750kwh - my guess is the motor will be between 1 and 1.5 hp so would have expected consumption to be between 750 and 950kwh when the pump is running and nothing else is being used. Looks like I need to have the pump and motor checked although it is only 3 years old!

2 hours per day seems about right - I need to talk to the poolman soon.
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teapot
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Post by teapot »

Why run the pump at all in winter? I am in France and pool is closed in September and not run again until May,June. I have a winter cover that excludes the light, not a stupid mesh type.
If you keep your pool open then you need to run the pump to keep leaves going into the skimmer but a cover is better.
If the temperature drops below zero its worth running the pump about 3am for an hour to lessen the chance of a frozen pump.
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Moliere
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Post by Moliere »

teapot wrote:Why run the pump at all in winter?
If you keep your pool open then you need to run the pump to keep leaves going into the skimmer but a cover is better.
Trouble is, some pools can’t be covered, then as you say the pump keeps the leaves moving. My skimmers fill up rapidly, but the bulk of the leaves end up in a particular corner at the shallow end. It’s just the way the “current” from the jets goes. It does make it easy, if heavy, to scoop them out though.
Jumping is just dressage with speed-bumps.
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teapot
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Post by teapot »

Always interesting to me at least where dirt and leaves end up, as you say most go to the same spot(s).
That's how I became interested in improving things flow wise. Conquered the pump low energy issue and then using computerised fluid dynamic software set about working out the best way to remove the dirt so it didnt fall to the floor in certain spots bur went into the skimmer(s).
Pretty much conquered that one now and the drawback is you have to empty the skimmers more often!
If it wasn't for Covid would have beaten than issie as well.
Thats why I laugh at how stupid the pool industry really is, building pools with exactly the same errors as they did 50 years ago.
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bornintheuk
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Post by bornintheuk »

Living in the Charente, south West France, and having 2 pools to winterise I have stopped using covers completely for the winter. As I live on site 365 days I can wander over to the relative pools and using a net remove the leaves easily.
Also easy to add a little liquid chlorine and run the pump for an hour or so to distribute the product.
Start to open the pool at the end of March usually, get the solar system running and put on the bubble cover (Geo-bubble of course), normally swimming by end April in 28 degrees.
Easy peasy
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

I have been thinking about this again.
joddle are you living in Spain? Have you a read the meter or are the readings remotely obtained?
A smart meters can give erroneous readings.
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joddle
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Post by joddle »

CSE wrote:I have been thinking about this again.
joddle are you living in Spain? Have you a read the meter or are the readings remotely obtained?
A smart meters can give erroneous readings.
Hi yes I am in Spain and the readings are taken rom my bill which is derived from the Smart Metering system we have here. The bills are broken down by day and hour and clearly show the times the pump is running (there is nothing else when the property is empty apart from three LED bulbs on the gate posts totalling 12 watts!

What I get is differences in the power used, during the pump running times from 700 to 2100 watt hours which seems a large range for a single phase pump!
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

It gets stranger and stranger.
Have you turned it off? I don't know how long a pool pump can be turned off , but you do ned to establish it there is nothing else affecting these high readings. I would read the meter when you have done th¡s and I would try and do it regularly.
Ensure nothing is switched on in the house. Maybe then you can establish if there is a fault with the meter or a signal back to base. As I said before they are not always that reliable.
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joddle
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Post by joddle »

That is something I will have to try. The problem is the high power surge does not happen every day so it is going to be tricky to find out exactly what is doing it unless I get really lucky! If the meter is the issue it will be hard to prove it though. the only other thing is the possibility of a problem with the pump motor but as it is not all the time again it will be a problem to prove one way or another! The pump is only three years old and the pervious one lasted more than 15 years !!!
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