IC 40 trouble

[JBrazzel]

Just wondering if anyone has had the same problem and whats the fix. About 2-3 weeks ago I started getting emails from screen logic with low salt alerts. So I checked my iPhone app and sure enough the salt level reads 0 but I know that can't be right. I was at 3350 2 days before. I am on my second salt cell in a year, the first one lasted about 6 months and had to be replaced under warranty. The salt level was checked by a meter to confirm my suspicion. Salt level is fine, the cell is wrong. My FC is still normal and the cell is still producing chlorine.

 

[tucsontico]

What's the temperature of your water? I've noticed that my IC-40 will show wildly varying salt values as the water gets colder, e.g., at a water temp of 65ºF a Taylor K-1766 test will show 3400 PPM but the IC40 will show 4000 PPM from the same sample. This anomaly may not be the issue here, but I do not put much faith in the IC40's measurement of salt content. I highly recommend using a Taylor K-1766kit for salt testing. Be advised, even though it is one of the most accurate testing methods, that kit has a +/- 200 PPM margin of error.

 

[Jimrahbe]

J,

As the water gets colder, the cell will be less and less accurate in its salt readings.

One problem with the Pentair salt system is that it only reads salt twice a day.. So if it reads it at 5 am, it may be too cold but it will keep that reading until 5 pm..

This time a year your salt cell should shut off... Salt cells in general do not operate when the water gets below 52 degrees +/- 3 degrees.

What is your current average water temperature?

Also, the IC40 has two low salt levels.. "Low Salt" where the cell continues to work . Yellow on the ScreenLogic display.. and "Very low salt" where the cell shuts off. Red on the ScreenLogic display.

I have shut my system off for the rest of the year..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JBrazzel]

Jim, when it started my water temp was 59degrees and has done it with temps on the mid 60s Could that be the problem? if so why does the cell still produce chlorine?

J,

As the water gets colder, the cell will be less and less accurate in its salt readings.

One problem with the Pentair salt system is that it only reads salt twice a day.. So if it reads it at 5 am, it may be too cold but it will keep that reading until 5 pm..

This time a year your salt cell should shut off... Salt cells in general do not operate when the water gets below 52 degrees +/- 3 degrees.

What is your current average water temperature?

Also, the IC40 has two low salt levels.. "Low Salt" where the cell continues to work . Yellow on the ScreenLogic display.. and "Very low salt" where the cell shuts off. Red on the ScreenLogic display.

I have shut my system off for the rest of the year..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Jimrahbe]

J,

I believe the cell measures salt more often but only reports its finding every 12 hours. So if off at 5 am it could be back on line at 7 am and you might not notice.

Also.. The cell uses a thermistor that is part of the flow switch assembly.. It is not uncommon to see them slowly go bad. If this were summer time and your cell was reading 3500 but the pool was reading 4500 I would say that the thermistor had gone bad.. But that is harder to tell this time a year.

Personally, I would shut it off and wait for next year and see how it works.. (This is assuming it will still be under warranty next year...)

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ping]

I noticed you have a spa, warm up the spa and run the SWG while the water is warm and see how it behaves.

 

[peterl1365]

Could also be a bad flow sensor. The flow sensor has a temperature sensing device which can cause low salt readings when it goes bad. Do a forum search for "520736" to find more information.

 

[eostrike]

It’s that time of the year where our IC40 is not making chlorine as the water is too cold as other have mentioned. During the cold season you will most likely be pouring in chlorine. Don’t add salt because the call tells you too. Do the salt test to see what is really in your water. Good luck.

 

[JBrazzel]

I know this post is over 6 mo old now but I wanted to give everyone an update on the problem. Pentair warranty tech came out earlier in the year and replaced the salt cell again. A couple of weeks ago the same thing happened. Rep came 3 days ago and replaced a flow switch. He said the flow switch’s have been a huge problem for Pentair because they were being manufactured in China. Pentair started manufacturing the new flow switch’s somewhere in California. We will see if this one holds up. The symptoms will be a Pentair cell that will suddenly give a salt reading of 0 but it will still produce chlorine and can still be controlled by ScreenLogic.

Jon