Borates with SWG

[Paul.]

Hi all,
I am adding borates to my pool for the first time this year. After adding the Borates, I am having problems with my SWG cell. It just doesnt seem to be detecting the proper concentration of salt in the water. My 'Check Cell' and 'Low Salt' lights seem to be going on constantly, and at some points the machine even says that I have to replace the cell. My FC went to 0 because of this and had to manually get it back up to 10.
I purchased my SWG in may of last year, so I dont think that the cell should be due to be changed yet, after only one season.

I had no troubles with the SWG last year, and at the end of the year, i cleaned it properly and stored it indoors. The only thing that has changed are the newly added borates in my pool. Has anyone else encountered problems with borates and SWG?
PS. I have also noticed that my PSI are getting higher, faster after the borates. (My sand filter was changed last year also, so i dont think that the sand is the problem)


FC: 4
CC: 0
pH: 7.6
TA: 70
CH: 330
CYA: 50 (i know it is a little low)
Salt: 3800 (tested with the Taylor Kit) My cell is detecting 2500 and lower
Borates: 60 (Tested with the Mannitol, BMB procedure)

Water is clear and sparkling, no algae in sight. Went for a swim yesterday and water seems silkier as stated in the borates Thread. Water tension also seems to be higher as the dandylion seeds seem to be floating more on top of the pool, compared to last year.



Thanks for the information.
Paul.

 

[cowboycasey]

Hey there Paul,

What is your temp in the pool? most do not like temps below 70 degrees and will register low salt in those temps.. as for borates I have not done them so unsure if that could be part of the problem

 

[Paul.]

Pool is currently sitting at 80.
I opened the pool at around 63. I heated it up to around 74 before turning on the generator.
Its reading 2800ppm salt at the moment.

 

[pooldv]

Agreed, it sounds like temperature correction fluctuations.

Faster clogging filter and lower chlorine sounds like possible algae. I would Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT) to check.

 

[cowboycasey]

At 80 degrees is should be nice and happy

I found this manual and it is a very well done manual https://www.poolsuppliescanada.ca/index.php?dispatch=attachments.getfile&attachment_id=1495

They have a way to adjust for amps and voltage but nothing on the salinity sensor.. Most of the time we say if the SWG is happy then what the real level of salt does not matter, but we also know that as the SWG is nearing the end of its life the salt level reading is low..

On page 4 or 5 there is a pic of the salt cell that needs cleaning, does yours look like that or is it nice and clean?

Is there a company that can test the salt cell, I think in the manual you can use a tester if you have one..

I hope this helps

 

[RobbieH]

Borates don't interfere with the salt cell, or at least they did not with my CompuPool. I'm not at 50ppm yet with my Circupool.

 

[ping]

Make sure the cell is clean. Scaling can cause cells to have those symptoms.

 

[RobbieH]

And the borates help to prevent scaling.