Running the robot during pump cycle versus on its own schedule

Started by Chuck Weaver · · 3 replies
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#1
When we first put in the screen cage down here I figured debris would stop being a thing entirely, and it mostly did, but I am still going back and forth on how to run the Dolphin. Right now it only runs twice a week for about two hours, totally separate from the pump schedule, and the water looks fine in between. Other guys on here seem to run theirs every single day timed right alongside the pump so everything is moving water at once. Mine has been fine for three seasons on the lighter schedule but I keep wondering if I am leaving dirt on the bottom longer than I realize just because the screen cage hides it from me visually. Anybody run both ways and actually notice a difference, or is twice a week with a cage overkill already.

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#2
No cage here, so I can't compare apples to apples, but I run my Escape four times a week and it's not because I see dirt, it's because fine silt packs into the shallow end corners where the pump never pulls hard enough to lift it, cage or no cage. Twice a week might just mean you never see it instead of it never being there.

If your water's been clear for three seasons I wouldn't panic, but I'd run it once in the middle of a stretch between cleanings and look at the corners before you vacuum, not the open floor. That'll tell you more than the overall water clarity will.
#3
Before you change anything Chuck, what's your Dolphin actually doing on those two days, full bottom and walls or just a quick floor pass. Two hours could mean two different things depending on the cycle you picked. Mine's got the E10 so no fancy programming to worry about, I just run it every other day for about an hour and a half and never think about it again. Tom's right about the corners though, that's where a pump with a cage and less debris load will fool you, the suction side just isn't pulling those dead zones the way it would with more junk in the water driving flow toward the skimmer. Check the corners before you decide twice a week is enough.
#4
Tom and Frank nailed it, the robot doesn't care what your main pump schedule is since it's got its own impeller pulling that water, so running it alongside the pad timer is more about convenience than actual cleaning power, check those shallow end corners before you trust the twice a week.