Intex Salt Water Generator Problems

[Enkil810]

Hello guys! I am new to the pool world and I have been having trouble ever since I started. I have the Intex SWG. I don't think it is working like it should. I have read how the system works and it is my understanding that it reads the currents between the plates to tell who much salt is in your pool. My pool started to turn green and I went and had my water tested. They said I was low in salt but my unit never had a low salt alarm. I also noticed that one of my plates is copper colored and the other two is black. Is this normal?

 

[paokaras31]

hello!
First of all buy your own tft test kit! Dont trust the sticks or the pool store. The single most important parameter is your CYA/FC ratio. If you are low on cya the SWG will never be able to keep up with producing enough FC to have your pool sanitized. Green means algae I am afraid. You need to SLAM the pool but you have to have a good test kit in order to do so without wasting time and money. If you are in a hurry go to the poolcalculator and calculate how much bleach (or even better 12-14% chlorine) to add for your dimensions in order to bring FC up to 20 (that is assuming the amount of CYA you have is low) keep your SWG at the max setting and run your pump 24/7. If yoy see a color change to white then rest assure....

 

[paokaras31]

hello!
First of all buy your own tft test kit! Dont trust the sticks or the pool store. The single most important parameter is your CYA/FC ratio. If you are low on cya the SWG will never be able to keep up with producing enough FC to have your pool sanitized. Green means algae I am afraid. You need to SLAM the pool but you have to have a good test kit in order to do so without wasting time and money. If you are in a hurry go to the poolcalculator and calculate how much bleach (or even better 12-14% chlorine) to add for your dimensions in order to bring FC up to 20 (that is assuming the amount of CYA you have is low) keep your SWG at the max setting and run your pump 24/7. If yoy see a color change to white then rest assure it was algae. Keep running 24/7 and keep your FC high until you see improvement in visibility. If you are lucky the water should be clear in 3-4 days. If you dont see improvemnt then maybe your CYA is high so you would need much higher Fc in order to shock the pool.... Brush the entire pool too. You should read the section on this site about SLAM and buy a test kit.

 

[Enkil810]

I have ordered a test kit. I shocked the pool and yes it has turned to a white fog color. I am now filtering the water 24/7. I don't think you can adjust the Intex SWG. The only thing you can do is adjust the hours running or hit the boost button. When it started turning a green color I hit the boost button and it ran for 48 hours. The boost button did not correct the problem. Makes me wonder if the unit is running like it suppose to. I have cleaned the cells and see if that helps.

 

[jeffchap]

I have seen one of my plates turn black without any degradation in performance of the SWG. Have you measured your salt level to be sure it's within the acceptable range? Also, how old is your SWG? I've had to replace the plates in mine about every 2 - 3 years. Do you see it making bubbles between the plates?

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[Enkil810]

OK...the problem with the plates. First let me tell you that my plates in my Intex SWG keep building up a white crust around the plates. This happens very fast. My neighbor has a Intex SWG and he does not have this problem. I have to clean my plates every couple of weeks because of this build up. I should not have to clean them this much. Anything that talks about the subject says the water is unbalanced. This is my water test as of yesterday.

FC- 3.35
Total C - 3.35
Combined C- 0
pH- 7.6
Hardness - 120 ppm
Alkalinity- 140 ppm
Cyanuric Acid - 25 ppm --Added 1 lb 5oz yesterday to bring this up.

Looking at my read out has me scratching my head. My water is not that bad. Does anyone else have this problem? I am also thinking that my boost would not work because of the build up. Not really sure on that. I have been told that cleaning my plates that often will shorten their life span dramatically.

 

[jeffchap]

Have you tested to see what your actual salt level is?

I've been using an Intex SWG for 5 years now, and I have to clean my plates at least once every 2 weeks, and sometimes more frequently, due to what I presume to be calcium buildup. We are on well water and it is very hard. I can't tell that cleaning them damages them in any way. They wear out on their own after about 3 years anyway.

Your CYA should be around 70 ppm for a SWG pool. But even with that, you may need to add some liquid chlorine to get rid of the algae you already have. Even on boost, an SWG doesn't generate enough chlorine to achieve shock levels. They are more geared to maintaining a properly balanced pool.
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