Air trapped in SWG

[busterdouglas]

Have not had any issues for last 2 years but now I am getting air trapped in my SWG. Please see attached photos.
My pool is really small 12'x26' 26000 gal.
PUMP- Pentair 340038 SuperFlo High Performance Single Speed Pool Pump, 1 Horsepower, 115/230 Volt, 1 Phase (No air bubbles in basket)
Pentair clean and clear plus cartridge filter
My equipment is above water level
3 return lines 2" pipe and 2 intake lines 2" pipe
3 returns (2 have valves, 1 is for waterfall feature, 1 is for return jets shallow end) 1 return for deep end, no shut off valve on this return.
I have purged the system with pressure relief valve on top of cartridge filter but it appears that my SWG is at same height as the relief valve and that may be why air getting trapped in SWG.
If I shut down the pump everything is still under pressure from the check valve installed before pump and it stops water flowing back into pool.
If I let it sit for 5 minutes and turn pump back on the pressure clears out air in the SWG.
After a day or two there is air back in the SWG and no idea where it is coming from as there is no air bubbles in the pump.
If I open pressure relief valve on cartridge filter, water only comes out, no air.
There are no leaks and I have no idea what is going on.
My only conclusion is that air is getting in before the pump but the pump is sucking it straight through to the cartridge filter and the SWG may be mounted a few inches higher than filter and that is why air is trapping there.
Poor design of SWG when input & output flow is on bottom.
Thanks, I hope I have provided enough info.
I removed the blue plastic cover and took a video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9D3FC8ekHQ


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[n240sxguy]

So there was never air in the swg before now? Does the air bubble keep growing? As long as the plates stay covered with water, I don't think it'll do any harm. It could be hydrogen building up from the cell operating, but it's odd that it wouldn't do that before now. That's one reason I don't like that style of cell. I like the flow through ones better. You may be able to change the orientation of the cell so the air can escape before the plates are exposed.


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[cowboycasey]

I have air bubbles in mine for a few minutes on low but once it goes for 5 minutes it is all gone, on high its gone within seconds...

 

[Chuckiechan]

My opinion is that it's too high and should be lowered a foot or so.

 

[busterdouglas]

My opinion is that it's too high and should be lowered a foot or so.

not sure how to lower it as it comes out of the NATGAS heater. just poor design. I guess if I turned 90degree elbow off of the output from the heater and cut down the return pipe, I could mount the SWG sideways, but unsure if that will cause problems.

 

[n240sxguy]

not sure how to lower it as it comes out of the NATGAS heater. just poor design. I guess if I turned 90degree elbow off of the output from the heater and cut down the return pipe, I could mount the SWG sideways, but unsure if that will cause problems.

It can be mounted vertically or horizontally, so that shouldn't be a problem.


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[busterdouglas]

So there was never air in the swg before now? Does the air bubble keep growing? As long as the plates stay covered with water, I don't think it'll do any harm. It could be hydrogen building up from the cell operating, but it's odd that it wouldn't do that before now. That's one reason I don't like that style of cell. I like the flow through ones better. You may be able to change the orientation of the cell so the air can escape before the plates are exposed.


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This is where I am at a total loss. I do not see any air bubbles coming from the heater/intake on SWG but somehow the air bubbles keep accumulating until they become a large pocket. and since this is on the pressure side of the pump, there cant be a crack in the SWG housing or there would be a leak. Can the SWG really create that much gases to cause this. I will check the output on the SWG but I think it is only set to 10% output.

- - - Updated - - -

When you refer to high/low are you referring to your pump speed or output % on SWG. my pump is only 1 speed and I have read that turning output up on SWG (such as super Chlorinator) is bad for the cells.

My pool FC seems to be good and I can see the cells creating cloudy water.

 

[busterdouglas]

WOW.. not sure how this happened but my SWG was at 40%.... no idea how long it has been this high. I unplugged the SWG and going to run pump a few hours and see if this solves my air problem.

I have a feeling that the SWG was too high creating too much gases.

Thanks for all the replies, this has been helpful.

Please don't hesitate to reply if you think this is the cause of my problem.

 

[n240sxguy]

The high/low that was mentioned was referring to pump speed. Turning the output up on the swg just changes the amount of time it is on. The cell is either on or off. 50% doesn't mean it sends half the power to it, it means it's on for half the time the pump is running. 50% for 12 hours is the same amount of cell wear as 100% for 6 hours. The cell is still on for the same amount of time.


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[n240sxguy]

It's either gas building up from the cell operating, or a tiny suction side leak pulling a bubble through here and there. You could try leaving the cell unplugged for a bit and see if the bubble grows. Maybe that would help figure out the source.


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[busterdouglas]

Well I have confirmed this has been my problem. I am going to plug SWG back in, set to 10% and see if I have same accumulation of bubbles at top of SWG. If so, then I need to decide to mount it sideways or replace with a different straight flow through device. Thanks for all the advice and support. TFP... FTW!

Man oh man.. turned it back on set to 10% and within minutes there is a huge pocket again. Can it be fair to say that the pump is the problem and the flow is to low? at a loss what to do now.