good morning all, I just took the plunge and got a salt water generator. My question is, can I start dumping salt into the pool according to pool math to get it to start melting? I am suppose to get the SWG on Wednesday and get it hooked up by the weekend.
New SWG preperation
- Thread starter HL29
- Start date
- May 3, 2014
- 58,402
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
You can add your salt any time. Do you have a test kit for salt? I am sure your water already has a significant amount of salt in it so you do not want to add salt assuming you have zero in the water now.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,402
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
- Apr 23, 2017
- 2,400
- Pool Size
- 22000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Which SWG did you get? As stated there will be salt in your pool now. SWG ‘s and the control panel operate within a certain range so I wouldn’t go overboard with buying an expensive tester. In this case I would use test strips or take a water sample to the pool store and ask them to test the salt level. It will take them less than 3 min. Bottom line is you just need a ball park figure as to where your salt is now.
Lookup your SWG manual and see what the operating range is or ask the folks at the pool store...
Lookup your SWG manual and see what the operating range is or ask the folks at the pool store...
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,508
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
A SWG owner needs a decent salt test kit because the first indication a SWG is failing is often it’s salt sensor begins reading low. Without a good salt test you add salt, and keep on adding salt, until you question why salt is still low. By the time you figure out that the cell is failing you now need to deal with a high salt level.
Have a Taylor salt test kit in hand to be able to validate your SWG salt readings.
Have a Taylor salt test kit in hand to be able to validate your SWG salt readings.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,859
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
This is how I added salt for my SWG. I like the K-1766 Taylor Salt Test kit, and would recommend having that on hand.
Salt testing is notoriously bad. Most kits and SWGs have a margin of error of ±400ppm or worse! So if you measure 3000ppm, it could really be 2600 or 3400. And this goes for SWGs, too. They can be even worse. Fortunately, as ctav points out, you only need to get close, and the real goal is to find the minimum amount of salt your SWG requires, which may or may not be the minimum its manual recommends, because of that margin of error. Lost ya yet? Check it out.
Say your SWG needs a minimum of 2600ppm, so you put in that much salt, using Pool Math. But its internal salt measurement thinks your salt is 2200 (-400) and so it won't turn itself on to generate. You measure the salt and get 3000ppm (because your ±400 is going the other way!), and you end up scratching your head because you know you added the right amount, and your testing says you have plenty, but the SWG won't turn on!!
So here's what you do. Measure the salt in your pool first, before adding any, and enter the result into the "Now" column of PoolMath in the "Salt" row. You'll also enter the volume of water of your pool in the "Size" row. Now look up the recommended range of salt in your SWG's manual and subtract 400 from the lower number, and enter the result into the "Target" volume of Pool Math. So if your SWGs range is 2800 to 4000, you'd enter 2400 as your target. And say your test kit says you have 400ppm salt in your pool, you put 400 into the "Now" column. Pool Math will recommend the lbs of salt to add. Divide that number by 40 (bags of salt are generally 40lbs each), ignore the remainder, and put in that many bags of salt.
Everybody recommends a different way to add salt. I dump it into one big pile in the shallow end, and run a brush through it. I'm brushing like I'm trying to keep it in one pile, which I am. I tried broadcasting it around the pool, and brushing that, but that was a lot of work, especially in the deep end. So I just work a pile in the shallow end until its gone.
Here's the important part! Wait at least a day, more if you can, before you turn on your SWG. Run your pump the entire time. It can be bad for an SWG to run water with varying amounts of salt through it. The salt should be mixed in well before you energize the SWG.
Once your salt is mixed in, fire up the SWG. If it reports "good salt," you're done. If it reports "low salt," then turn off the SWG, add one bag, run the pump for a day (to mix the new bag in well), then try the SWG again. Repeat as needed until the SWG will fire. You have to wait a day each time, to protect your SWG!
The goal is to add the minimum amount of salt the SWG needs to work. And you can pretty much safely ignore your test results and what the SWG claims. When the SWG works, it works. Chlorine, acid, humans (and other things) add salt to your pool. As salt doesn't evaporate, it builds up over time in your pool. Eventually requiring you to exchange water to bring the salt level back down. By adding the minimum amount of salt your SWG requires, you're prolonging a bit the time between now and when you'll need to exchange water. If you dump in too much salt now, you'll be exchanging water next pool season!
For the most part, the amount of salt doesn't affect the SWG performance. Once there is enough salt, you'll get "X" amount of chlorine. Adding more salt won't get you more chlorine.
Once you've got your SWG hummin', test your salt level with the K1766 and record the result. This is the minimum level your SWG requires. It doesn't now matter if the SWG is ±400, or the salt test if ±400, you've got the magic number. Not necessarily how much salt is actually in your pool, but the number that makes your SWG happy! This is where the K1766 shines over test strips or the Pool Store. The K1766 may be off, but it will be more consistently off than test strips or stores, so it's a number you can better rely on when you adjust salt next time.
I mentioned salt doesn't evaporate, but it can leave your pool. You can lose water when you clean your filter, or you can splash it out while playing in your pool. Maybe you have to drain water to prepare for a big rain storm. Etc. So you check salt every month or two with the K1766, to make sure you don't have too little. You'll likely be gaining salt, though, and you keep an eye on that until you reach the SWGs upper range, and then you exchange some water to bring the salt's ppm back down.
Whew! That's the gist of it...
Salt testing is notoriously bad. Most kits and SWGs have a margin of error of ±400ppm or worse! So if you measure 3000ppm, it could really be 2600 or 3400. And this goes for SWGs, too. They can be even worse. Fortunately, as ctav points out, you only need to get close, and the real goal is to find the minimum amount of salt your SWG requires, which may or may not be the minimum its manual recommends, because of that margin of error. Lost ya yet? Check it out.
Say your SWG needs a minimum of 2600ppm, so you put in that much salt, using Pool Math. But its internal salt measurement thinks your salt is 2200 (-400) and so it won't turn itself on to generate. You measure the salt and get 3000ppm (because your ±400 is going the other way!), and you end up scratching your head because you know you added the right amount, and your testing says you have plenty, but the SWG won't turn on!!
So here's what you do. Measure the salt in your pool first, before adding any, and enter the result into the "Now" column of PoolMath in the "Salt" row. You'll also enter the volume of water of your pool in the "Size" row. Now look up the recommended range of salt in your SWG's manual and subtract 400 from the lower number, and enter the result into the "Target" volume of Pool Math. So if your SWGs range is 2800 to 4000, you'd enter 2400 as your target. And say your test kit says you have 400ppm salt in your pool, you put 400 into the "Now" column. Pool Math will recommend the lbs of salt to add. Divide that number by 40 (bags of salt are generally 40lbs each), ignore the remainder, and put in that many bags of salt.
Everybody recommends a different way to add salt. I dump it into one big pile in the shallow end, and run a brush through it. I'm brushing like I'm trying to keep it in one pile, which I am. I tried broadcasting it around the pool, and brushing that, but that was a lot of work, especially in the deep end. So I just work a pile in the shallow end until its gone.
Here's the important part! Wait at least a day, more if you can, before you turn on your SWG. Run your pump the entire time. It can be bad for an SWG to run water with varying amounts of salt through it. The salt should be mixed in well before you energize the SWG.
Once your salt is mixed in, fire up the SWG. If it reports "good salt," you're done. If it reports "low salt," then turn off the SWG, add one bag, run the pump for a day (to mix the new bag in well), then try the SWG again. Repeat as needed until the SWG will fire. You have to wait a day each time, to protect your SWG!
The goal is to add the minimum amount of salt the SWG needs to work. And you can pretty much safely ignore your test results and what the SWG claims. When the SWG works, it works. Chlorine, acid, humans (and other things) add salt to your pool. As salt doesn't evaporate, it builds up over time in your pool. Eventually requiring you to exchange water to bring the salt level back down. By adding the minimum amount of salt your SWG requires, you're prolonging a bit the time between now and when you'll need to exchange water. If you dump in too much salt now, you'll be exchanging water next pool season!
For the most part, the amount of salt doesn't affect the SWG performance. Once there is enough salt, you'll get "X" amount of chlorine. Adding more salt won't get you more chlorine.
Once you've got your SWG hummin', test your salt level with the K1766 and record the result. This is the minimum level your SWG requires. It doesn't now matter if the SWG is ±400, or the salt test if ±400, you've got the magic number. Not necessarily how much salt is actually in your pool, but the number that makes your SWG happy! This is where the K1766 shines over test strips or the Pool Store. The K1766 may be off, but it will be more consistently off than test strips or stores, so it's a number you can better rely on when you adjust salt next time.
I mentioned salt doesn't evaporate, but it can leave your pool. You can lose water when you clean your filter, or you can splash it out while playing in your pool. Maybe you have to drain water to prepare for a big rain storm. Etc. So you check salt every month or two with the K1766, to make sure you don't have too little. You'll likely be gaining salt, though, and you keep an eye on that until you reach the SWGs upper range, and then you exchange some water to bring the salt's ppm back down.
Whew! That's the gist of it...
wow that was awesome, I like knowing what the pool is according to my test and I never go to the pool store, so I will have a test kit on hand. thanks for the input.
This is the SWG I bought any thoughts? Solaxx CLG240A Reliant Salt Generator
This is the SWG I bought any thoughts? Solaxx CLG240A Reliant Salt Generator
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,859
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Sorry, no, Pentair guy here, I never researched any other brands of SWGs. Others may know...
PS. If that was supposed to be a link, it didn't work as one.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,859
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
To expound on Allen's comment a bit... As you're adding salt to get your SWG to function, keep an eye on the level. If it's getting too close to the upper range recommended, and the SWG still won't fire, that could indicate the SWG is not functioning properly. So you don't want to just keep adding bags blindly, as you will eventually add too much. Keep an eye on the salt level as you add bags, so you don't overshoot. Suspect a faulty SWG if the thing won't fire when the level is well above the minimum recommended. That actually happened to me. Pentair's canned response was "add more salt!" And I said "No, I already have plenty, based on K1766 results." They backed down when I gave them the test result, and they sent a guy out that week to give me a new one. The original one was faulty right out of the box!
- Apr 23, 2017
- 2,400
- Pool Size
- 22000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,859
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Re: New SWG preperation update
I just want to give you guys an update and thank you for the great advice. I follow instructions above and got the SWG fired off with no red lights. salt test after starting the SWG is 3000ppm, ran the SWG overnight and FC went from 4 to 5.
Now what is the best way to dialed in recommended FC ? should I keep my chlorination at the current setting or dial it to about the middle to prevent wear on the salt cell?
I just want to give you guys an update and thank you for the great advice. I follow instructions above and got the SWG fired off with no red lights. salt test after starting the SWG is 3000ppm, ran the SWG overnight and FC went from 4 to 5.
Now what is the best way to dialed in recommended FC ? should I keep my chlorination at the current setting or dial it to about the middle to prevent wear on the salt cell?
Attachments
- May 3, 2014
- 58,402
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
A good place to start is to have the SWCG create 3 ppm FC in your pool each day. The SWCG does not care if it is running at 100% or 5% setting. So pump run time and % setting is up to you.
Use SWG Run Time Calculator to determine your pump and % setting to create the 3 ppm FC. You need the amount of chlorine the unit is rated to produce in 24 hours. See Compare and Review Saltwater Chlorine Generator Prices and Features
Use SWG Run Time Calculator to determine your pump and % setting to create the 3 ppm FC. You need the amount of chlorine the unit is rated to produce in 24 hours. See Compare and Review Saltwater Chlorine Generator Prices and Features
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,508
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
You don’t say what your CYA is. Monitor your FC and tweak the SWG % output up or down to keep yor FC at target following [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. Your pool FC needs will change as the season changes.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,508
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
With CYA 80 your target FC is 6 so you need to increase your SWG output or increase your pump run time.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,859
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Here's how I found my SWG setting. Determine your target FC level (as advised above). Let's say that's FC6.
Do this each day, at the exact same time of day. Dose your pool manually, with liquid chlorine, to FC6.
Fire up the SWG.
Next day, same time, test FC. If it is still 6, you're done. If it is greater than 6, adjust output down by 5% (more or less depending on how high above 6 you are). If it is low, dose your pool manually, with liquid chlorine, to FC6 and up your output a few points.
Repeat as needed, same time each day.
I believe you'll get to the right output number faster, by using the liquid chlorine trick, than if you just start playing yo-yo with the SWG, tweaking it up and down each day, first to replace the missing FC, then to figure out the right number.
As mentioned, your output level will need to be adjusted several times a year to accommodate your pool's consumption trends. If you find your FC way off, just use the same method to find the new output level. Better still: test often and tweak the output by 1% at a time, as needed. Record it all somewhere, so that next year will be easier.
Tip'o'the'day
Eventually you'll find the output level for your pool. But then you'll have a big party and it'll trash your FC way low. Instead of using your SWG's "booster" mode, or temporarily goosing your output level, here's what'cha do. Anticipate! Don't mess with the SWG at all. Using liquid chlorine, dose your pool with some amount before your party. Don't go crazy. Just enough to raise your FC a point or two. Immediately after the party, test your FC and use liquid chlorine to bring your pool back to your target (FC6). That's it. You'll eventually get a feel for how to best do this. If it's a big party, you might raise FC by 3 or 4 points. If it's just a few extra folks, maybe just check the FC afterwards. Etc.
Trying to accomplish that with the SWG is a losing proposition. Leave the SWG alone and goose your FC manually to counter the occasional high-bather-load events.
Do this each day, at the exact same time of day. Dose your pool manually, with liquid chlorine, to FC6.
Fire up the SWG.
Next day, same time, test FC. If it is still 6, you're done. If it is greater than 6, adjust output down by 5% (more or less depending on how high above 6 you are). If it is low, dose your pool manually, with liquid chlorine, to FC6 and up your output a few points.
Repeat as needed, same time each day.
I believe you'll get to the right output number faster, by using the liquid chlorine trick, than if you just start playing yo-yo with the SWG, tweaking it up and down each day, first to replace the missing FC, then to figure out the right number.
As mentioned, your output level will need to be adjusted several times a year to accommodate your pool's consumption trends. If you find your FC way off, just use the same method to find the new output level. Better still: test often and tweak the output by 1% at a time, as needed. Record it all somewhere, so that next year will be easier.
Tip'o'the'day
Eventually you'll find the output level for your pool. But then you'll have a big party and it'll trash your FC way low. Instead of using your SWG's "booster" mode, or temporarily goosing your output level, here's what'cha do. Anticipate! Don't mess with the SWG at all. Using liquid chlorine, dose your pool with some amount before your party. Don't go crazy. Just enough to raise your FC a point or two. Immediately after the party, test your FC and use liquid chlorine to bring your pool back to your target (FC6). That's it. You'll eventually get a feel for how to best do this. If it's a big party, you might raise FC by 3 or 4 points. If it's just a few extra folks, maybe just check the FC afterwards. Etc.
Trying to accomplish that with the SWG is a losing proposition. Leave the SWG alone and goose your FC manually to counter the occasional high-bather-load events.
- Apr 23, 2017
- 2,400
- Pool Size
- 22000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)