Brand New SWG Not Producing Chlorine

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ChrissyRa

Bronze Supporter
Jul 3, 2022
47
NY
Hi again! I just had a new Pentair IC-40 installed about 3 weeks ago. My pool tech just informed me that although all the lights are green, the cell is not generating chlorine. He tested the pool water and the Chlorine was 0. He said he suspected an issue last week as well but decided to see what happened this week before letting me know. He tested the salt level and that's good at 3600. Im surprised about a zero Chlorine reading as I do have chlorine tabs in the floater.

He thinks it is a wiring issue of some kind. Can anyone help shed some light here?

Thank you!
Christine
 
I will definitely take a pic of the pad but I think its on right because all the green lights are on the SWG. I will def do that though just in case!

In the menatime I called Pentair and the tech said that he thinks this is happening bc of the extreme heat we are having. Its been over 95 degrees this week and my pool is in the direct sun. he thinks the SWG is probably producing chlorine but it is being used up so fast bc of the heat. He said I should run my pool overnight and let the SWG do its job overnight and test the water in the am and see what chlorine reading is. Does that sound like a good plan? Is overnight enough time to generate the chlorine I would need?
 
ChrissyRa said:
I will definitely take a pic of the pad but I think its on right because all the green lights are on the SWG. I will def do that though just in case!

In the menatime I called Pentair and the tech said that he thinks this is happening bc of the extreme heat we are having. Its been over 95 degrees this week and my pool is in the direct sun. he thinks the SWG is probably producing chlorine but it is being used up so fast bc of the heat. He said I should run my pool overnight and let the SWG do its job overnight and test the water in the am and see what chlorine reading is. Does that sound like a good plan? Is overnight enough time to generate the chlorine I would need?
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My SWCG is in 110-120° direct sunlight all day. That ain’t the problem.

Can you see bubbles entering pool via the returns to confirm it’s producing gas?

Post up test results from a good test kit. You may not have enough/any CYA to protect the FC being produced. UV can eat it up almost instantly if not buffered by CYA.
 
ChrissyRa said:
Thank you for your responses! Here were the numbers that the pool tech gave me:

Salt: 4610 PPM
CCL: 0
PH 7.8 PPM
Alk: 8PPM
CalH: 22
CYA: 50

PSI Filter 23
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Not much we can do with results of unknown origin. One glaring issue could be very high salt.

If you’d like to follow TFP methods, visit pool school and fire that service company. They’ve got you in a heap of trouble.

You need to add FC immediately from liquid chlorine. The longer you wait, worse it’ll get.
 
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Chrissy,

Your pool guy has no clue.

If all the lights are green, then the cell is making chlorine.

Try this and report back.. Set the SWCG output to 50%. Make sure the EasyTouch is in Auto and Pool mode.

Go look at the cell and keep your eye on the "Cell" light. It should be green for about 2.5 minutes and then off for about 2.5 minutes. It will just keep repeating this sequence. It that works then your cell is making chlorine.

The most likely problem is that you have algae that is consuming the chlorine as fast as the cell can make it.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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reggiehammond said:
Not much we can do with results of unknown origin. One glaring issue could be very high salt.

If you’d like to follow TFP methods, visit pool school and fire that service company. They’ve got you in a heap of trouble.

You need to add FC immediately from liquid chlorine. The longer you wait, worse it’ll get.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your reply! I really appreciate that.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Chrissy,

Your pool guy has no clue.

If all the lights are green, then the cell is making chlorine.

Try this and report back.. Set the SWCG output to 50%. Make sure the EasyTouch is in Auto and Pool mode.

Go look at the cell and keep your eye on the "Cell" light. It should be green for about 2.5 minutes and then off for about 2.5 minutes. It will just keep repeating this sequence. It that works then your cell is making chlorine.

The most likely problem is that you have algae that is consuming the chlorine as fast as the cell can make it.

Thanks,

Jim R.
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Thanks so much Jim! I will try this tomorrow. Could that Alk reading at 8 be correct?? If so what does that mean? Is that related to this issue?
 

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I would assume your SWG is running the entire time the pump is running, unless the pump is slowed down below the threshold to close the flow switch on the SWG. Jim R is the guy to walk you through viewing any settings in the Easytouch. Do you know what percentage your SWG was set to run at during the pump run time?
 
Lake Placid said:
I would assume your SWG is running the entire time the pump is running, unless the pump is slowed down below the threshold to close the flow switch on the SWG. Jim R is the guy to walk you through viewing any settings in the Easytouch. Do you know what percentage your SWG was set to run at during the pump run time?
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Hi! I had it at 65 Percent but changes it to 90 percent yesterday when it was so hot. I assume the pump is running the whole time. I do have the Polaris running for three hours in the am. Does the SWG still work when the Polaris is on?
 
In your pool at 65% output for 12 hours, the IC40 will produce 1.83 ppm chlorine. Not enough. Follow Jim‘s instruction to confirm production for sure, then increase your SWG output and run time to offset your daily loss. Get chlorine in your pool first to the appropriate FC/CYA level using liquid chlorine. Get the appropriate test kit, read pool school, ask questions, and rid yourself of the pool leech….errrhhh guy. Lots of people here to help you in your journey along the way. Your bank account and pool will thank you.

www.troublefreepool.com

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Pool School

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www.troublefreepool.com

Swimming Pool Test Kits Compared

What pool test kit should I buy? Why not use test strips? Our recommended test kits will pay for themselves in no time!
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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Chrissy,

We normally recommend a cell that is at least 2 x the volume of your pool. An IC40 is really too small for your pool. But, in your location you can make it work. I "assume" your pool guy recommended the IC40. ???

Your IC40 cell, when running at 100% output will add .23 ppm of FC (chlorine) to your pool each hour.

Most pools use 2 to 4 ppm of FC per day, so you should shoot for adding 3 ppm of FC to your pool each day. That would be 13 hours at 100%.

I personally run my system 24/7, mostly at 1200 RPM. I like making a little chlorine all the time and skimming all the time. The good news is that you can do that with a VS pump for less than $20 bucks a month.

Assuming that your cell is working as I suspect it is, then where is the chlorine going? Most likely you have very low CYA which is allowing the chlorine that your cell is making to be consumed by the sun.

What is your CYA level?

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Chrissy,

We normally recommend a cell that is at least 2 x the volume of your pool. An IC40 is really too small for your pool. But, in your location you can make it work. I "assume" your pool guy recommended the IC40. ???

Your IC40 cell, when running at 100% output will add .23 ppm of FC (chlorine) to your pool each hour.

Most pools use 2 to 4 ppm of FC per day, so you should shoot for adding 3 ppm of FC to your pool each day. That would be 13 hours at 100%.

I personally run my system 24/7, mostly at 1200 RPM. I like making a little chlorine all the time and skimming all the time. The good news is that you can do that with a VS pump for less than $20 bucks a month.

Assuming that your cell is working as I suspect it is, then where is the chlorine going? Most likely you have very low CYA which is allowing the chlorine that your cell is making to be consumed by the sun.

What is your CYA level?

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply! The CYA was 50. And yes the ooly tech rec the IC-40. It was a replacement - Ive had this the whole time Ive had the pool. So weird because up until now I havent never had this issue of no chlorine. And with this replacement is the first time Ive seen this.
 
Chrissy,

A CYA of 50 is a little low but not by much, and should not be causing your current issue.

It could be you have algae, even if you can't see it yet.

Add two gallons of 10% or 12.5% Liquid Chlorine with the pump running and wait an hour and test your FC and see what you get, Should be about 6 ppm.

If you don't get a big boost of FC after adding the Liquid Chlorine, then I would be looking at an algae issue.

If the FC come up to about 6 ppm after adding the Liquid Chlorine, then turn on the cell and see if it will maintain that level.

Was the original cell an IC40? What was wrong with the original cell?

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Before we go overboard with recommendations and adding stuff to the pool, we need a reliable set of test results. All I've seen so far are those from the pool tech, and we have no idea how he arrived at those numbers. I've seen those guys use test strips before.

So the very first thing to do is get one of our recommended test kits ordered: Test Kits Compared

While waiting for it to arrive, add 1.5 gallons of 10-12% liquid pool chlorine or 2 gallons of plain, unscented, non-splashless laundry bleach per day. This will raise your FC to around 5 ppm and keep algae at bay.

Also, take some time to read our Pool School articles starting with Pool Care Basics.

Once the test kit arrives, post the following results and we'll go from there.

CYA
FC
CC
TA
pH
 
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