How long to run pump?

[tenax]

les, same with me thanks to guidance from this forum (with a single speed pump as well) i used to do one cycle of 10-12 hours. my pool seems to be cleaner and clearer using 2 -6 hour cycles. i do mine at 9am to 3pm, 8pm to 2am.

[les_smith]

I run mine from 6 to noon and 6 to midnight. I try not to run it in the max heat of the day. We get shade finally at about 7:30/8:00 PM. I use this timer:
http://www.intermatic.com/?action=prod&pid=214
This really seems to work good and I can use the timer at Christmas for my christmas lights.

[mkelley]

Based on info I got here I run my pump in two 2 1/2 hour periods -- have been doing this for months and the water is crystal clear.

It all depends on the size of your pump and the pool -- I have a huge one (2 1/2 hp) and so it will turn the water over even in our large IG pool very quickly. If you know the GPM of your pump and the size of your pool you can figure this out yourself.

[Skillset]

Any other comments regarding total pump run time? I am, too, a brandy-new pool owner. Reading this forum for hours has been awesome - I appreciate everyone's time out there for posting good, honest, information.

From some of these posts, I realized my builder oversized my pump. It's 1.5 HP and figuring feet of head (thanks for all those posts on f-o-h), it does about 55 GPM. My fiberglass pool's only 13000 gallons, so it turn's over in just about 4 hours. We have minimal pool use right now - yard still under construction - so I figure I only need 1 complete turn a day. But, I feel somewhat uneasy about running only 4 hours and letting the water sit still for 20 hours.

Should I ignore the turnover calculation and run the pump a minimum amount of hours per day for circulation purposes?

Water chemistry is fine right now, but I've been running the pump 10 hours a day and want to reduce. Thanks again for all the posts on water chemistry - this is one area I understand very well thanks to everyone on BBB.

[hulla]

Skillset,

Ten hours sounds like a waste of electricity. Four to six hours sounds like your goal.