Im dealing with the same issue, i have the same intex unit,this morning i flipped the black plug on top of the cell over and it it immediatly started shedding scale from the side that had buildup, im going to try this for the next couple days switching it back and forth every day or two and see if this helps to avoid some of the vinegar soaking sessions. The black plug simply slides off in goes on either way so it must not be that big of deal if you can reverse that easily, if not mine is still under warranty from walmart. I still assume its a water balance issue with mine and im waiting on my TF-100 kit so i can get mine dialed in correctly, GOOD LUCK!
Excessive scale build up on the metal plates...help!!!
- Thread starter cainam
- Start date
Thanks for the heads up on switching the plug. I'll try that and see how it works.
I have a two speed pump and experimented with running the salt chlorinater with the pump on the higher speed to see if the increased flow would help to reduce the amount of build-up. The results were good and bad. It didn't help to reduce the build-up. That means that I can still run the pump on the lower setting to help save on energy cost!
I have a two speed pump and experimented with running the salt chlorinater with the pump on the higher speed to see if the increased flow would help to reduce the amount of build-up. The results were good and bad. It didn't help to reduce the build-up. That means that I can still run the pump on the lower setting to help save on energy cost!
- Jun 20, 2012
- 439
If reversing the plug causes the cell to work in the other direction, then that would imply that the cell is OK and the problem is in the connecting cable or the controller.
There are only two connections to the cell, if the cell works either way then both the cell and the power supply to the cell are working, i think the problem we have is a water chemistry imbalance that is causing excess scaling on the plates and the built in "self cleaning" feature (which is reversing polarity) probably just doesnt run long enough to clear itself of the high amount of daily scale, nobody really seems to know the specifics on the self clean feature but lets say it only runs for 20 minutes at the end of the cycle and doesnt clear itself then it builds more the next time and then eventually its plugged, it should just run 50/50, then the one side can be de-scaling while the other produces the chlorine (i say one side or the other because it seems the buildup occurs mostly between 2 of the 3 plates), of course i dont know exactly how these things work but i dont think this scaling issue indicates unit failure
Welcome to tfp, GMCGUY 
What you are saying makes sense to me. In my three years with the intex, I have yet to figure out the cleaning cycle...but I am guessing it is close your theory.
There is some discussion of switching polarity of a modded intex swg, but no real specifics on the stock switching in this thread:http://www.troublefreepool.com/twin-intex-swg-installation-modded-to-run-24hrs-t36140.html
What you are saying makes sense to me. In my three years with the intex, I have yet to figure out the cleaning cycle...but I am guessing it is close your theory.
There is some discussion of switching polarity of a modded intex swg, but no real specifics on the stock switching in this thread:http://www.troublefreepool.com/twin-intex-swg-installation-modded-to-run-24hrs-t36140.html
Just got home and checked, after switching the polarity this morning the plates are clean, they look just like they do after cleaning, i had buildup on the back plate (furthest from control unit) and between that and the middle plate, its all clear now, had an FC reading of 0 this morning and its up so it obviously was producing chlorine. Gonna run a boost tonight and see if i can get acceptable number of FC in the morning.
Thought i would add, that was testing with strips earlier, waiting on TF-100, my poool has been up for about a month and ive only used 2 qts of bleach this whole time, just as a boost when the plates scaled over, added 3.75 LBS CYA on startup, had to add a little muriatic acid to drop ph and ta. Havent had any green water and its been used every day by my 3 kids and then some, usaully at least 5 or 6 of them in there at once, for hours, also havent put the cover on it once yet, still in the box. Anyone considering this unit should just go for it, it works. Thank you everyone for this site! I would be lost without you.
I filpped the plug on the salt chlorinator two days ago. The scale began falling off the side with the build up, but began to form on the clean side. I checked the plates this morning and they both have build up, but not as bad. I have not flipped the plug back to the standard direction. I will try to post a picture later today.
My Beautec arrived today! I added it to the pool per the instructions on the bottle. I am very interested to see if this helps to solve the problem!
My Beautec arrived today! I added it to the pool per the instructions on the bottle. I am very interested to see if this helps to solve the problem!
Mine is still running good, its building scale on the opposite side also but i expected that, i should probably flip back now, i kindof forgot about it. Let us know if that beautec stuff works. Read the container and find out what the chemicals are if it says.