Intex SWG high salt error

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R

relliky2d

0
Jul 12, 2015
26
Orlando, FL
Last week I cleaned my intex Krystal clear Swg for the first time as there was a lot of salt build up. I used white vinegar and an old toothbrush to get the majority off and then let it soak in vinegar for a few hours. After that I put it back together and ran the pump for 24 hours before turning the Swg on again. Well each time I try to turn it on now it reports high salt error. It's been 4 or 5 days, and two separate salt tests result in 2800 ppm, and after dilution, 2600ppm. So, is my Swg knackered?
 
Got replacement and it worked for a couple days on the boost cycle. Yesterday it started throwing up the high salt error again without me adding any more salt. Called intex again and they're sending me a new control unit. Sigh. Hope it's just bad luck and I get a working one!

As a side note, my original titanium plates started getting a white crystallized buildup within a couple days of use. The same is happening to the new plates. Is this normal? From what I've read of others' experiences, they've only needed to be cleaned every few months. My first one was completely covered in a couple weeks. I cleaned with vinegar and after that is when I started getting high salt errors so now I'm scared to clean them again!
Also, what is this buildup, calcium?
 
I've had the same issues, I'm a new pool owner, purchased an AG 16x48" Ultra Frame Intex pool and also purchased a SWG (Krystal Clear I20v) and at first it kept saying High salt, so we partially drained it, re-filled what we drained and high salt error was gone. Worked well for two weeks until Monday came up "low salt" error. So we added 35lbs of salt, 24 hours later it STILL said low salt, so I took a sample to the Pool store and they said my salt level was HIGH not low, so I was thinking yesterday it was a sensor error on my SWG. I bought 2lbs of Dichlor, they said to add one pound to my pool last night and the other pound Sunday. So, before we did that I cleaned out the pool and we also cleaned out both filters. We even referred to the manual on reference to maintenance and cleaned out the SWG with vinegar on the sensors (which all looked very clean and clear) Thankfully after we did that, the low salt error is gone! And my pool was clear this morning and it seems to all finally be working. If we have anymore issues I will call Intex again but would hate to be without the SWG for two weeks.
 
How are you testing for the salt? What test are you using? It's not in your signature or previous posts.

To have salt built up that quickly on the cell makes me believe your test maybe faulty. Early on I used test strips since I didn't have my Taylor K-1766 yet. The strips always said I had very low salt levels.
I just filled the pool and added the amount of salt according to poolmath. Tested with the strips and if I believed what they read I would have had to add even more salt to the pool. I believed in the poolmath calculations for my pool so I didn't add more salt. I turned on my Intex unit and it was happy with the salt level. When I finally got the Taylor test I tested the salt and was right where I needed to be thanks to poolmath.

Also, are these replacements covered under warranty?
At $99 from Walmart it might be easier to get the newer model that came out recently. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Intex-Krystal-Clear-Saltwater-System-15-000-Gallon/40900286
You never mentioned how old your current unit is. These newer units have a different flow pattern and have done away with the copper ion cell for a ozone generator cell.

Or after rereading your posts, it could it be calcium scale and not salt building up on the titanium plates? What is your water like that you filled the pool with?
 
I'm using Aquachek salt test strips, which I've heard from others are +/- 400 ppm.

If my readings are wrong though, it's strange how the swg was working fine for weeks and then just decided the salt was too high when no salt was added?
In total I have only ever added 120 lbs of salt, which is essentially what pool math says for 3200 ppm (119 lbs for my pool size). However, I have diluted this some since getting high salt errors.

I have the newer ECO model and it's only a month old. The replacement parts are covered under warranty yes.

My latest results:
FC 5
CC 0
PH 7.5
TA 100
CH 130
CYA 65
 
I opened it up today and looked more closely and sure enough the return side plates were caked with white residue on the underneath not visible unless you disassemble the unit. Cleaned it in vinegar and we're back in business. Thanks for the help!

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
 
we put up the pool 5 days ago. On the second day we took a pool sample to the pool store for testing. Almost no free chlorine & alkalinity was high. Was told pool needed muratic acid then be shocked to help the SWG work. Pool guy said we needed a pound of shock & he chose for us a pound packet to use. Day three we had 2 children and 3 adults in the pool for about 6 hours. Oh, have been running sand filter pump for 6 hours a day & SWG for 5 hours. Day 4 there was very low FC reading again, so I increased run time of each unit by an hour. Still very low FC...hmmm. So, I tried to do a boost yesterday but got a low salt error code on my Intex Krystal Clear SWG. with all the water splashed out & well water added, I thought I needed to add salt, checked sodium with a test strip and it was under 3000, so I put in 40 pounds, ran the sand filter pump 24 hours. Checked chems this morning, salt was on the high side of 3500, alkalinity was high again, ph was ok. FC still low so I tried running the boost again. Got low salt error! So we took another sample to the pool store, they confirmed our test results, especially high salt and said we needed to add muratic acid again then 1 lb of shock. This guy said there is a shock made for saltwater pools. What we added the first time was not the right stuff. So long story short, our low salt reading is probably from the calcium in the first shock chem. too dark now, but will check the SWG tomorrow morning to see if electrofiliments need cleaning.
 

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Remember - the intex SWG is great for keeping FC stable. B U T....to get your FC to the proper level skip the boost thing and add bleach. Once you feel you are testing the salt correctly and given that your SWG is brand new I would lean towards a faulty unit. I had issues with my first SWG - Intex did send me a new part (I had a crack) and we've been going strong since then.

I highly recommend getting one of the recommended test kits (I use the TF-100 plus the AquaCheck salt testings strips). Then you will know exactly where you pool stands as you are doing the "count the drop" method and not playing the "match the color" game like you do with test strips. Once I gave up on the strips and got a recommended test kit I've had a beautiful, clean, sparkly pool.

I have found when starting up my pool every year that I have to wait several days after my first salt add to get a true measure of the salt. I give it those few days to let the pump dispense it though out the pool - during those start up days I use bleach to get my FC up to and maintain the proper level along with adding stabilizer in order to get my CYA slowly raised. Within no time I get to the recommended levels - I kick on the SWG and enjoy the pool.

Remember CYA is the "sunblock" for your FC. Without CYA in your pool the hot Texas sun is eating up all your FC.
 
Got my new control unit in the mail yesterday. I'll be hooking it up this evening probably. Looks like it's essentially a whole new unit minus the clear plastic tubing that the hoses connect to. Fair play to Intex support. Hoping I get more longevity with this one. I'll update later.
 
Thanks Diane, I will try the bleach method & pool math calculator. Before setting up the pool, I had purchased an HTC test kit that measures FC, pH, TA, CH, & CYA. Also have the aquacheck test strips & those that came with the pool. I'm noticing quite a lot of variation in results between the test kit and strip results.
 
Hooked up the new control unit last night and it's working fine. Hope it lasts. The control unit was complete except the clear plastic tubing, the flow sensor and the two electrolytic plates. To replace, had to unplug flow sensor
and two plates, then unscrew plastic tubing from old unit and screw into new one. Then plug new plugs into old components.

Hope I don't have any more problems with it. I will update if I do.
 
Had the same issue Intex sent me a replacement titanium plates got it and installed it yesterday. It worked fine up to this morning after I turned the unit on. Now about an hour ago I'm getting a high salt alarm again. My salt level is 3250ppm. So not sure what's the issue here now.
 
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