Is My IC40 SWG Dead?

[tucsontico]

I feel like the pack rat and ground squirrels are crazy this year in Tucson!! My entire front yard has been invaded (previous years I maybe had one of two ground squirrels and/or pocket gophers around) and I’ve killed at least three pack rats in the backyard. Something about the population this year exploded out where we are (east side). It really ticked me off when one of the little you-know-whats put a hole in my turf

I've got a similar problem–our front yard looks like a swiss cheese! (We're also on the east side near Sabino Canyon.) I believe the warm winter and the wetter monsoon season has given us a "bumper crop" of the digging critters this year. Try these for the ground squirrels: https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-279001-Giant-Destroyer-tubes/dp/B000BQLWCS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535126983&sr=8-1&keywords=smoke+bombs+for+rodents.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I've got a similar problem–our front yard looks like a swiss cheese! (We're also on the east side near Sabino Canyon.) I believe the warm winter and the wetter monsoon season has given us a "bumper crop" of the digging critters this year. Try these for the ground squirrels: https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-279001-Giant-Destroyer-tubes/dp/B000BQLWCS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535126983&sr=8-1&keywords=smoke+bombs+for+rodents.

Before I go with the gas bomb route, I’m trying out a different approach - dry ice. I put the dry ice chunks into the holes at sunset (the ground squirrels sleep during the night) and then cover up the holes. CO2 is heavier than air so it should displace the oxygen and asphyxiate them while they sleep....still in the testing phases. I also set out standard snap-traps to kill them but the kids get freaked out by them so I’m trying to be more sneaky about it.

Sabino Canyon is beautiful! We’re out on Tanque Verde past Houghton on the way towards Reddington Pass. Tanque Verde Falls is running with all the rain we’ve gotten so every weekend we get lots of ATV’ers heading out to the pass...

 

[tucsontico]

My SWG issue wasn't the flow switch. Got the replacement parts last night and installed the new flow switch in my IC40 this morning. Still no lights or any sign of life. :grrrrisconnected the old IC40 and dropped in a new one. Now all is well.

Wish there was some way to determine what failed on my old IC40. It was just about 5 ½ years old and did not have any deterioration or scale on the plates. It would be nice if Pentair could refurb the old ones!

The dry ice is a good idea. The only problem I see is the ground squirrels have so many inlet and outlet holes you'll never be able to tell if there are any "leaks". With the smoke bombs, you can quickly cover any outlet once the smoke begins to fill their underground den. The standard snap-traps are great in areas where there are walls or edges as the rats and like to follow the walls and curbs. I use small Hav-A-Hart traps in open areas. When I catch a pack rat he goes for a swim. (Insert devious, evil laugh here!)

 

[JoyfulNoise]

My SWG issue wasn't the flow switch. Got the replacement parts last night and installed the new flow switch in my IC40 this morning. Still no lights or any sign of life. :grrrrisconnected the old IC40 and dropped in a new one. Now all is well.

Wish there was some way to determine what failed on my old IC40. It was just about 5 ½ years old and did not have any deterioration or scale on the plates. It would be nice if Pentair could refurb the old ones!

The dry ice is a good idea. The only problem I see is the ground squirrels have so many inlet and outlet holes you'll never be able to tell if there are any "leaks". With the smoke bombs, you can quickly cover any outlet once the smoke begins to fill their underground den. The standard snap-traps are great in areas where there are walls or edges as the rats and like to follow the walls and curbs. I use small Hav-A-Hart traps in open areas. When I catch a pack rat he goes for a swim. (Insert devious, evil laugh here!)

Yeah, unfortunately Pentair makes a very good, NOT-serviceable cell that’s very expensive to replace. I wish they would follow the lead of Hayward that makes an SWG system that shows diagnostic information and Jandy that makes cells where you can replace the plates. It’s not at all that hard to do but they don’t do it because they treat their customers like children. They assume that their customers are all idiots and don’t know how to turn a wrench....and I suppose they’re right because we are all stupid enough to keep shelling out money for SWGs that can’t be fixed, have no diagnostic information and limited warranty...it’s depressing enough to make me consider switching away from Pentair.

I like the CO2 trick because you can pack the hole with it and then cover it up and the CO2 will sink down into their nest quietly. If you do it at sundown when they’re sleeping, they will not be alerted to the danger and it’s more easy to kill them. I’ve seen my neighbor use the gas sticks and the little buggers just go running out of the holes until all the smoke has subsided. They can work, but I much prefer to be sneaky about it. What I usually do is pack a bunch of the entrances and exits and then use a shovel to fill them in. Then I go back the next day to see which holes are active again. After a couple of rounds, the number of active holes dwindles and you eventually kill them or drive them off. Like anything, there’s no silver bullet / one-off solution, it’s just being more persistent then they are and eventually you can “convince” them to go to your neighbors yard In fact, me and my neighbor joke about how the squirrels just go from one of our yards to the other depending on which one of us is out there setting traps. He’s a Have-a-Heart guy and I’m cold-blooded killer....so eventually they’ll probably all wind up in his yard since those “humane” traps almost never work....

 

[Dirk]

I love it when Matt rolls out the Anti-Pentair Express. I like to work the coal, and stoke the boiler!!

He nailed it. They could be so much better than they are, their products could put an end to the competition if they applied even a little innovation. But we keep buying, and replacing, their same ol' stuff. So who's really to blame...

 

[tucsontico]

You're both right on the money (pun intended) about Pentair. I foolishly believed that keeping all my pool equipment in the same ecological profile would be a good thing. That thought process works until...something breaks. Then you discover the "dirty truth" about planned obsolescence and "lowest bidder" manufacturing. (Sigh.) Here we are until we can figure out a better solution.