Any ideas what clogged my SWG

[tsigos]

I just cleaned it a few weeks ago because I was getting an “inspect cell” error and it was not correctly reading the salt level. Worked fine for a few weeks after the cleaning but then got the “inspect cell” error again. This time I opened it up to find these dark flakes. Can’t tell if they are metal since they crumble fairly easily but a strong magnet did not pick up anything.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Put a couple drops of vinegar or muriatic acid on the flakes. If they fizzle, they are calcium-based.

I will ask @JamesW to stop by and take a look. It may be something that originated out of your heater.

 

[JamesW]

Is that the entrance or exit?

Put some in acid to see if they dissolve and fizz.

It might be copper.

Can you show the whole pool and system?

Can you post all chemistry readings?

 

[Jimrahbe]

T,

WOW!!! I have no clue what that is, but I have never seen anything like it before.

Please update this thread when you find out what it is..

It looks to me like it is on the input side to the cell, is that correct?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JamesW]

Heater is brand new but exchanger developed a leak in 2 months.

Chlorine Levels and Heat Exchanger Warranty

What is the reason that Raypack will void your warranty for a heat exchanger if your water has FC levels more than 3ppm but the Pool School recommends much higher levels? What am I missing? Will the higher chlorine levels damage my heat exchanger?

www.troublefreepool.com

What ever happened with this?

Can you show the system?

 

[JamesW]

It's likely to be some sort of calcium scale like calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate etc. with a metal like copper or iron as part of the scale that is creating the black color.

There is probably a reason that your heat exchanger got destroyed like maybe a tab feeder nearby.

There is going to be a lot of copper in the water from your previously destroyed heat exchanger unless it has been significantly diluted.

If the heater has cast iron headers, that will provide a lot of iron.

 

[tsigos]

It was on the input side.

 

[tsigos]

Put a couple drops of vinegar or muriatic acid on the flakes. If they fizzle, they are calcium-based.

I will ask @JamesW to stop by and take a look. It may be something that originated out of your heater.

With MA, it fizzled up initially with a few drops.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

That makes sense. How do you chlorinate your pool? Do you have a tablet feeder? Can you post a full set of test results?

 

[JamesW]

Pictures of the system?

What is the CSI?