Do I need to disconnect my "dead" intex swg ?

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RhondaF

RhondaF

Active member
Oct 17, 2014
28
Conyers, GA
Pool Size
12500
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Intex Krystal Clear
I've been through at least 3 of these Intex swg's for my above ground (non-Intex) pool in the last 7-8 years. I loved them and didn't mind replacing every 2-3 years until the price jumped from $150 to $800. I got the notorious 'low salt" error last year. We bypassed the display (control board thingey?) so that now we only have the red "on" light displayed. I don't think it worked. My plates keep getting corroded .....I've never even had to clean them in the past....they just never got dirty. I took them out an soaked in a mason jar of vinegar. They looked better but don't think it helped. I swapped plates from a unit in my Intex junkyard under the deck but they got dirty too. Im probably going to switch to chlorine for now but I'm having a hard time getting the water clear. Are the dirty plates a problem? Do I have to remove the unit? I don't have shut off valves and the plumbing isn't pretty so it's not fun to work on. I got a water test from the pool store to verify my CYA was very low etc etc and it said i had a lot of metals? Not even sure what that means. Is it the yucko swg?
 
Not sure about Intex SWGs, but most other ones will start to throw error lights (like low salt, or maintenance required) when the plates start to get coated with scale. If you can blow out the plates with water from a hose and get them clean, that would be best, but if the scale has built up and hardened somewhat, you could try a 4 to 1 solution of water to muriatic acid and let the plates soak in it until the scale dissolves. Then hose the cell out with water really well, and try running it again to see if it works.

If your plates keep getting corroded, your CSI may be too high (over +0.30). You can reduce it to around -0.3 by lowering your pH and TA some. How is your CH? That will tend to push up the CSI as well.

I wouldn't trust any of those pool store tests. You've got a good test kit. Use it and trust the results. What are you getting for the CYA test? If it is low like the pool store's reading, definitely get it up to at least 30. If the water is not crystal clear, follow the SLAM process. Once you finish the SLAM process you can raise CYA some more so your SWG doesn't have to work as hard producing chlorine.
 
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Rhonda,

Can you post a complete set of test results from your Taylor kit? This is really what we need to help with your water clarity. A photo showing the plates and the pool would be very helpful.

Can you please clarify what you mean by corrosion? It's probably not corrosion - more likely whitish calcium deposits. You might try cleaning as Dean suggests instead of vinegar. The sudden increase in calcium deposits is very likely a chemical imbalance that may be easy to clear up. Salt cells are mostly titanium and not susceptible to corrosion in a pool. Sounds like your chlorinator is on its last leg anyway. If you replace I'd look at a 3rd party brand like Circupool. They have models that are around that price for a complete new unit that produce twice the chlorine. There are other brands including Hayward that are way less also and all produce equal or more chlorine than yours.

On your question about leaving the unit in or not. I don't think it will hurt to leave it in but I personally don't want anything in the water flow that's not needed. So I'd remove it.

I hope this helps.

Chris
 
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If it is "dead" and you have no plan to resurrect it anytime soon, I would certainly disconnect or bypass it. You can not find any brand new $150 SWG on the market now, but certainly options exist for much less than $800 for generic products. From my experience, the unit can last quite some time, but you do need to buy cells every 1-2 years. I have no idea how big is your pool, but if you size it 2X, it should last you 2-4 years.
 
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DeanP66 said:
Not sure about Intex SWGs, but most other ones will start to throw error lights (like low salt, or maintenance required) when the plates start to get coated with scale. If you can blow out the plates with water from a hose and get them clean, that would be best, but if the scale has built up and hardened somewhat, you could try a 4 to 1 solution of water to muriatic acid and let the plates soak in it until the scale dissolves. Then hose the cell out with water really well, and try running it again to see if it works.

If your plates keep getting corroded, your CSI may be too high (over +0.30). You can reduce it to around -0.3 by lowering your pH and TA some. How is your CH? That will tend to push up the CSI as well.

I wouldn't trust any of those pool store tests. You've got a good test kit. Use it and trust the results. What are you getting for the CYA test? If it is low like the pool store's reading, definitely get it up to at least 30. If the water is not crystal clear, follow the SLAM process. Once you finish the SLAM process you can raise CYA some more so your SWG doesn't have to work as hard producing chlorine.
Click to expand...
Sorry for the delay. I had to bite the bullet and buy refills for most of my reagents. I rarely tested when the SWG was working....it kept the water sparkling with no effort.
I've cleaned the plates recently although normally they dont get "dirty". They got dirty again within a few days. I turned the pump on to take pics today and noticed it was actually bubbling a lot but stopped when I turned the pump back on.
My test results:
FC 0.6
CC 0.2
Ph 7.7 maybe 7.8 I hate this test lol
Alk 70
CYA 50
CH 100 (old regeants though)
I actually saw the bottom of my pool earlier this week...it was very exciting but then I brushed it :(
 

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Rhonda,

Reading through this post it's kind of hard to figure out what's going on with "bypassing the panel" etc. But here's my best shot on what I'd do if I were you:
  • Based on your observations and test results your FC is way too low and the pool looks cloudy (could be the photo). Try the dime test if you're not sure. The problem to me in figuring out the swg is I don't know if you have algae and/or other organics chewing up your FC production so it looks like the swg isn't producing or if the swg isn't working right. So I suggest so you need to SLAM and complete it before you conclude your swg is shot. Remember to turn off the swg while you SLAM. Use liquid pool chlorine for the SLAM. It may take more than you think and test/add chlorine several times per day for the minimum time and cost of the SLAM process.
  • Once you complete the SLAM I would test FC as close to the pump inlet and outlet as you can. You should see a significant increase and if not the swg suspect.
  • The plates look coated but kind of hard to tell since I don't know what clean plates look like on your unit. If you end up with low swg output after the SLAM then you have nothing to lose by cleaning with dilute muriatic acid. This is more aggressive than vinegar and may have a better chance of working.
  • The calculated CSI from your test results is very low, indicating you are not likely precipitating calcium. This is puzzling and I would try to get some new reagents to be sure your test results are correct.
  • If you go for the new swg look at this site to compare a lot of different brands costs and specifications. For your pool you want an swg that produces at least 1.2 lb chlorine per day. Check for one that meets this spec and has the lowest $/lb FC production. Also be sure it has good reviews on this site. Several 3rd party units have good reviews on this site.
  • We recommend an swg that is rated for 2x your pool size. However many swg manufacturers are "fudging the numbers" and claiming they can treat bigger pool with less chlorine production. This problem seems to be getting worse so I have made a rough conversion to lb chlorine production that matches the TFP recommendation.
  • If you can't afford the recommended swg size you can go with a smaller output but will need to run the pump longer to make the required FC and this will also mean that you need to supplement with liquid chlorine and/or replace the cell sooner. Incremental cell capacity up front is much less expensive than replacing the unit more frequently.
I hope this is helpful.

Chris
 
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