Rookie Pool Owner needs some advice
- Thread starter Cowboy46
- Start date
I set the SWG to 100%, but no change. I have never noticed the bubbles from the return, unless there was air in the system like when it first comes on.
I did an OCGT (overnight chlorine gain test) last night. Tested FC at 2100 – 7.5, turned pump on and set SWG to 100%. Tested this morning 0450, 7.0. Added 3 quarts 10% liquid chlorine to make it through the day. Tested this afternoon – 6.0. Gotta get more bleach.
From that experiment it appears my SWG is generating very little to no chlorine. As I mentioned at the beginning of this thread, I was getting service codes 125 and 194 (cell dirty or needs replacement). I replaced the cell on 30 July and now there are no service codes, but it still does not appear to be producing chlorine.
Any recommendations?
Thanks
I did an OCGT (overnight chlorine gain test) last night. Tested FC at 2100 – 7.5, turned pump on and set SWG to 100%. Tested this morning 0450, 7.0. Added 3 quarts 10% liquid chlorine to make it through the day. Tested this afternoon – 6.0. Gotta get more bleach.
From that experiment it appears my SWG is generating very little to no chlorine. As I mentioned at the beginning of this thread, I was getting service codes 125 and 194 (cell dirty or needs replacement). I replaced the cell on 30 July and now there are no service codes, but it still does not appear to be producing chlorine.
Any recommendations?
Thanks
OCGT. Ha, nice! Bummer that FC didn't go up. I would do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Testjust to make sure that the SWG didn't make FC and then algae consumed it overnight.
I talked to the person I got the new PureLink1400 cell from. I told him that I didn’t think the cell was producing chlorine and explained what I had done. I mentioned that last night the FC was 7.0 and he said that was very high. He initially said the recommended level was 1.0 to 3.0. I said that I was getting guidance from ya’ll at troublefreepool.com so he checked your site out. He looked up the Chlorine / CYA Chart and pointed out that with a CYA of 70 it should be from 3 to 5. He recommended I set the chlorine production to 60% and run the pump 8 hours a day and monitor it. I mentioned that I had been adding bleach to keep the FC level up. He still wanted me to try to let the SWG handle it and if it dropped below 5 to let him know.
Here are the stats as of 1230 today:
Cl: >5
pH: 8.2
FC: 10.5 (I added about 3 quarts 8.25% bleach last night)
CC: 0.0
CH: 450
TA: 100
CYA: 65
Salt: 3.2
I added 3 quarts of 31.45 MA which brought the pH down to 7.5. We also got 0.9” rain between adding the MA and retesting.
What do ya’ll recommend?
Thanks again for all your help!
Here are the stats as of 1230 today:
Cl: >5
pH: 8.2
FC: 10.5 (I added about 3 quarts 8.25% bleach last night)
CC: 0.0
CH: 450
TA: 100
CYA: 65
Salt: 3.2
I added 3 quarts of 31.45 MA which brought the pH down to 7.5. We also got 0.9” rain between adding the MA and retesting.
What do ya’ll recommend?
Thanks again for all your help!
If you passed the oclt a couple of days ago that is ok. So, if it doesn't hold FC at 5 ppm will he replace it? It's strange that there are no errors. Most SWGs give an error when there is a problem producing chlorine.
He didn't say he would replace it, but I sure would hope so or else he will get a very bad review on eBay.
He also said that it would give an error code if there was something wrong. I guess that's why he wanted me to continue with it.
Thanks!
He also said that it would give an error code if there was something wrong. I guess that's why he wanted me to continue with it.
Thanks!
Hi Cowboy.
If you want to fine tune your understanding of the cell's capabilities a bit better, here's how to figure out how much production its capable of in your pool.
Look up the rate production of your specific cell -- it will be x pounds of chlorine gas per 24 hrs at 100%. Should be on mfgs site.
In Pool Math, use the section at the bottom to figure out how many ppm of FC you'd generate at x pounds (converted to ounces).
Depending on your cell rating and the (large) size of your pool, it could be anywhere - my hayward t15 rated for a 40,000 gal pool (producing about 1.5 lbs gas) will produce 7.8 ppm per day in my 23,000 gallon pool, for example.
Once you know what production is possible at 100%/24 hours, you can then dial in your run time/ and OR support it with periodic bleach if it is undersized for your size of pool and desired run time.
With your cya, you want to target 5 ppm if using the swg, so once you get the FC to 5, then run the swg long enough to produce about 2 ppm (or maybe 3) and see if you end up at 5 the next day without adding any bleach.
- this assumes you'd use about 2 ppm per day...you might us more, but use rates with swg are a bit lower than chlorine alone due to the constant chlorination.
In your shoes, I'd be tempted to run the swg all day, eg 12 hours, throughout sunniest periods as this will mean less bleach required if you need it, because the steady state at target makes usage less.
By doing this, you might find that with adequate run time, your cell is fine for maintaining daily FC production, but just not to get UP to a level or not to slam. You can still enjoy the benefits of your investment in this cell by giving it the time it needs to run and using bleach for significant changes or slamming -- that's actually the case with all SWGs...they excel at steady production.
Let us know what pool math says
We'll help get you dialed in now that you've given it a clean start via slam and a fresh cell!
If you want to fine tune your understanding of the cell's capabilities a bit better, here's how to figure out how much production its capable of in your pool.
Look up the rate production of your specific cell -- it will be x pounds of chlorine gas per 24 hrs at 100%. Should be on mfgs site.
In Pool Math, use the section at the bottom to figure out how many ppm of FC you'd generate at x pounds (converted to ounces).
Depending on your cell rating and the (large) size of your pool, it could be anywhere - my hayward t15 rated for a 40,000 gal pool (producing about 1.5 lbs gas) will produce 7.8 ppm per day in my 23,000 gallon pool, for example.
Once you know what production is possible at 100%/24 hours, you can then dial in your run time/ and OR support it with periodic bleach if it is undersized for your size of pool and desired run time.
With your cya, you want to target 5 ppm if using the swg, so once you get the FC to 5, then run the swg long enough to produce about 2 ppm (or maybe 3) and see if you end up at 5 the next day without adding any bleach.
- this assumes you'd use about 2 ppm per day...you might us more, but use rates with swg are a bit lower than chlorine alone due to the constant chlorination.
In your shoes, I'd be tempted to run the swg all day, eg 12 hours, throughout sunniest periods as this will mean less bleach required if you need it, because the steady state at target makes usage less.
By doing this, you might find that with adequate run time, your cell is fine for maintaining daily FC production, but just not to get UP to a level or not to slam. You can still enjoy the benefits of your investment in this cell by giving it the time it needs to run and using bleach for significant changes or slamming -- that's actually the case with all SWGs...they excel at steady production.
Let us know what pool math says
We'll help get you dialed in now that you've given it a clean start via slam and a fresh cell!If you have Excel and know the amount of Chlorine it produces in a 24 hour period, you can get a good idea of the right run time and % using the calculator in my signature.
My stats as of 1900 yesterday:
Cl: >5
pH: 7.6
FC: 7.5
CC: 0.0
Added 64 oz 31.45 MA
Mostly cloudy all day.
My stats as of 1700 today:
Cl: >5
pH: 7.3
FC: 7.5
CC: 0.0
I didn’t test CH, TA, and CYA either day.
We got 1.1” rain, mostly overcast all day.
FC dropped from 10.5 on Saturday to 7.5 today. Not too bad, but we haven’t had much sun the past 3 days. I still can’t say for sure that my SWG will be able to keep up or is producing. It's currently set at 95% for 8 hours per day.
What do ya’ll think?
I haven’t tried out the SWG calculator yet. I plan to as soon as I get a little free time.
Thanks again!
Cl: >5
pH: 7.6
FC: 7.5
CC: 0.0
Added 64 oz 31.45 MA
Mostly cloudy all day.
My stats as of 1700 today:
Cl: >5
pH: 7.3
FC: 7.5
CC: 0.0
I didn’t test CH, TA, and CYA either day.
We got 1.1” rain, mostly overcast all day.
FC dropped from 10.5 on Saturday to 7.5 today. Not too bad, but we haven’t had much sun the past 3 days. I still can’t say for sure that my SWG will be able to keep up or is producing. It's currently set at 95% for 8 hours per day.
What do ya’ll think?
I haven’t tried out the SWG calculator yet. I plan to as soon as I get a little free time.
Thanks again!
My current stats:
Cl: >5
pH: 7.5
FC: 8.0
CC: 0.0
CH: 450
TA: 90
CYA: 45
My FC was 7.5 Monday and got as high as 9.5 on Wednesday. I guess the SWG is keeping up, but we haven’t had much sun all week. I still can’t say for sure that my SWG will be able to keep up or is producing. It's still set at 95% for 8 hours per day.
What do ya’ll think?
My TA dropped from 100 to 90 this week, so I guess I’m making a little progress.
The CYA also dropped from 65 to 45. I’m still not sure I’m doing that right (see note from 23 July of this thread). We also got about 3” of rain this week. Would that drop the CYA?
What do ya’ll recommend I do now?
Thanks for your help!
Cl: >5
pH: 7.5
FC: 8.0
CC: 0.0
CH: 450
TA: 90
CYA: 45
My FC was 7.5 Monday and got as high as 9.5 on Wednesday. I guess the SWG is keeping up, but we haven’t had much sun all week. I still can’t say for sure that my SWG will be able to keep up or is producing. It's still set at 95% for 8 hours per day.
What do ya’ll think?
My TA dropped from 100 to 90 this week, so I guess I’m making a little progress.
The CYA also dropped from 65 to 45. I’m still not sure I’m doing that right (see note from 23 July of this thread). We also got about 3” of rain this week. Would that drop the CYA?
What do ya’ll recommend I do now?
Thanks for your help!