I have my SWG on a separate timer, should I run it at 100%

[Chuckiechan]

I've set up my SWG to run on it's own timer slaved to the pump so I can get better control of my chlorine. Prior to this it ran whenever the solar water heating panels called for water. That was a lot.

So now I can set it by hours to run. (it's set up to only run when the pump is energized so as to not depend on the flow switch if the clocks get out of sync.)

My question is, should I set it to 100%, or is a break between cycles that say 50% gives it better for the unit?

Thanks in advance

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Running it at 100% is fine. All SWGs periodically reverse polarity to keep the plates clean so there's no need to "let it rest". Just use the timer you set up to control the amount of chlorine produced.

 

[Chuckiechan]

That's what I'll do. Thanks for that.

 

[chiefwej]

It really makes no difference. 10 hours at 10%, 5 hours at 20%, 1 hour at 100%, are all the same to the SWG. Anytime the SWG is actually running, it's running at 100%. The percent control on the SWG panel just makes the unit cycle on and off. So if you set it at 50%, it cycles on and off, with it being on 50% of the time. It works like a microwave oven.

 

[Chuckiechan]

Good explanation.

 

[atttech-2]

If I had a SWG I would run at 100% to hopefully reduce the amount of time I had to use the pump. Decide on the Stenner instead so pump run time is not much of a consideration. When it comes to sanitation I have more than ample opportunity to get enough chlorine in the pool during the normal filter cycle.

 

[chiefwej]

If I had a SWG I would run at 100% to hopefully reduce the amount of time I had to use the pump. Decide on the Stenner instead so pump run time is not much of a consideration. When it comes to sanitation I have more than ample opportunity to get enough chlorine in the pool during the normal filter cycle.

There is some marginal advantage to spreading out the addition of chlorine, if you are running the pump for a longer period anyway. The fact that a SWG adds chlorine slowly as opposed to a single large dose is the reason that the FC recommended for SWG pools is lower.

With a VS pump and a SWG, I run my pump for several hours a day, so it makes sense to spread out the addition of chlorine. The pump can be run at a speed which supports the SWG flow very cheaply, so why not?