Buildup on SWG

ibseanb · Sep 1, 2021

I've been battling low FC all summer. I thought I had it under control, but again, the FC wont stay up FC info here . I keep adding liquid shock every other day even with the pool cover closed and no bather load. Still planning a SLAM in a few weeks once the weather gets to be where nobody wants to use the pool.

I took a pic of my SWG, I never noticed how much crud has accumulated on it. Could this be a possible culprit? Suggestions?

ibseanb · Sep 1, 2021

The control

ajw22 · Sep 1, 2021

That crud is scale on your cell plates which blocks chlorine generations. So your cell output is a fraction of its capacity.

The likely cause is poor water balance. Specifically a high CSI.

You need to clean your cell. See pages 17-18 in https://www.platinumpoolservice.com...ine_Generating_Systems_320_540_760_Manual.pdf

You have your own test kit? If so post your water chemistry in the form...

FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
SALT
Water Temp

ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry

There are several items things every pool owner should know about swimming pool water. We share details on the basics of Pool Water Chemistry.

www.troublefreepool.com

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.

www.troublefreepool.com

Calcium Saturation Index (CSI)

How is CSI calculated? Very simple – use our PoolMath tool. To ensure long plaster life and save money, click here to learn more.

www.troublefreepool.com

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

BowserB · Sep 4, 2021

Side note. That clear cell body is a great idea. You don't need to take it apart to see that it doesn't need--or in your case does need--to be cleaned! Hey Pentair, I have an idea for your next gen IntelliChlor!

ibseanb · Sep 8, 2021

ajw22 said:
That crud is scale on your cell plates which blocks chlorine generations. So your cell output is a fraction of its capacity.

The likely cause is poor water balance. Specifically a high CSI.

You need to clean your cell. See pages 17-18 in https://www.platinumpoolservice.com...ine_Generating_Systems_320_540_760_Manual.pdf

You have your own test kit? If so post your water chemistry in the form...

FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
SALT
Water Temp

ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry

There are several items things every pool owner should know about swimming pool water. We share details on the basics of Pool Water Chemistry.

www.troublefreepool.com

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.

www.troublefreepool.com

Calcium Saturation Index (CSI)

How is CSI calculated? Very simple – use our PoolMath tool. To ensure long plaster life and save money, click here to learn more.

www.troublefreepool.com

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

Thank you for the reply. For some reason I didn't get the notification.

My last readings were:

Pool Temp 83
FC 4.4
CC .4
PH 7.4
ALK 200
CYA 30
CH 90
Salt: 5200 (this may be bad).

The pool calculator says to replace 100% of the water. That seems a bit overboard.

Thanks,
Sean

JimMarshall · Sep 8, 2021

Your CYA is WAY low for a SWG pool. this is one of the reasons that your FC won't stay. Nothing about those readings says " replace 100% of the water". Are you sure that you have the right target amounts listed?

You will need to replace some water to drop that salt level.

ajw22 · Sep 8, 2021

ibseanb said:
Pool Temp 83
FC 4.4
CC .4
PH 7.4

That's all good.

ibseanb said:
ALK 200

A bit high. I am surprised you have a pH of 7.4 with a TA of 200.

ibseanb said:
CYA 30

CYA should be more like 50-70 with a SWG.

ibseanb said:
CH 90

If you have a plaster pool you need to raise your CH to 300+.

ibseanb said:
Salt: 5200 (this may be bad).

Manual says salt should be 4000-4500. How are you measuring the salt?

ibseanb said:
The pool calculator says to replace 100% of the water. That seems a bit overboard.

I don’t see why you need to do that. You do need to drain about 20% of your water to get your salt down if the 5200 is accurate.

Your CSI calculates to -0.52 and I would be concerned about your pool water being agressive to your plaster and grout and etching it.

See...

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.

www.troublefreepool.com

ibseanb · Sep 9, 2021

HI Allen, thanks for the reply.

The Alk levels are high I'm guessing because of all the chlorine shock I've been dumping in. The salt level was given to me by the pool store, when I took it in a few months ago. I have a Taylor 2006 test kit that did not have the salt components. We haven't added or removed water or salt since then, so I'm guessing its accurate.

I bought some muriatic acid to lower the PH and ALK to do the SLAM. I've been holding off and limping along until it starts to cool down a bit before doing that.

I have a fiberglass pool, not plaster. Do you think the build up on the SWG is enough to have an effect on its output? I'm going to clean it up tonight

Texas Splash · Sep 9, 2021

Sean, the high TA has nothing to do with the chlorine. TA is often elevated in your region of the country, just something that comes down over time with acid. You can get a Taylor K-1766 for next season to confirm your own salt levels. Be sure to update your signature with all of your pool and equipment info. See ours as examples. Go to SETTINGS, then look again under SETTINGS and SIGNATURE. If you have any questions or problems let us know.

ibseanb · Sep 10, 2021

Well, I cleaned the cell according to the manual you linked above, and it was too easy. I reinstalled the cell in the same orientation as my picture above and cranked it up. After a few minutes, the air disappeared from the housing and all looked good. I looked at the panel, and the Service light was illuminated. The pic above does not show that being the case, so something changed. I turned it off, and back on. The service light went off and tiny bubbles appeared around the cell, seemingly from the chlorine being generated. Great.

I checked a few hours later, and the service light is back on. I can't imagine I did something to screw that up. All I did was turn everything off, unscrewed it and cleaned it with a wooden stick and put it all back together. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

Texas Splash · Sep 10, 2021

Maybe Allen will have an idea for troubleshooting when he gets back online.

ajw22 · Sep 10, 2021

What is the pool water salt level?

shwn2405 · Sep 10, 2021

@ibseanb You didn't use acid did you to clean the cell?

ibseanb · Sep 10, 2021

I didn't use acid, the manual says not to, to only poke it with a wooden stick. The last salt reading was 5200. I'll have it retested, but the bottom of the SWG shows recommended 3000-5000 but 3000-32000 max.

I went out to check on it a few minutes ago, sure enough no bubbles and the service light was on. Instead of turning it off/on, I reduced the level from BOOST to 100%. The service light went off, bubbles appeared, then the service light came back on.

ibseanb · Sep 10, 2021

The wood stick was pretty black after hitting the faces of each cell. Did I remove some of the coating?

jtpipkin · Sep 10, 2021

How old is the cell?

ibseanb · Sep 10, 2021

I just happened to look under the box to see if I could get a model number. Says 2016.

jtpipkin · Sep 10, 2021

how many hours a day do you run it and do you always leave it on the 'boost' setting?

jtpipkin · Sep 10, 2021

just thinking out loud here, the Breeze system I looked up was rated for 10,000 hours. At 8 hours a day that would mean roughly 3.5 years. Yours is about 5 years old. Maybe the cell is dead, or dying?

ibseanb · Sep 10, 2021

Good thought. The pump runs 24 hours a day on low, and the swg is always on. When we opened the pool this year, I set it on Boost and left it. I took the sample to the pool store and the FC was through the roof. They had to add a dechlorinator to the sample to bring it down to read other chemical levels. I remember joking that 'at least the SWG works!'.

About halfway through the summer, we had a pool party. I closed up the pool not thinking about it for a few days. Upon reopening the cover, I had a swamp. I figured the SWG couldn't keep up with the demand due to the high bather load. From then on, I couldn't keep chlorine in the pool.

On the linked thread in my original post, it was assumed that I had some algae that wouldn't die, and a SLAM was in order. I've limped along by adding shock once or twice a week until I could dedicate a week to the SLAM.

Would it be worth dipping it in some muriatic acid to see if that does anything?

Buildup on SWG

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