New pool owner, Intellichlor no Chlorine

[natvtxn27]

My pool was turned over to me about 5 weeks ago. Since it has been turned over, Im getting a FAC reading of 0-0.5. It is a salt system, INtellichlor IC40 turned to 90%. The salt reading is 3350ppm, I cant get Chlorine! Here are the numbers... ANy suggestions?

FAC .5
TAC .5
Salt 3350
CH 200
CYA 70
TA 80
pH 8.5 (putting in acid today)
Phosphates 100

HELP!

 

[Paul.]

Do you have any warning lights on your console?
How many hours a day are you running the cell?
How is your pool looking? Could algae be eating up your free chlorine?
Is your SWG switched on? (seems like a stupid question, but it happened to me, i forgot to switch it back on after servicing it and got an unwanted surprise lol).

I would try to clean the cell according to the manufacturer and see if that works.
In the mean time, add chlorine by hand to get to 5ppm, to prevent any unwanted algae while troubleshooting your cell.

 

[jblizzle]

That is a pretty high output on the SWG ... how long are you running the pump?

Those look like pool store test results and as such we do not trust them. In fact, depending on how the testing was done, they could be reporting low FC even though it is actually very high.

You need to invest in one of the Recommended Test Kits if you want to know what is going on in your pool.

 

[natvtxn27]

So my pool pump is running from 9am to 7 pm at 2400 RPM. The IC 40 is all green lights, no indication that anything is not working. Pool is clear (at least for now). Its about 15000 Gals.

You are correct...Leslie's test results, recommended by the PB to do weekly to verify for any warranty issues...I will buy the TF-100 kit, just been putting it off. Sounds like putting it off further is not helping. Is there a link to buy? Your link above gives description, but I don't see where to purchase.

 

[Paul.]

You can try TFtestkits, they have TF-100 and Taylor K2006, TFTestkits.net
you can also get it from amazon but i think it is more expensive.

Your results may vary greatly from the pool store, so it is important to do your own testing.

PS, i suggest you get the magnetic stirrer, works great and makes things some much easier, and also get the XL version of the FAS-DPD if you will be doing a lot of testing.

 

[jblizzle]

FYI, the IC-40 should put out 1.4 pounds of chlorine (22.4 oz of chlorine). Using Pool Math, that would be 11ppm of FC if running all day at 100%. So for 10 hours (10/24) at 90%, you are adding a bit over 4ppm of FC the pool daily. That is slightly on the high side, but could be reasonable if you have a lot of sun.

You may just need to boost up the FC with bleach to about 7ppm and see if the SWG can maintain it.

You could have some algae in the water that is consume the FC and that would require following the ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process.

 

[Jimrahbe]

As you already realize, something is not right.. I suggest you do the following:

1. As Paul recommended, the first thing you want to do is add enough bleach to bring the FC up to five or so. The cheap test kit that I'm sure the builder gave you will get you close enough until you get a real test kit.

2. Once you have the ability to test the FC yourself, then take two samples. One away from any return, about two feet deep and another sample directly from the return itself, making sure the IC-40's "Cell" light is on when collecting the sample. Run an FC test on both samples and see how they compare. If they both read the same, then your Cell is not producing any chlorine.

3. It is a new pool.. Why not call the PB and tell him the Cell does not appear to be working and make him prove it is.

I'm not a fan of pool store testing, but for them to be reading close to zero, on several tests, makes me believe that your FC is actually very low. You need to get the FC up pretty soon or your next post will be " New Pool Turned Green".

Jim R.