Considering buying and stalling SW system / questions

[Zindar]

I think I read in the instructions that the copper is there to prevent algae. According to Trouble Free Pools, keeping the FC to at least the minimums will all by itself prevent algae. So I can only speculate that Intex is providing the copper in the expectation that people won't always be keeping their chlorine levels high enough. If this is the main reason for the copper, then I guess I'm comfortable unplugging it, as I intend to always be aware of my chlorine levels.

Speaking of copper, I think in my very first pool, which was also an above ground with vinyl liner, in the days long before I heard of TFP, I took the pool store's advice and used preventative algaecide containing copper (even when I had no algae!) Eventually I did get staining on my vinyl, especially near the water surface. I had to use quite a bit of elbow grease to get those stains off.

 

[hyperionguy]

If you can protect the equipment some then that is good but I've had mine in direct sun/rain for 3 years and see no wear/fading/chalking of the plastic parts which is a pleasant surprise to me for sure. The original plunger valves on the pool are another story. They have faded and a little chalky.

I love my SWG. I got 2 years out of my original cell. I probably did something to torture them a bit as I expected 3-4 years. You can buy replacement plates directly from IntexCorp.com for either 35 or 45 bucks depending on which of the two sizes you bought. Quite a bargain IMO.

I think the main reason the Intex (and I assume the Bestway) are cheaper is because they're "dumb". They aren't adjustable and don't read the water to give you any stats, they just sense current which triggers the high or low salt when it goes out of range. You control how much chlorine is generated by adjusting your pump run time. Through trial, you'll hone in on the right balance between filtration and chlorine demand. Just remember to reevaluate during season changes when temps and sun exposure tend to change the demand.

As for the copper, I just leave it unplugged to keep it from generating copper ions. Just having water rush past the plates isn't a big deal IMO and not worth the hassle of removing. But do what you want.

For a 7,600 gallon pool each 3" puck (typically 8oz) adds 4.4 ppm CYA so use that to calculate how much you're adding so you don't over do it Remember that it takes up to a week to register on the test.

I'm in the middle of hard plumbing mine. It's fun. I completed the suction side and I can definitely feel the difference in flow. I plan on working on the return side today.

Best of luck, and enjoy the convenience!

 

[hyperionguy]

My copper bars have been plugged in for 4 years with no staining and no green hair. I personally know 3 other users who have had no problems. Maybe you could just leave it alone and if you have no problems, fine, and if you do, unplug them. The choice is yours, but I suspect it's not as much of a problem as people think.

I suspect you are right. I never got around to testing copper level when I did run them the first year. However, I figure that with the amount of water I replace due to backwashing and the fact that I knock down the pool each fall there isn't time for it to build up and become a problem. I unplugged them anyway. <shrugs>

 

[Zindar]

If you can protect the equipment some then that is good but I've had mine in direct sun/rain for 3 years and see no wear/fading/chalking of the plastic parts which is a pleasant surprise to me for sure.

Yes, my equipment is still in the sun and rain (but haven't yet installed the SWG, as I want to get the chemistry right first).

My idea I thought of to sort of protect my equipment, to sort of do this on the cheap, is to get some 2x4 pieces of wood, and build a sort of cage with no walls or roof to surround the equipment, (basically just the corner posts, and perimeter of a would-be roof, with maybe some diagonal pieces to add structural stability) then maybe either use plywood, or a small piece of tarp material for the roof, maybe nailing it to the wooden frame I build. By using 2x4's, and not 4x4's, my hope is that this would be light enough that I can easily move it out of the way if I need to work on the equipment, but heavy enough that it will sit there on its own, and not blow away, protecting the equipment.

I'm no carpenter, but I figure with my tools I could juryrig something.

 

[Xexys]

I love my SWG and currently I'm on vacation and will no doubt return to a clean sparkly pool as when I left. I may have to adjust the PH with Muriatic Acid but nothing else will have to be done at all. I've tracked my pool chemicals in Microsoft Excel for two months and I've not yet had to add any bleach or liquid chlorine. I've really spent the time dialing in my new salt cell percentage and run time of the pump. You just can't go wrong with getting this addition to your pool if you value your time.

 

[rayfbi]

Zindar,

I was in the same boat as you in considering the Intex unit.
I wrote up a detailed review here:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/82940-Intex-SWG-with-IGP-review

 

[Zindar]

Thank you for that nice review. It also helps explain why my last swg was so expensive.

 

[happyheathen]

My thought as to protecting the unit from UV:

The cheapest dog house you can find or put together.

If I ever remember, I'm going to pick up a bit of sheet aluminum and put 2 bends in (U shape) and placing it over the pump - yes, there are purpose-made covers, but hardware store AL is much cheaper.
Drill corresponding holes in the sides, and run a stiff wire (welding rod? coat hanger?) through the holes to prevent wind removing it. Or get clever with the shape so it "clips onto the pump.

Those pretty basket covers do not like UV, and the motor runs hot enough, I don't need the sun adding heat (who though Black was a good idea for stuff sitting in the sun its entire life?)

 

[Zindar]

For a 7,600 gallon pool each 3" puck (typically 8oz) adds 4.4 ppm CYA

So, when my test says I have CYA = 60, is that in ppm units? If so, then if I add a measly 3 pucks, I'll be up to 73.2? So people I know who are going through an entire bucket of pucks per season would have to have sky high CYA if this is true. I just (re)started my chlorinator a couple days ago, and it contains about 5-6 pucks, but I know it can't have dissolved much of it this soon; when I get home, I'll definitely take a look in there to see how much has dissolved. It sounds like I only want 3 of those pucks to dissolve.

 

[jblizzle]

Yup. I think you are understanding why we do not recommend the use of tablets.

 

[Zindar]

Okay, now I'm trying to figure out the best way to hook up my SWG, plumbing wise. It needs to go between the sand filter and the return jet. Here's the port out of my sand filter:

I definitely can see threads on the outside (i.e. male threads) that aren't being used, but it kind of looks like the white pipe is connected via threads, but on the inside, and instead of teflon tape (like I like to use), the installer used silicon. I think I remember him saying he prefers silicon. If I'm right, then I guess I should be able to unscrew this by hand.

Here's the return jet:

Now the instructions say to take this hose and run it from the filter to the SWG, but it's really meant for intex pools with intex equipment, which I don't have. Here's the type of connection on the SWG it needs to connect to:

Actually this is the output port that leads to the jet, but the input port to the SWG is the same kind of threaded connection. By the way, that gasket you see comes out easily:

The hose they give me to connect from the SWG to the jet is this:

Both ends of the hose are the same.

My idea is to get some rigid PVC with threaded adapters on the ends of them. On the filter side, I'm thinking that maybe I can find a female adapter to screw right on to the outside of the sand filter port. Note that right now, I'm connected to the inside of it. I suppose I could do that again with a male adapter, but I'd have to carefully scrape out all the silicon (which I may want to do anyway.) I'm not sure if there's any particular advantage to using the outside threads or the inside threads.

Then on the SWG side, if I could find another female adapter that matches those threads, do you think I could just screw it on there with teflon tape, and pull out the gaskets and not use them? Is it safe to attach rigid PVC to those clear plastic threads on the SWG? I assume the reason the gaskets are there is because the included hose is not rigidly attached to the female threads on the end of the hose (kind of like how garden hoses are attached to their threads). The gasket probably forms a watertight seal. But if I use rigid PVC pipe, I figure it'll already be water tight, so no need for the gaskets.

Then on the return jet side, a similar idea to screw on to the SWG, and on the jet, instead of attaching where the pictured grey hose (the one that I currently have installed) clamps on, I could take that white male threaded adapter you see in the picture and cement it to my PVC pipe, or if it's not the right kind of adapter than you can cement to, I could always buy another adapter from home depot with the same size threads and cement the pipe to that. (I'll know better when I take it apart to get a better look at it.)

Anyway, I'm not an expert at this, but I wanted to pass my ideas here first to see if anybody sees anything wrong with my plan. Especially the part where I connect threaded PVC adapters directly to the clear plastic threaded ports on the SWG using teflon tape. The only thing I worry about is that clear plastic somehow doesn't look as hardy as PVC, but it's not like I'm going to put a bunch of undue pressure on it.

 

[Zindar]

I got it hooked up quite awhile ago, but between slamming the pool and trying to raise the CYA to SWG levels, I finally powered the SWG on for the first time yesterday.

It was a pleasure seeing the gas bubbles forming, giving me visual evidence that it works.

 

[Zindar]

It's not been in service all that long, but at its minimum 1 hour setting, I found the chlorine to be a bit too low, so I bumped it up to 2 hours, and now it's higher than it needs to be (like around 9-10 ppm if I remember correctly).

Since I pump in two shifts per day, the 1 hour setting is really 2 hours, and the 2 hour setting is really 4 hours, so there's not much fine tuning available. Oh well, maybe no matter what setting I use, it's going to have be occasionally adjusted sometime, I'm guessing. I guess I could go out every several days and adjust the setting to 1 or 2 hours, depending on the situation.

I'm happy that I now have measurable evidence that the thing works, as my chlorine did go up.

By the way, I was at 5 ppm when I adjusted upwards. I know that's at the low end of acceptable, but it was moving down, and I was worried it was about to drop below 5, which is why I adjusted. Also, to make sure, I added some bleach, but just enough to bring it up to 8 (as I wasn't sure how much my chlorine was going to respond to the increased SWG setting), and after a couple of days I was at least 9-10, and that was including a rainstorm that had hit during the time I was generating the longer durations, so it must be generating more than it needs to, so I set it back down to the minimum setting.