High Salt

Jump to latest Follow Reply
BobinBaltimore

BobinBaltimore

0
Silver Supporter
LifeTime Supporter
Dec 13, 2009
116
Philadelphia, PA
Pool Size
32000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
My Pentair IC40 SWG started having issues at the beginning of the season. It was clean and only two years old, but the generation light would never, ever come on, even set at 100%. I must have watched that thing for hours. Anyway, I limped along using bleach (BBB) until I finally called my builder, who also does Pentair service. They came and swapped it for a new one, leaving me very happy. Great service!

Now with the new cell, it is producing chlorine like a champ. However, with the old cell, the salt reading displayed on my EasyTouch was 3200ppm (I just added a bag a few days ago to take it up from 3000) as of last night. Ideal, according to Pentair, is 3400ppm. The new cell tonight reads 4600ppm and the Salt light is flashing (indicating high salt). I will test it with strips over the weekend. But it got me thinking...is there any potential damage being done running with high salt for a while until the rain, fill and generation help take it down? We're on well water here, so I am very judicious with fill. I hate the idea of needing to dump-and-fill to get it down, but I also don't want to damage my new cell or other equipment.

Any thoughts? Thanks!
 
Oh, and to answer the usual context questions:

FC - 3
CC - 0
PH - 7.8
TA - 80
CH - 180
CYA - 60

Water Temp is about 88 with all the heat we've had lately.
 
I wouldn't do *anything* until I confirmed the salt content myself!

Currently I test using a salt test kit (drops) and not strips. My drop test says I have 3400 ppm but my SWG randomly reports much more, often up like 6000 ppm. We've not added any salt since the pool was finished in Oct 2011. I suspect we need to tweak or calibrate the SWG but it isn't real high on Skippy's "to do list" since our water is so nicely balanced we're happy to toodle along like we are.

Take your water to have the salt tested if you don't have a way to test yourself.
 
Thanks, Yippee. I will test this weekend to see where we are and go from there. Everything I've read says that up to 5000ppm is not a major issue, especially if it is for a limited time. 3000 - 3500 is ideal.
 
When a cell is wearing out, it typically reads a lower salt level than the actual level, leading you to add to much salt, and a sudden jump in salt reading when you replace the cell. All of that is normal, and nothing to worry too much about. The salt level will come down over time. If it was higher you would need to replace water to bring it down, but you were lucky and got away with just some rain.
 
My ic40 has been reading high salt for some time now. I called pentair many times and they say it's fine to run it that way so long as I'm maintaining chlorine and Im checking my salt levels accurately. According to them it reading connectivity based on many factors such as temp and and water content. They always ask what my csi is. I never really know how to answer that one. Steve
 
Thanks, Jason.

Linen, my EasyTouch says 4300ppm, and my strips show a bit over 4000ppm by my reading. My CSI is 0.4, so I'm good there. All in all, I'm fine from everything I've read. Seems like under 5000 and with a reasonable CSI, there is no real potential for damage, which was my primary concern.

Steve, one thing to look for is whether your temperature sensors are operating correctly, especially the water temp. When my flaked out, all sorts of weird readings started happening on my EasyTouch and, because it erroneously thought my water temp was -57 degrees, it would not allow my SWG to operate (as a cold water safety thing). Since the PPM reading can be influenced by temp, it might be something to look at anyway. BTW, how is your IntelliPh working? Been eyeing one of those.....
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Well my temp sensors are working normally, as far as I know. They show appropriate temps. My intelliph is great! I think for the money I would absolutely due it again. I travel a lot and don't worry about the pool at all. Every Monday I check my levels and they always right where I expect them to be.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply