Aqual Trol RJ - very confused

[rcr203]

So, I jumped into the SWG pool (pun intended) this year after my first year of having an AG and spending the whole summer dealing with chemicals and testing. (24' round, 52 in deep)

After a mishap opening the pool this spring (don't ask your young children to help take off the pool cover), I got all the balances right, hooked up the system (Aqua Trol RJ TL), added the salt and let it run.

Everything seemed to be going fine, but no free chlorine in the pool. Ran for a week, and still nothing. Salt levels good, all other levels good. Diagnostics on the panel seemed fine. Timer running right. T-5 cell.

So, before calling anyone, I decided to check one thing. I had installed a ball value between the RJ T-5 cell and the return jet to make it easier for maintenance, etc. On a whim, I removed that (with some difficulty), and left the system to run overnight. Surprise! The first time I've tested and had Free Chlorine (although a little low, it actually moved the dial instead of being absolute zero).

Can someone explain to me what's going on? Is there a need for some sort of oxygen interaction that won't happen unless the elbow is less than 3-4 inches from the main pool?

 

[Bama Rambler]

Unless the valve was closed, I think it was a coincidence. You were probably having to overcome some organics and the swg isn't designed for that. However you should not install a valve or shutoff of any type after the cell in an RJ unit. It's designed to be right at the return jet with no obtructions to prevent the possible buildup of explosive gases. Sorry for the preaching, and you may already know that, but don't want new people to think that it's ok.

A side note; you cell is almost too small for your pool. You needed the T-cell-9

You said you had "all the balances right". Can you post a set of results and how you got them? Specifically the FC before you turned on the swg? Because it sounds like you didn't have something right.