Did I damage my SWG or just the cell?

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T

Trick

Silver Supporter
Apr 21, 2015
147
Waterford, MI
I added about 200lb of salt this year and forgot to shut the generator off. I also mixed much of the salt by pushing it towards the main drain. This is only my 2nd year with the pool and I really screwed up here.

Its a Hayward Salt and Swim. Its been acting up ever sense. The Standby LED is flashing instead of being on steady on. Sometimes its on steady and working but most the time its not. It only for sure works when its on Super Chlorinate mode, which is what I have been manually doing to keep the chlorine good.

I contacted Hayward and they said the cell was bad and needs replacing. I did not tell them I added salt without shutting it off.

When I googled adding salt while SWG is on, it said you can destroy the SWG due to the increase conductivity. Not just the cell the whole SWG!?

Do you think I killed the SWG or just the cell?
 
200 lbs at one time? Yeah, you may have damaged it.

How old is the SWG? 2 years?

John

(Sorry, just saw you are in MI -- in TX, I don't add more than 40 lbs at one time. Seemed odd to throw that much in the pool at one time -- but if you are opening it...)
 
Does your SWG owners manual say anything about having it off while adding salt? Mine does not.

Check out pool math to help you calculate how much you increased your salt in ppm. At the bottom of pool math you'll see a section on effects of adding chemicals. The different flashing lights.......could they be indicating that salt is too high for your SWG?

I don't think how much you add at one time matters but only if you add too much that puts you above the max number your SWG needs to produce chlorine. I frequently add 100-200 pounds at a time but it all depends on pool size and what your SWG needs.
 
Yup the generator is only on its 2nd yr.

I just checked the manual and could not find where it says to shut off the swg. I was certain I read or was told this before. Hrm.. maybe not. This problem didn't seem to start until I added the salt.

Salt level is at the max 3400 and the generator does have an indicator light if its too much salt. I have never seen this light turn on.

Maybe it is just a bad cell. These cells aren't suppose to last very long. I was hoping more than a season though cause its only running 20%-30%
 
Leave the cell off for a day or two and let the salt level equilibrate. The Hayward cells and power supplies are pretty well built and they are designed with current limiters in them to protect against current surges. Chances are the massive salt dose just sent the cell into a standby mode because of the huge salinity spike. Salt water is more dense than fresh water and it takes time for the salt to dissolve and the water in your pool to fully homogenize. This is why it always best practice to shut off the cell when you add salt and let the pump run for as much as 48hours straight to help with mixing.

Do you have a salinity test kit like the Taylor K-1766?
 
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