Going Back to SWG From Chlorine

[RUSigX]

Bought my house last summer and the pool was a swamp, cleaned up the pool and treated it as a chlorine pool (adding bleach) for the remainder of the summer. The pool is a 27k gallon pebble stone with an Auqa Rite SWG and T-15 cell. Now that summer has begun, I'd like to switch the pool back to SWG so I don't have to add chlorine manually everyday.

Here are my current test results:
PH - 7.5
FC - 4
CC - 0
TA - 60
CH - 150
CYA - 20 or less
Salt - ~0

The pool calculator is telling me to add:
440 oz of calcium chloride dehydrate
561 oz of liquid stabilizer
723 lbs of salt to get to 3,200 PPM

I wanted to pass this by the experts because I don't want to mess anything up. I always thought a really high CYA was a bad thing, will adding this much stabilizer impact my PH? Also, I've read I need to let the pool run for 24 hours before turning on the SWG.

 

[jblizzle]

Did you test the salt level? It is not likely that close to 0 unless you just refilled.
Higher CYA levels are preferred for SWG since they make the FC so slowly ... it is a balancing act. Higher is better for the SWG, but more work if you have to SLAM.
I would suggest raising the CYA in a few steps to avoid overshooting. And yes it will have some effect on the pH.

For the CH, I would suggest raising it up to about 250ppm

 

[RUSigX]

Thank you! The pool was completely cleaned and refilled last summer at which time some stabilizer was added but I have not added anymore. Everywhere I look it seems the stabilizer is very expensive, would you suggest I go from 20 to 70 PPM? What would that be, about 12 lbs?

I tested the salt level with a strip and it didnt even register, hopefully I did it correctly. Since the pool was refilled last summer no salt has been added so it makes sense that it should be around 0. Does about 700 lbs sound right to add?

 

[jblizzle]

Those salt test strips have a habit of giving really bad results if they are old or not stored properly. All forms on chlorine add some salt to the water. I would guess you might be around 500ppm already.

I just got some stabilizer at Walmart. I think it was $15 for 4 pounds ... the pool store was nearly double.

I would start by adding 40ppm of CYA, wait a week after dissolving and then retesting to see where you are and add more if needed. That would be 144oz or 9 pounds.

For salt, probably safe to add 3000ppm or a little under. Say, 16 of the 40lb bags (just get solar salt it is cheaper than "pool" salt) to add 2800 ppm ... then circulate for a day, retest and see what your SWG thinks.

 

[RUSigX]

We are on the same page, had planned to start with 15 bags of the solar salt and go from there. I really hope the cell is working correctly as there really isnt any way to test it. The head unit lights up and powers on fine but the cell itself looks old so I could have to replace it at some point. Once the salt is in I was thinking of setting the unit at 50%, the pump usually runs 8 hours a day.

Headed to wally world tonight as I saw this online and it looks like a pretty good deal.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/My-Salt-Pool-Saltwater-Stabilizer-6.5-lb/34752155

6.5 lbs for $20 and it's 100% acid.

 

[Divin Dave]

Before you try to fire up the salt cell, you might consider pulling it off and looking inside at the plates to see if they are covered in calcium scaling or not. Would just take a few minutes. If you do, dont forget to lube up the O Rings in the unions.

ditto on getting CYA at Wal Mart. Lots less expensive there.

 

[jblizzle]

Headed to wally world tonight as I saw this online and it looks like a pretty good deal.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/My-Salt-Pool-Saltwater-Stabilizer-6.5-lb/34752155

6.5 lbs for $20 and it's 100% acid.

I have seen other people post that CYA and I was hoping to find it, but the Walmart by me just had the HTH 4 lbs 96% stuff.

 

[RUSigX]

They had two 6.5lb jugs left so I picked up both of them for $20 each. Not a bad deal, I'm sure you could order it on their web site and they will send it to the store for free I think.

I'll take a look at the salt cell tomorrow, best I can remember it was clean inside but I can tell it's probably original to the pool which is now maybe 7 years old or so.

 

[jblizzle]

General lifespan of SWG cells is usually 3-5 years ... so it could be DOA. Wish you luck though.

 

[timerguy]

They had two 6.5lb jugs left so I picked up both of them for $20 each. Not a bad deal, I'm sure you could order it on their web site and they will send it to the store for free I think.

I'll take a look at the salt cell tomorrow, best I can remember it was clean inside but I can tell it's probably original to the pool which is now maybe 7 years old or so.

That's exactly what I did!!! Ordered on line for free site to store.