Should I calibrate the system as far as salt and temp to the test strips and thermometer or leave it set from the factory? Also, what is a good starting point for output? My old system didn't have percentage only operated on run time.

Start at 50% and see what happens. The best thing is to test the FC level each evening and adjust the percentage based on what you get for each of the first several days, until you get FC roughly in the right range. After that you can test every other, or every third, day for a while until you dial it in more exactly.

On a brand new unit the salt level is very likely to be more precise on the SWG than the test strips, so I would leave that alone. Water temperature is more debatable, you can calibrate that if you want, just keep in mind that it is essentially measuring the water temperature at the skimmer/drain, which often isn't the same as the temperature taken in other spots.

Thanks Jason! Right now it is set at 50% on level 2 (factory was 50% level 1). I have seen it debated on here about best time to run the system. What would you recommend? Day or Night? Right now it is set up to run 6pm-6am everyday, but that was only because pool company said it is best to run at night.

A few questions.
What size cell do you have?
What is your CYA level?
What city or climate do you live in?

As far as salt level calibration, I have bought 2 autopilots. The first one, a little over 4 years ago, was off by 900. It said my tap water was 900 when it was really a single digit number according to my local water utility. The second one, just a few months ago was on the money. Are they getting better? Just luck I don't know.

If you can find out what your tap water is you can always throw the manifold or just the sensor in tap water and see what it says. Or even go buy a gallon of distilled water. You can also turn the manifold upside down and fill it with distilled water and press menu test pool pilot. Unless i'm missing something distilled water should be 0.

The Pool Pilot is reading 4100ppm and the salt strip is reading 6.8 (the label on my container is messed up and can't read the ppm of the 6.8. Someone help me out on this one?) The temp is about 4-5 degrees higher than what the thermometer is reading that is on the ladder in the deep end.

Adjust your pump run time based on how your water looks. The correct pump run time has nothing to do with the SWG, though the SWG percentage setting depends on the pump run time. In any case there are more detailed articles on both of these subjects in Pool School.

Worrying about the precision, or lack there of, of the salt reading is almost entirely a waste of time. The SWG salt reading isn't perfect, but neither is anything you might be trying to calibrate it to. Unless it is way way off it is best to just ignore salt calibration.

Each package of salt test strips has it's own calibration/scale printed on the bottle converting numbers to salt levels. It isn't possible for us to tell you what 6.8 means for your package of test strips.

I have read the articles and based on my amateur calculations 8 hours would be one turn over for my pool volume, but I'll say 10 just to be safe. I know to test and adjust the percentage based upon that time. Still I can't find anything about whether running the equipment at night or day is better, or split the run time up with half during day and half at night. Just thinking but by you saying it is best to test in the evenings and with my pump running at night then I will have all day with no production, so that will mean that I will have to get the levels up 2-3ppm at night higher just to satisfy the test in the evenings because of FC loss to sun, ect. All of this is confusing to me

I run mine during the day. My thinking is the FC wont be dropping all day, the FC will be up at its max all night and it's harder for algae to grow on a surface that has water moving over it compared to still. If you look at a creek the algae is all over the rocks that are out of the water but not where the water is moving. So i figure let the water be still at when the FC is highest when there is no sun to help it grow. Just my thinking.

That was my thinking, but pool company told me it was easier on the equipment to run it at night.

I just saw where you answered my questions. Your pool and cell are much larger than mine. I don't think my experience will help. It looks like you are doing the right thing, just watch it carefully and adjust accordingly. It isn't rocket science just don't let the fc get too low as it will take a lot of bleach to shock with a cya level of 80.

Just for curiosity let us know what you end up set on.

I let the system run overnight on power level 2 at 50%. The FC increased from 6.5ppm to 7.5ppm overnight at that level. That doesn't seem that much to me, but at least it increased and didn't have to pour bleach in it for the first time. Letting it run today to see what the results are going to be.

What is the min fc you are trying to maintain?

Equipment manual recommends 1-3, but looking at the chlorine/cya chart on here it is more than double that. With a cya of 80, minimum is 4 and 6 is the target.

I wondered the same thing. I am running my pump for a total of 5 hours a day and my water clarity is absolutely top notch. What I have been running for the last couple of months with good results is 3 hours at night (midnight to 3 am) on the pump and then another 2 hours (9am to 11 am) in the morning with the pump and the cleaner (polaris 280) on. So five hours of pump with the Jandy SWG set at 75%. My FC stays about 4 all the time (CYA is 70). I figure the 2 hours in the morning cleans the bottom of the few leaves I get at night sometimes plus a little chlorine boost for the rest of the day. So far so good.

Charlie.

Just remeasured after all day running, was at the above levels this morning. Now I am at 6ppm. Is this normal to lose 1.5ppm during the day with the SWCG set at this level?

I think you are going to have to turn it up some. But you have to start running it the hours you plan to run it and adjust it from there. I would turn it up some and run it normal hours tomorrow and check it to see where I'm at. It doesn't do any good to get it perfect running 24 hours then turn it back to 8.

I was basically just doing a performance test at those settings to see how it would do day vs night. At night it gained 1ppm and during the day it lost 1.5ppm. Looking at it now, I need to see how much chlorine I lose during the day with it off to see how much I need to increase at night if I run it then. If I lose say 3ppm during the day due to sun and heat, then I am going to have to set the % to increase it 3ppm each night to keep it around the desired value during the day when it is off. Or I could crank up the % to where it wouldn't lose during the day and would lose less than 1ppm at night with it off. Not sure what is better on the equipment. Then the next question, is it better to have it at a higher power level with a lower percentage or a higher percentage at a lower power level.

"Then the next question, is it better to have it at a higher power level with a lower percentage or a higher percentage at a lower power level."

That part makes no difference unless the power is so high you lose fine control. Unless you have something growing in the water, I don't think you will lose anything after the sun goes down. It's just a personal choice to run at night when it's cooler or have the FC more constant by running during the day. Either way you will get it dailed in.

running the swg at night is merely preference. running all of your EQUIPMENT at night may have cost savings. It depends on your electric utility.

Most offer "time of use" (TOU) rates for commercial/industrial customers, but some also offer it to residential customers.

To avoid reducing load, generating stations are willing to sell their "off-peak" energy for little more than the cost of fuel.

To encourage customers to shift their usage patterns to use "off-peak" energy, these TOU rates provide substantial discounts for usage during nights (and in some cases weekends).

The next extension of this is "real time pricing" were the cost of electricity is dynamically changing every hour throughout the day. This requires a more sophisticated electric meter that records your usage for each hour of the month. Computer programs apply the hourly costs of electricity to your usage and generate the bills. Depending on your usage patterns, these "market based" rates can save a substantial amount of money (20+%)compared to traditional flat rates.

Call your local electric company and ask them about time-of-use or real-time-pricing rates that might be available.

I am just curious as to which is better for the equipment. Raising the percentage level enough that it raises the FC high enough at night to compensate for the burn off during the day (possible 3ppm, so I would raise it to 9ppm at night so it would maintain at least 6ppm during the day)? Or, setting the percentage level to maintain my 6ppm in the day while losing less than 1ppm at night?