IC40 Doesn't seem to be producing

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QingGuy

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Mar 22, 2015
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Las Vegas NV
This is my 4th season with my IC40. Unit is well maintained, I remove every fall, clean and install again in spring. All lights are green, IC40 is reading salt level at 4050, based on the number of bags I put in (drained pool/acid washed this spring) it's actually around 3,100. Small bubbles coming out of returns so it appears to be working, but it's not keeping-up. I'm running it at 80% for 8 hours a day pump at 2,100 rpm (running solar)

Tested last night at 10:00 p.m. FC - 2, this morning at 6:00 a.m. I tested and 2-2.5 FC.

Any thoughts? Add more salt or is cell going out? Thanks in advance!
 
Last edited:
QG,

If you have bubbles, I would assume it is working.

In theory, an IC40 in a 28K pool running at 100% for 24 hours will generate about 6 ppm increase.. That is .25 ppm/hr

In 8 hours it will produce only 2 ppm and at 89% that will only be 1.78 ppm...

Based upon that, it appears it is working just fine..

Most pools use 2 to 4 ppm of FC per day and the more "Lost Wages" sun you get the more FC your pool will use.

Are you keeping your FC and CYA per this chart?? [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
QG,

Are you keeping your FC and CYA per this chart?? [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...

Sorry, been awhile since I posted and I forgot my numbers. From last night's test:
FC - 2
CC - .5
pH - 8
TA - 80
CYA - 80

- - - Updated - - -

Jimrahbe said:
QG,

If you have bubbles, I would assume it is working.

In theory, an IC40 in a 28K pool running at 100% for 24 hours will generate about 6 ppm increase.. That is .25 ppm/hr

In 8 hours it will produce only 2 ppm and at 89% that will only be 1.78 ppm...

Based upon that, it appears it is working just fine..

Most pools use 2 to 4 ppm of FC per day and the more "Lost Wages" sun you get the more FC your pool will use.

Are you keeping your FC and CYA per this chart?? [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...

Edited original post to change running % to 80% vs. 89 (fat finger typo).

Sorry, been awhile since I posted and I forgot my numbers. From last night's test:
FC - 2
CC - .5
pH - 8
TA - 80
CYA - 80

I would have thought I'd see an increase running from 10:00 p.m. - 6:00 a.m. since there was no sun. Am I incorrect?

Last year I don't recall having to add bleach every week like I'm having to this year. Also, I seem to recall running at 60% vs. the 80% I'm running at now. Could ability to produce go down with time?

I agree, with the bubbles it appears to be working, just thought I'd see more of an increase overnight/no sun.

Thanks again for the help!

EDIT: I wonder if I have something going on in my pool. Going to do a OCLT tonight with SWG off and see what type of loss I get.
 
Did OCLT last night; FC - 5 at 10:00 p.m., FC - 5 at 6:00 a.m., so all good there.

Neighbor loaned me his digital tester and I'm averaging 2900, IC40 is reading about 1000 higher than digital test. Wonder if my salt is too low, getting good bubbles out of returns.

Puzzling, wondering if unit is just wearing out, 4th season of use.
 
Qing -- your pH you show as 8. What is your CH? I know that if I let my pH get that high my CSI is above 0 and my IC40 starts throwing calcium flakes and does not produce as it should.

Use PoolMath with your test results and see what your CSI is. With our water and SWCG it is imperative to keep it between -0.3 and 0.0 for a gunite pool with SWCG.

Take care.

- - - Updated - - -

Also - I have my IC40 set to create 4 ppm of FC per day. Has been the same the last two years too.
 
qg,

Pressing and holding the “More” button launches the System Status Mode. When the lights finish scrolling, the percent lights indicate hours of usage in 1,000s. For example, if the 40% light lights, that indicates 4,000 hours.

I would just increase pump run time and see what happens... With an IntelliFlo, you should not even notice the electrical costs..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
@mknauss - Interesting observation. My CH is around 300 (Vegas has very hard water, water is about 30 days old). Been fighting to keep pH down as my TA is on the high side. Going to try and keep my pH around 7.6 for a few days which will keep my CSI in the range you list and see how that works. Hopefully this does the trick, thanks for the catch!
 
Still not maintaining chlorine. Checked IC40 this a.m. and it was off, red light was only light on. Turned system on and off a few times and nothing. Checked back in about 30 minutes and its on again and seems to be working. I tested water best I could coming out of the return and FC was 3 (I'm sure there was other pool water mixed in with it, not just pure sample from return). Tested general pool water and FC is 1.5 so it seems to be working. I wonder if it's intermittently going off and due to the fact that I'm not monitoring 24x this is the first time I've caught it off. I have a call into Pentair support and they're due to call me back this morning. I'll update with what they say.
 

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Just got off phone w/Pentair and they're telling me its either Phosphate levels 300 and/or Nitrates. Very strange as everything read here that shouldn't impact this. Also, I know my Phosphate levels were the same or probably higher the prior three seasons as whenever I had Leslie's check my water they ALWAYS pointed out my Phosphate levels and push their Phosfree (sp?) product.

Any suggestions based on what I've written so far?
 
QingGuy said:
I took a picture and circled in Red the light that was on. All other lights were off

View attachment 80746
Click to expand...

Cold water light - what was your pool water temp?

Sounds like your water warmed up enough in the morning that your cell went on.

Manual says it shuts down at 52F. You may have a malfunctioning temperature sensor that is shutting down the cell at times.

If the cell is under warranty I would document the situation and put in a warranty claim. If out of warranty the temperature sensor is part of the flow switch and easily replaceable. There are YouTube videos showing how to do it. Intellichlor IC-20-40-60 Flow Indicator Fix - YouTube

Pentair IC40 Temperture problem
 
ajw22 said:
Cold water light - what was your pool water temp?

Sounds like your water warmed up enough in the morning that your cell went on.

Manual says it shuts down at 52F. You may have a malfunctioning temperature sensor that is shutting down the cell at times.

If the cell is under warranty I would document the situation and put in a warranty claim. If out of warranty the temperature sensor is part of the flow switch and easily replaceable. There are YouTube videos showing how to do it. Intellichlor IC-20-40-60 Flow Indicator Fix - YouTube

Pentair IC40 Temperture problem
Click to expand...
Water was 82 at that time. Still under warranty but they said as long as my Phosphates are over 125 (I'm at 300) they won't do any warranty work. Also say I need to test my nitrates. I know all this is bS as it worked just previous seasons with same water source, make-up etc.
 
QingGuy said:
Water was 82 at that time. Still under warranty but they said as long as my Phosphates are over 125 (I'm at 300) they won't do any warranty work. Also say I need to test my nitrates. I know all this is bS as it worked just previous seasons with same water source, make-up etc.
Click to expand...

It is an $80 fix. https://www.amazon.com/Pentair-520736-Replacement-Sanitizer-Automation/dp/B007OGUBLQ

I would just replace the sensor and move on.

I would not worry about your phosphates as long as your water is clear.
 
ajw22 said:
It is an $80 fix. https://www.amazon.com/Pentair-520736-Replacement-Sanitizer-Automation/dp/B007OGUBLQ

I would just replace the sensor and move on.

I would not worry about your phosphates as long as your water is clear.
Click to expand...

@ajw22 - I agree, not going to mess with the chemistry, had same chemistry for 3 seasons and never an issue. Curious why you would replace the flow sensor? I haven't been thrown a low flow error once, the red light I've seen once and I check the IC's status often, several times a day via my phone and it's always been on. Not questioning, just curious.

I'm also thinking of taking my CYA up to 90 from 80, don't think it will make a difference but won't hurt either.
 
The flow switch has a temperature sensor built into it. If the temperature sensor fails (which is what fails normally, not the flow switch) you will get odd salinity readings as the unit uses temperature as a factor to determine salinity.

So if the unit showed Cold Water, then the temperature sensor is most likely failing.

Mine did after 3 years. Took 5 minutes to replace it.
 
QingGuy said:
@ajw22 - I agree, not going to mess with the chemistry, had same chemistry for 3 seasons and never an issue. Curious why you would replace the flow sensor? I haven't been thrown a low flow error once, the red light I've seen once and I check the IC's status often, several times a day via my phone and it's always been on. Not questioning, just curious.

I'm also thinking of taking my CYA up to 90 from 80, don't think it will make a difference but won't hurt either.
Click to expand...

Flow sensor and temperature sensor are in the same replaceable unit.

I would not take your CYA up to 90. It will just increase your FC requirements. See Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart
 

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