Controller Concepts : The #1 Rule

Swimming pool automation, the best tool one can own to assist in first-rate management of pool water, can't do it alone. We'll feature in future PrPs important concepts of value in getting the most out of your controller, whether basic or space-age.

The first and most important automation rule we must apply doesn't even include the controller; but failing to heed this simple rule can make or break your reliable, consistent water management.

The #1 rule: Chemical feed systems must be big, big, big! If you are considering automation yet have manual feeders that, on busy days, need to run constantly - barely keeping up with the demand - you cannot automate. Pumps for both chlorine and pH corrector must be OFF more than they are ON when being cycled by a controller. On an average, they should be off three times more than they are on. That simply means that they have the capability of exceeding the pool's demand at the highest load, hottest day of the year! If your controller's feeders cannot catch up and shut off, they'll run all the time during high-load days. You are simply not automated during those hours. A 39-cent hardware-store switch will do the same job as your $6000 computer-based command and control center! Get bigger pumps!

~ kw