SWG Salt level reading ok; Taylor test - very high

[lews]

I just bought a salt test kit to check salt level for Aquarite SWG system. SWG shows 3100 ppm, but the test kit shows 7000 ppm. I check the test kit against free water and it seems to work fine. Would other levels - chorine - ph - CH affect the test? The reason I'd added salt to start with was because the system was not generating chlorine and we'd accidentally drained 25% of the pool by taking out a pool cleaner without unhooking it from the return system - plus a lot of rain. So it didn't seem crazy to be down that amount of salt.

When I perform the kit test - the first silver nitrate drop creates a percipitate blob of something. Is that normal?

Assuming the Salt level is 7000 - I assume I will have to do a drain and fill - 50% or more. I'm on a well - Geez. What a disaster.

And then I still have a problem with the SWG. -

 

[pooldv]

How old is the SWG? Inaccurate salt readings is a sign of a failing unit. How much salt did you add to the pool? We can validate the PPM using Poolmath. It would take over 700 lbs of salt to achieve 7000 ppm of salt in 12k gallons. Yes, the only way to reduce salt level is to drain about half the water.

 

[ping]

What level does the instant salinity reading say it is? Around the 5 time when you push the diagnostic button it should show the instant salinity level.

How many pounds of salt have you added?

Make sure the cell is clean of scale.

 

[lews]

Thanks for the responses. My DSL internet went down - sorry for the slow return. t's a 24K gallon pool. Instant on the Aquarite shows 3100 ppM. When turning on pump - it shows everything correctly - first power green/no flow- red; then after 30 secs, no flow goes off, shows green power and generating. High salt light is off. press the button 5 times and it show 3100.

Good question about the bags - i think i put in 6 bags - blue salt bags - feel like 40lbs each. I'll check pool math.

- - - Updated - - -

Just did the math. you're totally right. The Taylor kit must be wrong.

Has anyone used that kit? Do you recall the first drop creating a precipitate?

 

[ping]

I've never had a problem with the Taylor salt test kit and it is about 2 years old now.

Make sure you are using 10ml of water, not 25ml, and count each drop as 200ppm and make sure the water is swirled enough between drops. I use a speedstir which helps makes this test a breeze.

 

[JamesW]

http://taylortechnologies.com/products_choose_slideshow.asp?KitNumber=K-1766

If the cell is over five years old, it's likely close to failing. Have the water tested by a meter.

240 lbs in 12,000 gallons would raise the salt by about 2,400 ppm over the starting level. I suspect that the Taylor is correct and the AquaRite is under performing.

Can you post all of the diagnostics with the cell off and on?

What cell do you have?

 

[lews]

If the cell is over five years old, it's likely close to failing. Have the water tested by a meter.

240 lbs in 12,000 gallons would raise the salt by about 2,400 ppm over the starting level. I suspect that the Taylor is correct and the AquaRite is under performing.

Can you post all of the diagnostics with the cell off and on?

What cell do you have?[/QUOTE]


T-CELL 9 - I replaced it Sept 2013. I'm not sure what you mean on the diagnostics with cell on and off. Pool is 8 years old. The pool numbers from a Taylor big kit are:

PH 7.2
CYA 50
CH 300
TA 250
FC 2.5

I used to keep the salt on the light side - around 2800 and we did leave the pool cleaner connected which drained - thinking conservatively - at least 10% drain and fill. 6 bags would not get it to 7000. I suppose that the unit could have been reading low for some time and I've been adding more and more over time. I tasted the water and from memory: When I first got the pool: I considered it a light taste of salt - compared to sea water - now I would estimate it tastes like sea water.

- - - Updated - - -

I can't seem to fix the signature block about clearwater FL. But my pool is 24K plaster.

 

[JamesW]

When you push the little black button there are numbers displayed. If you can post those numbers that would help. Also have the salt level tested another way.

Was the old cell a T-9? Is the unit configured for a T-9?

If the unit is 8 years old a T-9 might not work with it properly. If the unit is set for a T-15 and you have a T-9, the salt will read too low.

 

[pooldv]

Click SETTINGS upper right, click EDIT PROFILE lower left, change your city/state and click SAVE CHANGES at the bottom.

The click EDIT SIGNATURE on the lower left, update that and save it also.

More info here, Pool School - Getting Started

 

[lews]

Thanks for the signature;

I turned off SWG and turned back on and got these readings:

-3000
82
32.4 (26.6 once green generating light came on)
0.00 (6.68 once green generating light came on)
51P
-3000
AL-0
r 1.59
t-15

 

[JamesW]

If the box is 8 years old, then the circuit board has been replaced. r-1.59 is a newer software revision. I would suspect that it was replaced at about the same time as the cell.

I think what probably happened is that as the old T-15 cell was going bad it read lower and lower than actual and salt was added based on the box. I suspect that the salt was probably between 5,500 and 6,500 ppm when the cell failed. If a new T-15 was put on instead of the T-9, then the actual salt reading would have been displayed.

Since a T-9 was installed without changing the cell type in settings, it read the salt lower than actual. 5,500 x 9/15 = 3,300. If you change the cell type now it should display the correct salt level unless the cell is worn out.

This T-9 was made to do the same amount of work as a T-15, which probably means that the life is gone or limited.

To change the cell type, go to the T-15 and move the switch from auto to superchlorinate and back to auto three times.


If you do replace the cell, I would recommend getting the T-15. Just make sure to set the correct cell type.

 

[lews]

Thanks James. I did replace the board once. Before I buy a new cell - do you feel pretty confident that the electronic unit seems okay. BTW, I thought I was replacing the cell with the same one - because I foolishly saw it said 25K. I will look at the t-15 this time.

I also have some iron staining so I'm thinking about a drain and refill - start over again. I'm thinking I should wait under the ground is pretty dry this summer - maybe a month or two to minimize risk of ground water pressure damage. Do you see anything wrong with the high salt level that long? Should I wait on the cell and just us bleach?

Thanks for all the help.

 

[JamesW]

The electronic unit is probably fine. The cell will probably work as long as the salt level stays high enough. 7,000 is higher than ideal. It could adversely affect the plaster and probably increase the risk of corrosion.

Ideally, you should get the salt into the correct range if you can do so safely. Then you can change the cell type to a t-9 to see if it is reading the salt level correctly. If it's more than 800 low you should replace it.