we just got our SWG connected today. yesterday we added 9 40lb bags salt. that was under what the pool calculator told me to add for 3000ppm. we let the pump run yesterday and shut it off. i turned it on again this morning and it has run all day until late this afternoon when we got the electrical connected.

when we turn it on, it looks like its reporting 2600 ppm salt. it then shuts down and gives a high reading with the red light. what is going on? i hate to drain water. could my pool actually have too much salt?

we have it set for "t-15" which is the correct cell type.

my pool is 16,900 gallon gunite

todays readings(this morning):
FC-5
Ph-7.5
TA-80
CH-226
CYA-70

continue to circulate the water and set it to the auto setting for 24 hours after doing a power down reset. Wait till then and check once more. If it is still giving you those errors take a sample to a pool store and have them do an independent meter to double check. M

Hi Teppy, I've got some bad news for you - 360 lbs was too much salt, it would appear. Most probably your pool has a good bit less water than you think Of course you could also have had more salt in the pool than you anticipated (all chlorine breaks down into some salt).

Here's what's going on, the unit is preset to display 2600 when you first turn it on, however that number is not the actual salinity passing through the cell - to get that you need to push the black diagnostic button 5 times with the unit running to get to the instant salinity (which IS the salinity the unit 'thinks' is passing through at that moment), then push the slide switch from "AUTO" to "Superchlorinate" and back to "AUTO" to lock that number onto the display screen.

Check out the instant salinity and let us know

Matt beat me to the submit button and he is certainly right about the pool's supposed to run for 24 hours after the addition of salt - but I'm thinking that with some circulation as you added it and the pump running most of the day, the salt would be distributed well enough for you to have a good idea of the actual salinity.

OK, i did the thing by pushing the diagnostic button 5 times. i got a reading of 3700 one time, and 3900 most of the other times i kept doing it. i had read another thread saying that this was a way to calibrate the unit. i kept doing to try to calibrate it to around 3000. that did not happen. i guess this info was wrong. anyway, it looks like the unit thinks i'm running at between 3700-3900?

as far as my pool volume, my pool is a roman shape gunite. i use rectangular shape to calculate the volume on the pool calculator. the length is 34'x14' and is 3'6" in the shallow end and goes to 6' in the deep end. i use an average depth of 4.75'. it should be 16,900 right?

i guess i will have to dump some water. i ordered a test kit for salt from duraleigh. hopefully it will be in soon.

Are you sure you have the right cell type programed in....I just turned mine on today, and it was a little confusing....There are 4 cell types you can enter.....t-3 t-5 t-9 and t-15.....

I have a cell for up to 25000 gallons, and the code is actually t-9......the t-15 code is for a 40,000 gallon cell....

That is just how I see it.....I'm by far not an expert, but fairly sure thats accurate....

yes, its right. we actually got the largest cell that they have.

I dumped 16percent or so of water. my SWG runs now! I went to the pool store to get some readings. my salt is right where it needs to be at 3200, how did i get that just right. i guess because the pool calculator told me exactly how much water to replace. and by the way, the aquarite was reporting that my salt level was 3900. i brought in a before water replacement sample and his tests showed exactly that, 3900. so, the SWG was dead on with his tests on salt. so, i feel confident that the new water sample that he tested at 3200 is right.

all of the numbers that the pool store got were what i was getting here with my TF-100 except for the CH and CYA. I had my CYA at 80 before the water replacement. I did not dump alot. He told me that my CYA was at 22????? I had enough supplies from the TF-100 for one more test. i just tested it and with my back to the sun i got 60-70. in direct sun i got 50. which one is right? i am out of the color q tests, so i can't compare. i just don't believe the pool store on this. it seems like my CYA should not have gone down that much with only that small amount of water replacement. he is using a photometer of some sort. he told me that my CH was 166. my TF-100 tells me 200. before the water replacement it was at 230-240. which one here do i believe? i don't want to add too much CYA and CH until i can know for sure. I know that there are people here who can advise me on this. thanks.

I have the same type swg.....how come my salt content number reads 3.20 instead of 3200 like it usually does? Did I convert it to another numeric system by mistake?

It might be because the configuration is set to show minerals instead of salt. It should be a setting in the configuration menu.

First things first -

Teppy, your test numbers are in line with the amount of water you replaced - you and I both know you know how to do the tests,therefore, the PS #s are BS #s Trust your own testing over the BS (... uhm I mean PS)

Teamstew, welcome to TFP!!

What you want to do is push the diagnostic button once while the switch is on "Auto" and then go to "super" and back to "AUTO" - you are currently in metric and are at 3200 ppm

All these tips are discretely hidden in the owner's manual

Thank You! For the "welcome" and the tip! Your right, they must be hidden......I couldn't find any info anywhere!

It worked! [of course it did!] This site is awesome! This will be my 4th year with my pool, I just discovered this site! I don't know how I survived without you guys! I am really beginning to understand how to moniter a pool!

waste-LMAO! thats what i thought, the pool store is full of it. thanks for verifying this for me. i'm just glad that my SWG is working! and, its producing chlorine. i have it turned down to 30percent now.

The CYA test is designed to be done in indirect sunlight. That means outdoors when it is sunny but without any direct sunlight shining on the CYA view tube.

so, my 60-70 reading is the one i should trust?

Yes.