Considering SWG

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Fugacity

Member
Aug 8, 2022
8
St. Louis, MO
Pool Size
20000
Surface
Fiberglass
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
After (over) thinking a diy automated liquid chlorine injection system, I've come to the conclusion that switching to SWG is pretty clearly a better idea.

I'm looking at circupool RJ45 for my ~20k gal pool (details in signature).

Is the 45 a good choice? Is going bigger better? Other options, hints on installation etc would be helpful. I'm an engineer, and competent in diy plumbing, electrical/automation etc.

Thanks in advance
 
F,

The 45 will work, but bigger is always better when talking a SWCG.. The bigger it is, the longer it should last, at least in theory..

I am not all the familiar with CircuPool SWCGS, but you need to make sure you can adjust your output by 1 or 5% increments.. I think some of their cells can only be adjust by 20% increments, which is not ideal, in my mind.. Double check the adjustments before you buy any cell.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Ok, I'll keep an eye on discount pools.

Couple futher questions

1.) do salt pools tend to have a "soft" water feel? Seems like this would be more closely related to CH and pH(maybe). My family has had some negative experience with salt pools making them feel slimy. Last year I thought the water felt 'sticky' or maybe on the hard side using liquid chlorine, cya around 40, CH around 200.

2.) Are the flow switches that come with the circupool cells not very reliable? Is there need for the additional current sensing relay?
 
Fugacity said:
1.) do salt pools tend to have a "soft" water feel? Seems like this would be more closely related to CH and pH(maybe). My family has had some negative experience with salt pools making them feel slimy. Last year I thought the water felt 'sticky' or maybe on the hard side using liquid chlorine, cya around 40, CH around 200.
Click to expand...
My salt pool, with CH about 200, everybody loves. Nobody ever feels slimy, and you never feel like you need to shower after. my .02$
Fugacity said:
2.) Are the flow switches that come with the circupool cells not very reliable? Is there need for the additional current sensing relay?
Click to expand...
Good read for this question...

SWG How It Works - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
Fugacity said:
Ok, I'll keep an eye on discount pools.

Couple futher questions

1.) do salt pools tend to have a "soft" water feel? Seems like this would be more closely related to CH and pH(maybe). My family has had some negative experience with salt pools making them feel slimy. Last year I thought the water felt 'sticky' or maybe on the hard side using liquid chlorine, cya around 40, CH around 200.

2.) Are the flow switches that come with the circupool cells not very reliable? Is there need for the additional current sensing relay?
Click to expand...
You must be a chem E, only a Chem E would have a name like Fugacity! Kidding of course! Yes, salt pools feel soft. My wife describes it as like the spa and never sticky plus much more compatible with her tender skin. She was very cautious when I switched to salt years ago. Now won't let me do anything else. We're now on the next pool and also the next Circupool swg (RJ 60+this time). Very happy with performance and customer support. I think their flow switch is pretty generic and has never failed but since the failure mode is catestrophic I never want to rely on one level of protection. That's why you see most people want to have another level of protection such that the swg can't get power if the pump isn't running. There are quite a few ways to accomplish this. One is to run of vs pumps aux power (not all can do that) another is to use automation. Another is to use a separate redundant flow switch. There are also a few other more creative ways like adding a current sensor control on the pump that interupts swg power when there's no current flow on the pump. There are many pretty easy ways so why take the risk?

I hope this is helpful.

Chris
 
I've often thought with these flow switches that it would make sense to wire two in series - then if either one failed 'closed', the other would be open and stop the flow.
You still have the issue of determining if one of the switches ever failed...seems like a little 'adapter' box with a couple of state LEDs would be a simple enough solution...
I think I just found myself a new project...
 
SJPoe said:
I've often thought with these flow switches that it would make sense to wire two in series - then if either one failed 'closed', the other would be open and stop the flow.
You still have the issue of determining if one of the switches ever failed...seems like a little 'adapter' box with a couple of state LEDs would be a simple enough solution...
I think I just found myself a new project...
Click to expand...
Yep, that's the plan and the failure statistics numbers suggest it's a very robust solution. I still prefer an alternate since if there's something peculiar about the system that causes one to fail it could still lead to failure of both such as a very fine dust that interferes with the mechanism. But even then, the failure of both switches especially if they're in spaced apart is very, very unlikely to happen at the same time.

Chris
 

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I was obsessive about CSI and it helped. On my first RS35+ it worked great. After 7 years the cell was still going strong. Never even had to clean it. The current pool with our RJ 60+ is a lot different with very high TA and minimal CH. Fill water is 230 TA and I'm correcting an excursion right now. Learning all about when you have deposits it also affects the salt sensor and repeatedly shows way lower than my Taylor K 1766 test. When I cleaned it with diluted muriatic acid it bubbled like a volcano!
 
I switched now 3 seasons ago - never a complaint about feel. I can taste the salt a bit, but no one else that has been in the pool can. I float far easier than I could ever before! Maintenance time for the pool has shrunk to minutes per week, all due to the consistent chlorination.

Ditto on moving up to the RJ-60. You can run it at a lower setting, and therefore get a better extended life. The 5% adjustments are more than enough (I didn't know about the discountsaltpool upgrades when I got mine (darn)).

My flow switch went bad last year, luckily in the off position. Warranty replacement was quick and easy. Flow switches are only a backup safety device.

I use timers for making sure it doesn't run when the pump doesn't. But a MUCH better solution, if you cannot interface direct to your pump (Call Circupool - they might have a solution!) would be:

Picture Thread! SWCG add, plumbing cleanup, pump power interconnect! Might help someone...

Sounds like it would be right up your engineering alley!
 
I dont like it for the considerable difference in output. You'll have to run it longer to produce the same FC and that shortens its gas tank like lifespan. It would need to be 1/3 cheaper than the RJ60 to break even and even then the RJ wins for being more robust with better controls.
 
When I went to SWG I had several criteria and that made the decision pretty easy:
  • Proven reliable experience from owners here
  • Satisfactory customer service here
  • $/# chlorine production
  • DIY warranty
Weight these as appropriate for you and let that be a guide. Warranty isn't always important for many DIYers but for swg it is more important than normal since all manufacturers cells fail a small amount of the time due to manufacturing difficulty. Replacing them is big $.

I hope this is helpful.

Chris
 
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