When I turn my pump on every morning and the SWG powers up, there is a large "clunk" noise from the controller. Is this normal?
AquaRite Noise on Startup
- Thread starter Wally434
- Start date
- Jun 12, 2011
- 3,761
- Pool Size
- 19500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pureline Crystal Pure 60,000
They do make a noise when they send power to the cell. It is noticeable, but it should not be extreme.
It is not the noise when power goes to the cell. That is just a brief "Click". It happens when I turn the AC power on in the morning, even when the power switch on the generator is turned to "off", rather than "auto". It is an older unit (approx 10 years). It doesn't do it every time, which is why I find it odd.
I get the same thing on my Aquarite (about 7 year old now). When you turn the power on at the timer (either manually or when timed), the white Aquarite contoller box CLUNKS, pretty close to a bang, as if someone hit the back of the unit with a small hammer.
Last year, I was able to reduce the noise considerably by rewiring the ground line to the controller, I may try it again this year - actually replacing all the wires. I'm thinking that the contacts get gummed up somehow over the winter, causing the clunk, but I don't really know for sure. The noise is loud enough that I think whatever is causing it may be visible if I remove the faceplate (using extreme caution!!), but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
Last year, I was able to reduce the noise considerably by rewiring the ground line to the controller, I may try it again this year - actually replacing all the wires. I'm thinking that the contacts get gummed up somehow over the winter, causing the clunk, but I don't really know for sure. The noise is loud enough that I think whatever is causing it may be visible if I remove the faceplate (using extreme caution!!), but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
Thanks. Glad to hear I am not alone.
Please let me know what you find when you remove the faceplate.
Please let me know what you find when you remove the faceplate.
Wally 434,
The noise you are hearing is probably a loud "thump." This thump is the transformer kicking in. I am not exactly sure why it happens sometimes and not every time. It may have something to do with the voltage that the unit gets suddenly, but it is harmless and the unit should be fine. We have a test unit we use here at our retail store and every now and then we get the "thump" too.
Jim Garrison
The Guru of Pools
The noise you are hearing is probably a loud "thump." This thump is the transformer kicking in. I am not exactly sure why it happens sometimes and not every time. It may have something to do with the voltage that the unit gets suddenly, but it is harmless and the unit should be fine. We have a test unit we use here at our retail store and every now and then we get the "thump" too.
Jim Garrison
The Guru of Pools
Same exact issue with my brand new unit and the old one it replaced. A friend, who spent his entire career working on electrical control systems, looked at it. He says it's probably inrush current to the transformer. We placed a capacitor across the incoming 220 at the timer and that helped considerably. It didn't, however, eliminate it. The initial bang we hear is likely many times the rated power of the transformer. I'm curious as to the longevity of the units with this issue.
Mods: feel free to move this if you don't want a dead thread resurrected.
I too have the loud "thump" Sometimes it is louder than others...sometimes not at all. I have tried as many wiring configurations that I could come up with...thinking I did something wrong. I am happy that when I googled the issue...this is the first link I came across. Thanks to everyone for putting my mind at ease and helping me to keep my sanity...hahahaha This being the norm for some people will help me obsess about other things.
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