Newly installed SWG - questions

Jump to latest Follow Reply
S

skoum

0
May 25, 2017
48
TX
Hi guys

Just had a Crystal Pure Pure line 60k gallons installed on my pool (PureLine Pool Salt System 60,000 Gallons LT - PL7714 - INYOPools.com).
A bit oversized but the price difference compared to a 40k was small.

Anyway, couple of questions :

- I have a lot of bubbles coming out of the returns jets when the SWG is on, is that normal ? I have bubble regardless the pump speed, it stops when turning the SWG off. I know a SWG creates aeration, but wanted to double check that.

- It looks like the guy who installed my SWG did not plug it on the same "switch" as the pump on my control panel. Therefore I can not turn the SWG control panel off. When the pump switches off the SWG control panel stays ON with a "no flow" status (makes sense). Question : Is it ok to have the control panel being ON forever ?
 
sk,

Call your installer back and have him do it correctly.. A SWCG has two safety device to make sure the cell can NEVER be on when the pump is not on... While it is rare, a cell can actually explode...

The Primary safety device is that the AC power is removed from the cell's controller whenever the pump is off... The Secondary safety device is the cell's flow switch..

This is easy when you have a single speed pump, you simply wire the two units to the same timer... But since you have a IntelliFlo pump, your pump gets constant AC power. Most people just use a mechanical timer to control the SWCG and have it set to turn on inside the time the pool pump is scheduled to be on...

Thanks,

Jim R.

- - - Updated - - -

Bubbles are good... they show it is working...
 
skoum said:
Hi guys

Just had a Crystal Pure Pure line 60k gallons installed on my pool (PureLine Pool Salt System 60,000 Gallons LT - PL7714 - INYOPools.com).
A bit oversized but the price difference compared to a 40k was small.

Anyway, couple of questions :

- I have a lot of bubbles coming out of the returns jets when the SWG is on, is that normal ? I have bubble regardless the pump speed, it stops when turning the SWG off. I know a SWG creates aeration, but wanted to double check that.

- It looks like the guy who installed my SWG did not plug it on the same "switch" as the pump on my control panel. Therefore I can not turn the SWG control panel off. When the pump switches off the SWG control panel stays ON with a "no flow" status (makes sense). Question : Is it ok to have the control panel being ON forever ?
Click to expand...

The bubbles (if they are tiny) are hydrogen. A byproduct of the SWG process. Normal. Fine.

It is definitely NOT fine to have the SWG stay on after the pump stops. The flow switch is designed to catch this problem, and keep the SWG from energizing. But the flow switch is intended to be backup. A safeguard. It is not meant to be the primary control of the SWG.

So your installer needs to fix that, and connect the pump and the SWG up properly, so that the SWG cannot come on when the pump is off. Sometimes this is done with automation (expensive). Sometimes with timers (less expensive). And I'm sure there are other tricks, too. But it's not OK the way it is...
 
skoum said:
Hi guys

Just had a Crystal Pure Pure line 60k gallons installed on my pool (PureLine Pool Salt System 60,000 Gallons LT - PL7714 - INYOPools.com).
A bit oversized but the price difference compared to a 40k was small.

Anyway, couple of questions :

- I have a lot of bubbles coming out of the returns jets when the SWG is on, is that normal ? I have bubble regardless the pump speed, it stops when turning the SWG off. I know a SWG creates aeration, but wanted to double check that.

- It looks like the guy who installed my SWG did not plug it on the same "switch" as the pump on my control panel. Therefore I can not turn the SWG control panel off. When the pump switches off the SWG control panel stays ON with a "no flow" status (makes sense). Question : Is it ok to have the control panel being ON forever ?
Click to expand...

just to check, are there any bubbles in your pump's basket?
 
Ok, thank you guys for the answers!

I currently have a two timers, one for the pump / heater and one for the cleaner, hopefully he will be able to connect the SWG to the pump timer as well.
 
skoum said:
Ok, thank you guys for the answers!

I currently have a two timers, one for the pump / heater and one for the cleaner, hopefully he will be able to connect the SWG to the pump timer as well.
Click to expand...

Is your Intelliflo connected to a separate timer, or are you referring to its built in timer?
 
It is... I guess the previous owner had a single speed pump before switching to an inteliflo.
I have the pump and the heater connected to the first timer and the cleaner to the second one.

It looks like the SWG panel is connected directly to the panel where the timers are, but not connected to a specific timer, so I can not switch it off.
I dont know if that makes sense.

I guess he would need to swap the connections so the SWG is connected to the timer and the pump direcly to the panel, as the inteliflo has its own build-in timer... ?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
skoum said:
It is... I guess the previous owner had a single speed pump before switching to an inteliflo.
I have the pump and the heater connected to the first timer and the cleaner to the second one.

It looks like the SWG panel is connected directly to the panel where the timers are, but not connected to a specific timer, so I can not switch it off.
I dont know if that makes sense.

I guess he would need to swap the connections so the SWG is connected to the timer and the pump direcly to the panel, as the inteliflo has its own build-in timer... ?
Click to expand...

Jim will confirm, but yes, the IntelliFlo should not be connected to a timer, and should have power 24/7. The SWG should be connected to the timer.

You would program the SWG to run only during the time(s) of day the pump is running.

A word of caution, though, depending on your timers. I used to have one of those Intermatic dual-timer setups. With the yellow dials. If that's what you have, you have to keep your eye on it. During a power failure, or if you turn the breakers off for some other maintenance, the timer clocks will be off, which could then energize your SWG out of sync with your pump's schedule. Also, my timer lugs would sometimes lose their grip, and get pushed around the dial, so that either the thing only came on for a few minutes, or only shut off for a few minutes (depending on which of the on or off lugs slid). So you have to check on those types of timers often, to make sure the time is right and the programming is right.

If the timer is not set correctly, and the SWG is energized when the pump is off, then you have the flow switch as a backup to prevent the SWG from firing. But ideally that's not something to plan on, but rather only to rely on in the event of a failure elsewhere in the system...
 
Dirk said:
A word of caution, though, depending on your timers. I used to have one of those Intermatic dual-timer setups. With the yellow dials. If that's what you have, you have to keep your eye on it. During a power failure, or if you turn the breakers off for some other maintenance, the timer clocks will be off, which could then energize your SWG out of sync with your pump's schedule. Also, my timer lugs would sometimes lose their grip, and get pushed around the dial, so that either the thing only came on for a few minutes, or only shut off for a few minutes (depending on which of the on or off lugs slid). So you have to check on those types of timers often, to make sure the time is right and the programming is right.
Click to expand...

To prevent that from happening myself, I used a pair of needle nose pliers to tighten that thumb screw down really tight. And I'm also considering upgrading the timer part of mine from mechanical to digital because I think the digital one remembers time between power outages. My timer came with a nice full metal weatherproof box, so just gonna upgrade the guts of it.
 
lightmaster said:
just to check, are there any bubbles in your pump's basket?
Click to expand...

I haven't seen any but can double check that tomorrow. Should I have bubbles there ?

This is the answer I got from the company that installed the SWG when I asked if it was normal to have the panel being on the all time :

I spoke to XXX about the topic of the the SWG panel staying on and he mentioned that it's normal for SWGs screen to stay on because it's connected to power. The system operates when the pump is on but switches to idle while the pump is off.

Let us know if you have any other questions and we'd be happy to answer them.
Click to expand...

So that's BS ?
 
You shouldn't see bubbles in pump's basket, that's a sign of a suction side leak.

Their response is complete and utter BS, and honestly it's a huge safety liability. Imagine a stick gets its way through your filter and wedges up against the flow switch, or you laterals break on your sand filter and some sand gets under the flap of the flow switch and keeps it in the flow position. Now your SWG is gonna be generating all the time, even when the pump is off, and hydrogen gas can build up inside it and bust. Yes, the likelihood of that happening is fairly small, but the point is it can happen and can cause a very dangerous situation. I can't believe a "professional" install would recommend installing it like this.

FYI, my owner's manual for my SWG specifically said the SWG should always be installed with a timer controlling it.

You need to call them and demand that they come install it properly, or, if it won't void the warranty and you have the know-how to do it yourself, then fix it yourself. Personally, I hate paying someone to do something I'm capable of doing, so all my pool stuff is DIY installs.
 
Step 7
PREPARE FOR WIRING POWER
- The Crystal Pure SCG must be tied into the timer circuit going to the pump so that when the pump is shut off, the SCG also shuts off. One way to do this is to insert a power junction box between the timer and the pump. Power that was coming from the timer and going directly to the pump will now come into one side of the box and exit out the other side through two ports; one going to the pump and one going to the SCG.
Click to expand...

This is from INYOpools site about installing your particular SWG. How To Install a Crystal Pure Salt Chlorine Generator - INYOPools.com

Tell your installer he needs to RTFM, lol. Since this is one of the first lines under the wiring section:
Wire the Crystal Pure to the LOAD SIDE of the filter pump timer. It is very important that
the Crystal Pure is powered only when the pump is running.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply