Aquarite: How does "Desired output" regulate chlorine?

[chawkins99]

We just bought a house in Florida with an inground pool.
Previously had a 24' above ground Intex with SWG for several years so decided to convert this one to SW.
Bought and installed the AquaRite with T15 cell two weeks ago.
Initially put too much salt in and had to drain a third of the water. Was using the test strips wrong and getting a false low reading. Should have listened to my gut on that one....
Anyway, got the salt level down to 3500. Still a bit high but I can live with it as it will drop with back-washing etc.

Had to bring the TA and PH up as both were low. Now getting a high chlorine level so turned Desired output down to 25%. Still high, so contemplating either reducing run time or lowering output further.

The question is... How does it regulate chlorine level? It seems to cycle on/off but at what rate? If set at 10% does it run 10 minutes on then 90 minutes off, 1 minute/9 minutes, 1 hour/9 hours?

This will determine whether to reduce run-time or output % (or combination of both).

TIA

Chris

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

I'm not sure of the exact cycle time, but it is certainly not longer than two hours. I expect it is shorter than that, as no one ever has any issue with it.

You should adjust your pump run time based on what is ideal for your pool, and then adjust the percentage setting on the SWG based on your chlorine needs. The only exception would be if the SWG is already at 100% you will need to increase your pump run time. A typical pool only needs about four hours of pump run time.

 

[Donny]

It will produce chlorine when the pump is running. When the pump goes off the Aquarite should shut down. This is going to be trial and error. You will have to determine what works for your specific pool and needs. I would shut off the Aquarite for a day and see what happens. Again, trial and error here to dial it in.

 

[mas985]

Re: Aquarite: How does "Desired output" regulate chlorine?

I believe the AquaRite uses the same time period as the AquaLogic which is 120 minutes. So 25% is 30 min on and then 90 min off. The cell changes polarity every cycle and if you do it too often, it reduces the life of the cell.

Edit: the older aquarite may have used a 100 min cycle.

 

[chawkins99]

I currently have the pump running 6am to 10pm at 1,000rpm. SWG runs 8am to 8pm. Pool cleaner runs 830am to 10.30am (booster pump) with the main pump running about 1,350rpm.

I think I'll drop the main pump down to 6am to 2pm and run the SWG 8am to 12pm and see where that takes me.

I have 3 separate timers and am concerned about them getting out of sync. Have SWG & Pool cleaner on separate mechanical timers and the pump has it's own internal electronic timer.

Both the SWG and cleaner NEED the main pump to be running.

Donny. The Aquarite definitely does not produce chlorine all the time the pump is running. It cycles depending on the desired output setting. Just not sure of the on/off timing.

Jason. I found another article which stated it ran on a 100-minute cycle which would agree with you but haven't been able to get anything definitive. I have the same question in to Hayward tech support. Will post when I receive a response.

 

[mas985]

Any particular reason you are running your pump that long?

Most pools need 4 hours or less of runtime.

 

[chawkins99]

Mark...

Experience. The old Intex needed to run 24x7 to generate enough chlorine. Probably explains why I went through 3 Intex chlorinators in 5 years
Still learning this new one.

 

[JamesW]

"With Firmware Revision 1.55 (5/8/2009) the cycle time (reverses polarity) changed
from 120 minutes (2 hrs) to 180 minutes (3 hrs). When you set the ‘Desired Output
%’ dial on the main panel this sets the level of salt cell operation as a percent of the
operating time of each cycle. 50% is the factory default. Below are simple examples
for 2 and 3 hr cycle times."

 

[Donny]

I understand your question now Chris. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[chawkins99]

"With Firmware Revision 1.55 (5/8/2009) the cycle time (reverses polarity) changed
from 120 minutes (2 hrs) to 180 minutes (3 hrs). When you set the ‘Desired Output
%’ dial on the main panel this sets the level of salt cell operation as a percent of the
operating time of each cycle. 50% is the factory default. Below are simple examples
for 2 and 3 hr cycle times."

Thanks. That was the info I was after....

 

[rmturner54]

According to Hayward tech support the unit is set up on a 2 hour cycle . Example desired output set to 50%. Then is gonna generate for 50% of that 2 hour cycle

 

[chawkins99]

Here is the reply I received from Hayward support:

When you set percentage to 50, and your pump run time is 12 hours, 90 minutes are one complete cycle. Then you have 90 minutes off, then cell switches polarity at 90 minutes on.
When set to 25 percent, you are now at 45 minutes per cycle on a 12 hour pump run time. So, if you reduce to 10 percent on a 12 hour pump time, your cycles now become about 20 minutes.

So it looks like JamesW was correct that they changed the cycle time to 3 hours.

 

[JamesW]

Note that the information I posted was taken directly from Hayward literature.

If you Google a part of the quote, in quotes, you should be able to find a Hayward reference manual with the information.

 

[rmturner54]

So when did they go to a 3 hour cycle time. My info was rcvd mid summer last yr

 

[JamesW]

So when did they go to a 3 hour cycle time. My info was rcvd mid summer last yr

"With Firmware Revision 1.55 (5/8/2009) the cycle time (reverses polarity) changed from 120 minutes (2 hrs) to 180 minutes (3 hrs)."

 

[rmturner54]

Thank you. I just reconfirmed that today with tech support.