- Aug 3, 2015
- 175
- Pool Size
- 34000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Hi all,
I've really been having problem after problem with pool contractors, despite getting multiple quotes and using very reputable companies from my area...
I just had a IntelliChem, IC60, IntellipH and EasyTouch installed. The installer is registered with Pentair for this type of work. Apparently, that doesn't mean they know what they're doing, as I don't think he did the install correctly. He had an electrician install the EasyTouch earlier in the week (in good weather), and he installed the IntelliChem and IC60 a couple of days ago, while it was raining a good amount. He mentioned that he's very backed up with jobs...shouldn't be my problem if he didn't want to lose a day's work to do a correct install. I don't think that him doing the IntelliChem install in the rain was a great idea, as after he left and I was able to inspect everything (I was at work when he did the install), I'm finding a bunch of things wrong...
- There was water inside the IntelliChem. I noticed that the display had condensation, so I opened it up and it was quite wet on the inside part of the faceplate...the circuit board looked dry, but for all I know he wiped it down before closing it. I have a feeling that it potentially got wet, and this could be the reason I'm having the problems I'm having now. Of course, I could be wrong and he just might have have set it up correctly.
- The pH was bouncing all over the place...it was reading anywhere from 7.8 down to 4.9 up, and then up to 10.0. It seemed to settle down and stay at 10.0 for hours and hours. Of course, I didn't want to risk that being accurate so I took manual readings and the pool was at 7.6 but because it ended up staying at 10.0 for a few hours in a row, it must of been dumping acid into the pool so my pH got down to 7.0. At that point, I turned the IntelliChem off to avoid problems and the pH is slowly back on the rise.
- The salt level also wasn't getting read correctly. It was reading 2800 in Screenlogic, but my manual reading showed 3200.
- The ORP wasn't getting red at all, for over a day. They sent out a tech and he fixed it, but he did it without letting me know he was there so I didn't get to tell him about all the other issues. I started getting ORP readings around 740 but only had the unit on briefly from that point since I turned the IntelliChem off based on the pH issues.
- The pool shut off hours before it was programmed to shut off...I'm assuming that isn't an IntelliChem issue, but is rather a Screen Logic or EasyTouch issue.
The questions I have are:
1.) After shutting the unit off I noticed that there was a slow leak coming from the "out" line of the Flow Cell. I then checked it and it wasn't very tight so I hand tightened it and the leak got better but there's still a slow trip. I then closed the valve which still left me with a very slow drip. Is it okay for that liquid to be slowly leaking on the pumps below it? I'm hoping it's okay, as I was thinking that's pretty much the exact same water in the pool...it's not like it's the acid line leaking there. Or am I wrong about something?
2.) They programmed a spillway feature in the Screenlogic's interface - I do have a spillway going from my spa to my pool; however, I'm not sure I understand why they programmed that as a separate feature. When I go from pool to spa mode (or the reverse), everything does seem to still be working right. The only time the spillway runs (at least with my previous setup, which was a Jandy AquaLink with Zodiac remote) is when the pool is running. When put into spa mode, the spillway stops since the water of course has to stay inside the spa. Should they not have added this feature? Or does it make sense to do so? If it does, please explain.
3.) The contractor is having a Pentair rep come to check everything out. Hopefully they can get it all running correctly. Anyone have experience to know if the faulty pH and salt readings were more likely due to a bad install or due to a faulty unit?
Thanks in advance for any info or advice!
I've really been having problem after problem with pool contractors, despite getting multiple quotes and using very reputable companies from my area...
I just had a IntelliChem, IC60, IntellipH and EasyTouch installed. The installer is registered with Pentair for this type of work. Apparently, that doesn't mean they know what they're doing, as I don't think he did the install correctly. He had an electrician install the EasyTouch earlier in the week (in good weather), and he installed the IntelliChem and IC60 a couple of days ago, while it was raining a good amount. He mentioned that he's very backed up with jobs...shouldn't be my problem if he didn't want to lose a day's work to do a correct install. I don't think that him doing the IntelliChem install in the rain was a great idea, as after he left and I was able to inspect everything (I was at work when he did the install), I'm finding a bunch of things wrong...
- There was water inside the IntelliChem. I noticed that the display had condensation, so I opened it up and it was quite wet on the inside part of the faceplate...the circuit board looked dry, but for all I know he wiped it down before closing it. I have a feeling that it potentially got wet, and this could be the reason I'm having the problems I'm having now. Of course, I could be wrong and he just might have have set it up correctly.
- The pH was bouncing all over the place...it was reading anywhere from 7.8 down to 4.9 up, and then up to 10.0. It seemed to settle down and stay at 10.0 for hours and hours. Of course, I didn't want to risk that being accurate so I took manual readings and the pool was at 7.6 but because it ended up staying at 10.0 for a few hours in a row, it must of been dumping acid into the pool so my pH got down to 7.0. At that point, I turned the IntelliChem off to avoid problems and the pH is slowly back on the rise.
- The salt level also wasn't getting read correctly. It was reading 2800 in Screenlogic, but my manual reading showed 3200.
- The ORP wasn't getting red at all, for over a day. They sent out a tech and he fixed it, but he did it without letting me know he was there so I didn't get to tell him about all the other issues. I started getting ORP readings around 740 but only had the unit on briefly from that point since I turned the IntelliChem off based on the pH issues.
- The pool shut off hours before it was programmed to shut off...I'm assuming that isn't an IntelliChem issue, but is rather a Screen Logic or EasyTouch issue.
The questions I have are:
1.) After shutting the unit off I noticed that there was a slow leak coming from the "out" line of the Flow Cell. I then checked it and it wasn't very tight so I hand tightened it and the leak got better but there's still a slow trip. I then closed the valve which still left me with a very slow drip. Is it okay for that liquid to be slowly leaking on the pumps below it? I'm hoping it's okay, as I was thinking that's pretty much the exact same water in the pool...it's not like it's the acid line leaking there. Or am I wrong about something?
2.) They programmed a spillway feature in the Screenlogic's interface - I do have a spillway going from my spa to my pool; however, I'm not sure I understand why they programmed that as a separate feature. When I go from pool to spa mode (or the reverse), everything does seem to still be working right. The only time the spillway runs (at least with my previous setup, which was a Jandy AquaLink with Zodiac remote) is when the pool is running. When put into spa mode, the spillway stops since the water of course has to stay inside the spa. Should they not have added this feature? Or does it make sense to do so? If it does, please explain.
3.) The contractor is having a Pentair rep come to check everything out. Hopefully they can get it all running correctly. Anyone have experience to know if the faulty pH and salt readings were more likely due to a bad install or due to a faulty unit?
Thanks in advance for any info or advice!