We are coming to the conclusion of the 5th full season for my pool, with same Pentair IC40 from day one. Since I'm in Sunny Socal, my pool is open 365 days a year with only 1 month or so where the water is too cold for the SWG to produce chlorine.
After perfect operation of the IC40 for all these years and very minimal build up of scale on the plates (only had to clean once in 5 years), I finally got a low flow red warning light on the unit itself. Bumping the Intelliflo rpm up to 1800rpm from 1600rpm was good enough as a temporary fix while I figured out what to do next. Since I just cleaned the filter a couple weeks ago (only needs it twice a year), I figured the units flow sensor was going bad. At this time I also noticed that the IC40 was reading 4100ppm salt. Using the Taylor 1766 salt kit, I got a reading of 3200ppm. So, I purchased a replacement Optimum branded flow sensor replacement from Pool Guy Supply, which arrived in 2 days.
Today I replaced the Flow sensor which was easy enough and I cleaned IC40, using a 4:1 mixture of water and acid. I noticed a decent amount of Calcium buildup, which was greater than I had seen in the past. I figured that probably contributed to the lower than normal flow situation. After everything was buttoned back up, the IC40 started working good again and I was able to lower the RPM back down to 1600 rpm for normal pool filtering operation. .. But, now the high salt warning light was blinking. When I check diagnostics on the Easytouch, my IC40 is now reporting 5000ppm salt.
So what my question is.. will the the higher than normal salt reading from the IC40 cause it to stop working? Is their a ceiling where the IC40 stops producing salt? When I do a manual test, my IC40 is reporting about 4000 hours of use. I figured I was getting near end of life for the IC40, but wouldn't mind it if I could limp it through the winter months, so I can start with a fresh unit next season.
Since everyone loves test results...
FC 5.5
TC 5.5
CC 0.0
TA 60
CH 900+
CYA 80
Salt 3200
Borates 35-40
PH 7.5
After perfect operation of the IC40 for all these years and very minimal build up of scale on the plates (only had to clean once in 5 years), I finally got a low flow red warning light on the unit itself. Bumping the Intelliflo rpm up to 1800rpm from 1600rpm was good enough as a temporary fix while I figured out what to do next. Since I just cleaned the filter a couple weeks ago (only needs it twice a year), I figured the units flow sensor was going bad. At this time I also noticed that the IC40 was reading 4100ppm salt. Using the Taylor 1766 salt kit, I got a reading of 3200ppm. So, I purchased a replacement Optimum branded flow sensor replacement from Pool Guy Supply, which arrived in 2 days.
Today I replaced the Flow sensor which was easy enough and I cleaned IC40, using a 4:1 mixture of water and acid. I noticed a decent amount of Calcium buildup, which was greater than I had seen in the past. I figured that probably contributed to the lower than normal flow situation. After everything was buttoned back up, the IC40 started working good again and I was able to lower the RPM back down to 1600 rpm for normal pool filtering operation. .. But, now the high salt warning light was blinking. When I check diagnostics on the Easytouch, my IC40 is now reporting 5000ppm salt.
So what my question is.. will the the higher than normal salt reading from the IC40 cause it to stop working? Is their a ceiling where the IC40 stops producing salt? When I do a manual test, my IC40 is reporting about 4000 hours of use. I figured I was getting near end of life for the IC40, but wouldn't mind it if I could limp it through the winter months, so I can start with a fresh unit next season.
Since everyone loves test results...
FC 5.5
TC 5.5
CC 0.0
TA 60
CH 900+
CYA 80
Salt 3200
Borates 35-40
PH 7.5