New SWCG installation chemistry question

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S

SeaCorey

0
In The Industry
Aug 6, 2014
51
Tampa
Pool Size
12000
Surface
Plaster
All set to install this thing, haven't done anything to the water but test it. Just got my fancy new, upgraded Pro salt test kit, it took 17 drops to turn the salt test milky red.
With 3400ppm do I need to add salt?
Manufacturer's range is 1700ppm - 4500ppm, says it stops generating once it's exceeded and comes back on when in range.
Thanks!
 
SeaCorey said:
With 3400ppm do I need to add salt?
Click to expand...
No, that's great to start. The cell will run its own test which uses conductivity so its skewed by other metals in the water and by water temp so it's not as accurate.

Unfortunately you can't reason with the cell when you know better so as long as the cell doesn't complain, most of us are happy. It shouldn't complain at 3400 ppm.
 
OK great, liking those responses, thank you both!
How badly does warmer water skew the test results? I do tend to keep mine warm with the solar heater and a cover.
 
SeaCorey said:
How badly does warmer water skew the test results?
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IIRC, they are more off now with cool water, and less in the summer. But a couple of degrees of fluctuation at any temp can add some variance in consecutive readings to the already iffy test.
 
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SeaCorey said:
All set to install this thing, haven't done anything to the water but test it. Just got my fancy new, upgraded Pro salt test kit, it took 17 drops to turn the salt test milky red.
With 3400ppm do I need to add salt?
Manufacturer's range is 1700ppm - 4500ppm, says it stops generating once it's exceeded and comes back on when in range.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Nope - let her rip!
This is exactly why you should ALWAYS test the salt 1st! Great job 👏👏👏👏
 
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JamesW said:
That's a big range.

Make and Model?
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Yeah that jumped out at me too!
Oh it's an El cheapo (off eBay no less...), US Xtremepower, item 90151, 90152, or 90153. It's a 40,000 gallon unit, and I really don't see anywhere it states which model.
I know I'm rolling the dice here a bit, I've had a couple of pumps with the same label, they've lasted for years and I haven't paid $200 for one of them yet.
 

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Newdude said:
IIRC, they are more off now with cool water, and less in the summer. But a couple of degrees of fluctuation at any temp can add some variance in consecutive readings to the already iffy test.I
Click to expand...


Newdude said:
IIRC, they are more off now with cool water, and less in the summer. But a couple of degrees of fluctuation at any temp can add some variance in consecutive readings to the already iffy test.
Click to expand...
I'm glad I asked, I would have thought the readings would get worse as the water warmed.
Chilly water down here in Tampa probably means something different than it does to folks up north, right now my pool's at 78°, in the summer I don't complain if it creeps into the low 90s.
 
Moving away from chemistry, would I be making a mistake by plumbing the flow switch directly into the outlet of the SWG? Or is it supposed to be a minimum distance away from it? No mention of that in the instructions, just a diagram that shows it plumbed after the SWG.
 
Being a flow switch, it is less concerned with having a laminar flow profile, so it shouldn't really matter. I'd try and put it 5x pipe diameter downstream if I had the space, but I don't think it will have much effect on when the switch activates.

--Jeff
 
It can go anywhere that only has flow when the SWG does too. You don't want it on a leg, say a spa return, that can have flow without the SWG getting flow on the pool return leg.

For complicated systems, it may need some straight pipe before the flow switch like the manufactur reccomends. My 1st SWG with an internal flow switch was 90'd directly to the heater and it had enough flow at 800 RPMs with dirt simple plumbing. By the time I knew better, it had worked great for 8 years and there was no reason to 'correct it'. No two rigs are the same and YMMV.
 
If you’re thinking of gluing the flange for the nut for the SWG into the T that contains the flow switch, double check you won’t have interference of the switch movement when it’s fully seated. Also the nut may not have clearance to back off the SWG threads if installed that way. For my money I’d locate well downstream like Turbo1Ton stated.
 
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