Customers Selecting their own operating times based on hearsay.
One of the biggest reasons for pool water
continuously being cloudy, or green, is that the customer thinks he can keep
things looking good on far less equipment operating time than is really required. I often here that "so and so" only needs 2 hours a day to keep his pool looking nice. Or someone else only needs 4 hours. Maybe in some place where warm swimming weather is 85 degrees, and the pool water stays at 70 degrees, but even then, I doubt you could keep the water swimmable for long, even if everything else was perfect. When servicing a pool,
and I find that the customer has changed the operation times, and the pool is
looking lousy, and the chemicals are depleted because it’s fighting all of
the muck that didn’t get filtered out because of their changes, I offer the
client a couple of options.
1.)
You
can find another pool man, and then fire him because your pool is always green,
your water cloudy, your kids have pink eye, … or ...
2.)
You
can let me run the pool twice as long at night as it would have needed during
the day because:
a.)
All
algae grows during the day.
b.)
You
need more chlorine circulated in your pool during the day to kill the algae that is growing, and treat all of the byproducts of swimming that cause nasty things to grow, ...
c.)
Most
of your dust storms, rain storms, … happen in the evening at the end of the
day, and if it isn’t filtered out as it comes in, it leaves a breeding ground
for all kinds of nasty things.
d.)
If
you are going to swim, most of the time that is going to be during daylight
hours, and if so, it is hotter, so you perspire more, and put more waste
products into your pool which cause algae, bacteria growth, …
e.)
And,
even if we do run your equipment “all night” to keep your pool clear, we may
still have to run it a couple of hours during the day to keep it clear. We will have to try it and see.
3.)
You
can just trust that I know what I am doing, or you can trust the pamphlet
from utility companies like SRP that read: “If you want to do what’s best for your pool, you will
need to run it during the day. If you want to do what’s best for your
electric bill, run your equipment at night.”. Even your electric companies
knows what’s best for your pool, and they will tell you in their literature.
4.)
Since
I will not be able to keep your pool clean on once a week pool service, we
can go to twice a week service at double the cost of current service because even then I will have to fight it.
Proper Equipment Operation Times:
1.) You need to run your Equipment
Long Enough:
a.) Base
(Minimum) Times (Phoenix Area) (Note: You will add more (Minimum) time based
on the situations listed below.)
A.)
Summer - 6 Hrs./day Play Pool, 8 Hrs./day Diving Pool
B.)
Winter - 4 Hrs./day Play Pool, 6 Hrs./day Diving Pool
b.)
Add 25-45% to your base times for a Floor Head or Suction Side Cleaning
System (Note: Even with a Separate Floor Head Pump, you are still mixing
clean and dirty water resulting in longer times to get the same filtration.) (Click HERE for more information)
c.) Add
25% to your time for a Sand Filter (Because Sand filters only filter down to
30-40 Micron Particles, they require longer hours to stay even with dirt,
debris and bather loads. (Click HERE for more information.)
d.) Add
25%-75% to your time for having a Cartridge filter ( If your elements have
not been cleaned in the last 2 months, and have not been replaced in the last
year to year and a half (Phoenix area), chances are that your flow is
restricted enough, or that the filter is bypassing enough, that you need AT
LEAST this much extra time. If it has gone much past these times, chances are
you are wasting your time running any equipment at all, as your elements are
probably lifting up and the dirty water is going back into the pool without
any filtration at all. Please read the information under "New Pool
or Equipment Replacement Recommendations" - "Filters") (Click HERE for more information.)
e.) Add
25% if you have an In-Line Chlorination System (In deck chlorinator, salt
chlorine generator, Stand alone chlorine feeder, ...)(See "Water
Chemistry" in this section) (Click HERE for more information.)
f.) Add
25% if you have High Debris or bather Loads (People, Dogs, ducks, ...) (Click HERE for more information.)
g.)
If you have any of the characteristics listed in the next section add a
minimum of 25% to your operation times. If your water still doesn't stay
clear increase it another 10-20%
2.) You need to Run Your Equipment
at the Proper Times:
a.) If People are
Swimming your pool Equipment should be on.
b.) If there are storms
during a particular time of the day, your equipment should be on.
c.) In the summer, if the Sun
is on your pool, the equipment should be on.
Note: I am aware of the fact that many of us are on
"Budget" plans from our electric companies. The electric companies
even admit, in writing, “If you want what's best for your electric bill,
because you have to stay on a budget plan, run your equipment at night. If
you want what's best for your pool, run your equipment during the day.”.
Not running your
equipment AT THE PROPER TIMES, can, in some instances, be overcome by
increasing the total operation time when you do run it, by a minimum
of 25%. Keep in mind that some people have found that it requires
up to 60%, or even 100% longer operation times to keep the same water clarity
as running it during the day, and that not running their equipment during the
proper times usually costs up to 30%, or more in chemical costs as well.
You may see an increase in your pool service costs. If my costs go up, so do
yours.
Yes, I
know all about the guy who has the perfect pool, only runs his equipment an
hour a day, hasn't drained his pool in 15 years, has never changed the oil in
his car that has 200,000 miles on it, has never been to see a doctor or a
dentist, has 450,000 miles on his truck, and has never done an oil change on
it either, and gets 85 mpg on his V8 Suburban, ... but you aren't him, and
neither am I. Yes, your numbers may differ on the low side, or high
side. The numbers here are averages.
Note 2: I have diving pools with sand filters, suction
side cleaners, AND FLOOR HEADS , and who run their equipment only at night,
that need 14 hour operation times to stay clear, and still struggle with it.
I have one pool with this setup that needs 18 hours a day MINIMUM, and
certain times a year needs 24 hours a day to stay clear, in the middle of the
summer during dust storm season. Yes, this is a weird situation, a pool 3
times the size of most, with only floor heads and no return lines, ... but he
has had almost a dozen pool men who quit because they couldn't figure it out,
and I have kept it perfectly clear for 4 years straight. That said, "most
pools", when we switched the operating times from night to 8
hours from 11 am to 7 pm, the pool stayed clear, and the chemical costs
dropped. As with the extreme exception just mentioned, YOUR TIMES MAY VARY. You
might only need 4 hours. As listed, you might need 24 hours. Every pool is
different.
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