Salt cell chlorine

[Mr2005]

Hi,

I have a Shasta Pool built in 2005 with a quickclor salt system.  Recently,
the pool started tinting green and I checked and there was no chlorine so I
cleaned my salt cell with muriatic acid as it was encrusted in calcium and
got most of it off.


I returned to a Shasta store and they told me still no clorine.  They said
the unit might be dead as they only last 3 to 5 years.  They also said my
salt was high and that could be the problem.

So my questions….:
     1)    I plan on cleaning my salt cell again.? Is cleaning with muratic
        acid the best way to go?  While wondering in walmart I found HTH
        salt poll cell cleaner. Anyone use/recommend this product?
     2)    Should hi salt kill cholrine production? I am at 3200 and its
        recommended for 2750 to 3000? If so, if I drain a couple of feet
        out of my pool and refill, would that help the salt level?

Thanks!

 

[Bama Rambler]

Is there any lights lit on the unit other than normal?

Some units do shutdown on high salt but that's not very far out of range.

They are right that the cells usually last about 3 to 5 years.

 

[Mr2005]

It's being recommended to me by my pool builder and a parts place to get a new system.

Is there a way to verify the system is dead?


Thety are recommending a pentair ic40? Is that decent system.? What should I be looking for when buying a new salt system?

 

[JasonLion]

The Pentair IC40 is fine as long as you have a Pentair brand automation system. Without an automation system you get much less control over it and it is better to get a different brand.

Assuming you have cleaned the cell and the status lights say the unit is alright, your chlorine level might be zero just because a SWG can't normally raise FC up from zero, but needs some help to get things going.

 

[RobbieH]

A friend of mine is trying to get his cell back up and running, one person told him to clean with muratic acid, one told him to clean with a weak solution of muratic acid as straight acid can kill the cell. Which is right?

 

[JasonLion]

The usual recommendation is to use four parts water to one part acid. Even fairly dilute acid can shorten the cell life a little, but calcium scale is worse, so it is a compromise. By far the best thing to do is to keep your levels balanced so you don't get scaling in the first place.

 

[RobbieH]

I don't think he has any idea what's in his pool. A little pool school at his house (with him providing food and adult beverages) is coming up soon.