Problem with Circupool RJ30 and solar heat.

[mas985]

The flow is upward so it is working against gravity which doesn't help.

 

[setsailsoon]

I added a horizontal loop which looks like you could easily do even with your congested piping. May be worth a try if you don't find a better solution.

Chris

 

[dswwpb]

Just noticed my installation is not the same. My unit is horizontal. Could this be the problem?

The instructions say it can be installed horizontal or vertical. They even sell a kit to mount it vertically. Since my cell is mounted vertically Pings suggestion of spinning the cell 180 degrees so that the sensor is at the bottom may work but I want to talk to circupool to make sure it doesn't hurt anything. They're not open today. (Sat)

 

[ping]

The plumbing is very confusing to me to say the least. The solar valves needs to be right after the filter and the solar return needs to be added to the return after the solar valve. To me the solar return looks like it is coming back to the return line before the solar valve.

Whatever the flow is, it is not right. The cell and flow switch should be the last items the water flows through before returning to the pool.

 

[dswwpb]

The plumbing is very confusing to me to say the least. The solar valves needs to be right after the filter and the solar return needs to be added to the return after the solar valve. To me the solar return looks like it is coming back to the return line before the solar valve.

Whatever the flow is, it is not right. The cell and flow switch should be the last items the water flows through before returning to the pool.

The solar valve controls the return from the solar panels and has been working fine that way for 15+ years. I didn't change any of that for the installation of the SWG. The cell and flow switch are currently the last items before returning to the pool. Circupool now wants me to change that to solve the problem.

 

[ping]

Is the water flowing downwards in the cell and going to the pool or is the water flowing up through the cell, mas985's post above has me a bit confused?

 

[mas985]

The flow through the cell is going downwards but the flow through the flow switch on the other side of the loop is going upward (there is an arrow on the flow switch). The reed switch has a weight on it which gravity will tend to pull it open so a higher flow rate is required to close the switch.

 

[ping]

Thanks Mark, yes you're right that doesn't help one bit.

If reversing the cell doesn't help I would replumb the cell on the switch side and the switch on the cell side before replumbing much more than that.

 

[ping]

Let me know if this is right, the water coming out of the filter goes through the brass colored check valve and then there is a split for the return solar water, it then goes to the solar control valve and either the water is returned to the pool through the switch and cell or some water is diverted to solar loop and flow is reduced to the pool when the solar is activated.

 

[mas985]

The split after the filter is for the supply side of the panels. The solar valve is on the return side of the panels so it blocks the flow returning from the panels or it allows the flow to continue to the pool. Not the way I would plumb the valve but it still works.

 

[dswwpb]

Let me know if this is right, the water coming out of the filter goes through the brass colored check valve and then there is a split for the return solar water, it then goes to the solar control valve and either the water is returned to the pool through the switch and cell or some water is diverted to solar loop and flow is reduced to the pool when the solar is activated.

Not quite. The water coming out of the filter goes thru the check valve, then there's a split to the SUPPLY side of the solar, it then goes up and over and down to the top of the solar valve and goes straight thru to the flow switch/cell/return to pool if the solar controller is not calling for heat. If it's calling for heat the solar valve closes off the top line coming into it which forces water to go thru the supply line which is tee'd off right after the check valve, it then goes thru the panel and comes back into the side of the solar valve then into the flow switch/cell return to pool. The solar valve controls the return side of the solar. Full water pressure is always supplied to either the pool or the solar, nothing gets gets partial pressure.

 

[setsailsoon]

The instructions say it can be installed horizontal or vertical. They even sell a kit to mount it vertically. Since my cell is mounted vertically Pings suggestion of spinning the cell 180 degrees so that the sensor is at the bottom may work but I want to talk to circupool to make sure it doesn't hurt anything. They're not open today. (Sat)

Yep, I'm aware of that and seems like a lot do a vertical install but just grasping at straws a little... wish I could come up with something better.

 

[ping]

Got it!
The RJ and Aquarite are very similar systems in design and function and I would just flip the cell over 180 degrees to test it out. There is no issue and it is recommended to alternate the cell direction on the Aquarite cells.

If that doesn't help replumb the cell and flow switch so they switch places.

 

[dswwpb]

I can't thank all of you enough for trying to solve this problem for me. Will try flipping the cell as soon as I can.

 

[mas985]

The flow sensor is not in the cell so I don't know why flipping it would make a difference. Or are you talking about swapping the flow switch with the cell. That might make a difference.

 

[dswwpb]

The flow sensor is not in the cell so I don't know why flipping it would make a difference. Or are you talking about swapping the flow switch with the cell. That might make a difference.

You're correct the flow sensor isn't in the cell but the flow sensor isn't turning my SWG off, the salt sensor is and the salt sensor is in the cell. When this problem occurs it throws the low salt (even though there's about 3800ppm of salt) and cell maint lights which don't reset by themselves. So ping's thinking is because the salt sensor is in the cell and the cell is mounted vertically, flip it so the salt sensor is mostly getting hit with water (by gravity) instead of the sensor being at the top and being hit mostly with air/bubbles.

 

[ajw22]

. So ping's thinking is because the salt sensor is in the cell and the cell is mounted vertically, flip it so the salt sensor is mostly getting hit with water (by gravity) instead of the sensor being at the top and being hit mostly with air/bubbles.

Do we know that the Circupool cell contains a salinity sensor?

How Salt Systems Determine Salinity - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[mas985]

My mistake, I thought you were also getting a low flow error.

But either way, it is unlikely that flipping the cell will fix the problem. In SWGs, the units measures salinity via a conductivity measurement, like most salt meters do. Unlike the Pentair SWG which uses a separate sensor, for this model and most other SWGs, the current and voltage going to the plates are measured and the salinity is calculated from that. The low salt error is actually generated by a low current error and is simply displayed as low salt because in reality, they mean exactly the same thing. Turning the cell 180 degrees should not change this measurement because the entire cell is being used for the measurement. The problem is too much air in the cell so the current drops below a set threshold. But as I mentioned before, cracking the solar valve may fix this problem as well as there will be less air in the cell.

 

[dswwpb]

Circupool techs told me the salt sensor is in the cell. I tried experimenting with cracking the solar valve with not so good results but ran out of time to fully explore this option. I have 90 year old parents who aren't taking this virus seriously so I'm spending a lot of time doing things for them along with working my usual hours.

 

[mas985]

Yes, the salt sensor is in the cell. It is the cell plates. Again, the salinity is measured from the current and voltage going to the cell plates. That is how they measure salinity.