Low Salt Readings....3600 to 2400 in less than a week - Less than a year old SWG

irongait

New member
Jul 12, 2021
3
Chester, VA
I have the Pentair Intellichlor SWG ( less than a year old). I recently had my 17,000 Gallon pool levels at the required level (3600). The light came on later with low salt reading. I tested and it was reading 2400. I added salt, got the level back up to 3600 and it's now saying low salt again and reading 2400 and it's only been a couple of weeks if that. We are in VA; temps in the 90's and we did just got six inches of rain. My question is it normal for the numbers to drop that much after six inches of rain and have to add 2-3 bags of salt again?
 
I,

Never use the salt reported by the cell to determine if you need to add salt or not.. It is not accurate and have a pretty high failure rate.

Sounds like you need a new Flow switch assembly.. Inside the flow switch is a thermistor that helps the cell determine water temperature.. When bad, it can make the cell think the salt level is very low or very high.

I don't care what the cell says until I can verify the "actual" salt level with my Taylor K-1766 salt test kit.

If the cell is under warranty, have Pentair fix it.. If not just install a replacement Flow Switch.. Get the newer 3 wire units, which are supposed to be better..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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With all that rain I would say it's definitely lower then normal. As Jimrahbe stated, you should check it with the Taylor kit to see just how much you need to add. I'm in PA and just had to add a bag today due to the past few days of rain.
 
I,

I must have misunderstood. If the cell reported 2400 ppm and your tests showed 2400, then that means your flow switch thermistor is working the way it should..

I don't understand how your pool water could go from 3600 to 2400 in just a few days, unless you are adding water like crazy???

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
I,

I must have misunderstood. If the cell reported 2400 ppm and your tests showed 2400, then that means your flow switch thermistor is working the way it should..

I don't understand how your pool water could go from 3600 to 2400 in just a few days, unless you are adding water like crazy???

Thanks,

Jim R.
He said they just got 6 inches of rain... That'll do it. We got 1.5" in 30 minutes the other day and I had low salt, pool was overflowing. One section of my deck concrete we did is pitched incorrectly and collects a lot of rain water into the pool. Blessing and a curse because I do lose a lot of water from splash out (kids) so it helps to refill. But too much rain at one time dilutes my salt and cya.
 
I,

I must have misunderstood. If the cell reported 2400 ppm and your tests showed 2400, then that means your flow switch thermistor is working the way it should..

I don't understand how your pool water could go from 3600 to 2400 in just a few days, unless you are adding water like crazy???

Thanks,

Jim R.
Yes, the SWG started flashing low salt and I checked it with a salt test reader and it was reading 2400. We did get 6 inches of rain in a few hours(flash flooding event here) but it still felt like a huge drop. Again, we just added salt a couple of weeks ago because the light was flashing low salt, I checked it with my salt water tester and it was reading low. It just seems I am adding a lot of salt this year. I have had to add water to the pool about once a week. Was told by the pool company that it is normal. It has been 90's to 100 here in VA. I just don't recall this happening in years past. We had them replace the liner this year. I thought it was losing too much water too quickly but they said they did the evaporation test and it's evaporating at the same rate???
 
Yes, the SWG started flashing low salt and I checked it with a salt test reader and it was reading 2400. We did get 6 inches of rain in a few hours(flash flooding event here) but it still felt like a huge drop. Again, we just added salt a couple of weeks ago because the light was flashing low salt, I checked it with my salt water tester and it was reading low. It just seems I am adding a lot of salt this year. I have had to add water to the pool about once a week. Was told by the pool company that it is normal. It has been 90's to 100 here in VA. I just don't recall this happening in years past. We had them replace the liner this year. I thought it was losing too much water too quickly but they said they did the evaporation test and it's evaporating at the same rate???
Sounds like you have a leak somewhere if you're adding that much makeup water. I'm in WV and haven't had to add water from the hose yet this year since my initial fill. We have been getting a good amount of rain, though...
 
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