Is it time to replace my salt cell

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E

Ericwood73

0
Jun 7, 2018
59
John's island, SC
I have a CircuPool Universal 40 SWG. Since installing it, I have run my pumps for 4 hours per day with the SWG set at 40 and I had no problem holding an FC fo around 7. This season, I had lost a bunch of CYA and had to SLAM the pool. Once the pool cleared up, I let the FC drift back down with the pumps running 4 hours per day and the SWG set to 40. I ended up with a CYA around 60. I noticed the pool getting cloudy and checked the FC and it was down to 1. I upped the pump run time to 8 hours per day and an output of 60, but didn't see an appreciable increase in FC. I added a gallon of liquid bleach and a couple of days later I'm reading an FC of 2.5. The cell voltage readings and current are nominal, as far as I can tell. The cleaning light has gone off twice since I installed the SWG and both times the cell has been pretty clean (just some loose debris). My cell was 2 years old in June. Do I need a new cell?
 
I'm a bit surprised you were able to maintain your FC with only 4 hours at 40%, that would be 0.7ppm of FC in your 22k gal pool. Most pools have a daily chlorine consumption between 2-4ppm FC.

On that usage level your cell should last a lot longer than 2 years, I'd say.

Can you see gas being created in your cell?
 
73,

I doubt you ever finished the original SLAM and it sounds like you still have algae, even if you can't see it... yet.

It appears to me that your pool is consuming more FC than your cell can generate.. This means you need to do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test (OCLT). Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

If you fail the OCLT, then you will need to do a SLAM.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
73,

I doubt you ever finished the original SLAM and it sounds like you still have algae, even if you can't see it... yet.

It appears to me that your pool is consuming more FC than your cell can generate.. This means you need to do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test (OCLT). Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

If you fail the OCLT, then you will need to do a SLAM.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
I'll do the test, but I did the SLAM for a week after the water was blue and mostly clear with no appreciable improvement and 2 consecutive successful FCLTs. I currently have 0 CCs as well. I have really low calcium (50), but I'm fiberglass so I don't think calcium would cloud the water and in any case it doesn't explain the lack of chlorine. Should I throw in some LC tonight an hour or so before the test so I have some apprciable level of FC to start?
 
Eric,

Ok, now run the same OCLT, but this time, turn the SWCG on at 100%... Test right at sundown and again right at sunrise, and that should tell you how much FC your cell is making.. Compare that hourly rate with what the cell should be generating and see where you are.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 

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I called discount salt pool, who I bought my SWG from, and he said it sounds like the SWG is working. He suggested that I might have high phosphates in the water which is making it easy for organisms to grow, which my chlorine is instantly killing off. This is creating a high chlorine demand. If that was true, wouldn't we have seen it in the OCLT? I thought the purpose of the OCLT was to measure chlorine demand. I have a phosphate strip test and I think I have some PhosFree, but I thought I had read on TFP that phosphates are just code for too little chlorine.
 
You are right we dont worry too much about phosphates, but some manufacturers of cells do require phos to be low. You might want to have the poolstore test for phosphates but its not reliable and your strips aren't either.
 
The phosphates have little effect. They are food for the algae. If you eradicate the Algae using the SLAM Process, it matters not what your phosphates are.

Realize the SWCG manufacturers assume you will be like the majority of people out there with pools that follow the pool store directions, you would always have algae in the water. With TFPC, we advocate eradicating the algae.
 
Ok. What I'm trying to understand is if there is algae, i.e. chlorine demand, then how can I have no OCLT and no CC. And how does algae explain that the SWG only added 1.5 ppm in 11 hours. My SWG produces 2 lbs per day. In 11 hours it should add 14.6 ounces of chlorine. Which should be 6 ppm for 18000 gallons. And I SLAMed last time until there were 2 successful OCLTs that were 2 days apart. Given these conditions, assuming it is algae, how long should I expect to SLAM before my SWG can recover. I don't want to SLAM for another week and then find out it was something else. I'm baffled. I don't think phosphates are the answer either, but I don't see how it can be algae, unless it is algae that don't grow on the walls, make the pool cloudy without changing the color, and are super resilient to chlorine.
 
Hard to say. There are two ways chlorine is consumed, UV and organics.
Use one of the phosphate removers Felipe mentioned. Will not hurt other than the cost and cleaning your filter.
 
The plot thickens. I just checked and FC is 9.5, up from 7 this morning. I don't know what to make of that other than the SWG is working and adding alot of FC to the pool given ho much I likely burned off with the sun out all day. I'm going to bump back up to 24 for a few days and see if it improves.
 

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