New Replacement IC40 reading 0 salt

[JoyfulNoise]

Only Pentair would call a power supply a "surge board"...

Of course these are the same people that sent someone out to replace the flow switch.. I assume because the failure had the word "salt" in it...

Thanks,

Jim R.

If the board has a thermistor on it (can’t tell from the picture) then it would not be totally wrong to call it a “surge board” as the electrochemical cell will have a very large in-rush of current when it switches on. If that current surge wasn’t limited in some way, the excess heat and stress on the wiring and components would eventually fry something. So it’s not totally wrong but it could simply be called the “converter board” and be left at that.....

 

[Dirk]

I bought a new IC40 to replace the old one and it didn't fix the problem. That's when I started this post. I called Pentair based on recommendations here. They sent someone out with a new flow switch but that didn't fix it so they ordered an new IC40. When the tech came out he also brought a surge board. He called me and told me what fixed the problem and wanted to charge me for the part but I told him I could get it cheaper and to put the bad one back in. (yep after spending all this $ I am still a cheap dude)

When I got the new IC40 i debated whether to get that or the surge board, but since the original IC40 was 3 years old I figured I would need it soon anyways. If Pentair had not sent someone out I would have replaced the surge board next anyway.

The end game is I put the original IC40 back on with the new surge board and stored the new one for when I will eventually need to replace it and I save some $ for buying the surge board cheaper online.

BTW I hate calling it a surge board, it's just what the part is named by Pentair and it's easier to type then SWCG Power supply board, bridge rectifier board, or AC/DC converter.

Steeler

I lost track a bit on which was which, but if your original SWG was out of warranty, and you purchased a new one, I would run the new one now instead of the old one. I'd run the new one for two years, then switch to the old one until it dies, then back to the newer one.

If the new one is going to fail, you want it to fail while under warranty. That warranty clock is already ticking. If you use the old one now, say it lasts another two years, then you put the new one online, only to find out it poops out a month later, you won't be able to get it replaced. If it poops out a month from now, you'll get a free replacement.

I'm sensitive to this because my first IC was bad out of the box. My second IC developed the zero-salt problem after a few months. My third IC is still in the box, as I wait to find out if Pentair is going to require me to return IC #2. (IC #1 was taken back by the Pentair repairman when he installed #2, but IC #3 was just mailed to me, so I still have #2.) Once I get past a reasonable time, and if they don't ask for the old one back, I'll put the new one online, for the same reason you should...

Point being... don't let what warranty Pentair offers on these things go to waste.

 

[jimim]

I lost track a bit on which was which, but if your original SWG was out of warranty, and you purchased a new one, I would run the new one now instead of the old one. I'd run the new one for two years, then switch to the old one until it dies, then back to the newer one.

If the new one is going to fail, you want it to fail while under warranty. That warranty clock is already ticking. If you use the old one now, say it lasts another two years, then you put the new one online, only to find out it poops out a month later, you won't be able to get it replaced. If it poops out a month from now, you'll get a free replacement.

I'm sensitive to this because my first IC was bad out of the box. My second IC developed the zero-salt problem after a few months. My third IC is still in the box, as I wait to find out if Pentair is going to required me to return IC #2. (IC #1 was taken back by the Pentair repairman, but IC #2 was just mailed to me.) Once I get past a reasonable time, and if they don't ask for the old one back, I'll put the new one online, for the same reason you should...

Point being... don't let what warranty Pentair offers on these things go to waste.

Thats good dirk dirk that I got to keep it. I thought u had mentioned they told u were going to have to send it back. I got to keep mine. It’s stored away.

 

[Bvacchiano]

Man this must be a consistent problem for the Pentair SWG. Mine is now also reading 0 ppm on my EZ Touch and App. I just measured my salt concentration with the Taylor kit and am getting 3600 ppm. All lights are green on SWG. I know it’s making chlorine because the levels keep going up. Lol. Anyways, they need to come up with a fix for this. My Pentair guy should be here tomorrow or the next day to fix. I’m going to ask him about this. I’m glad I have a 3 year warranty on all pool equipment. Something tells me they will be out here many times fixing this in the next 2.5 years. I just got this SWG in April 2018.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Man this must be a consistent problem for the Pentair SWG. Mine is now also reading 0 ppm on my EZ Touch and App. I just measured my salt concentration with the Taylor kit and am getting 3600 ppm. All lights are green on SWG. I know it’s making chlorine because the levels keep going up. Lol. Anyways, they need to come up with a fix for this. My Pentair guy should be here tomorrow or the next day to fix. I’m going to ask him about this. I’m glad I have a 3 year warranty on all pool equipment. Something tells me they will be out here many times fixing this in the next 2.5 years. I just got this SWG in April 2018.

B,

Please let us know what they do to "fix" the problem. I doubt Pentair even knows what the problem is.. They just start replacing parts until it works... From what we have seen on this site, the zero salt issue has been "fixed" by replacing the flow switch, the cell and the power supply (surge) board for salt cell... I continue to believe they are not fixing the actual cause of the problem, but just fixing the symptom of the problem, by getting the right combination of parts that mask the actual root cause.

On the other hand.. as long as it works.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Bvacchiano]

Pentair guy was here today and fixed. It was the flow switch. He said he’s fixed a few in HOUSTON recently.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Pentair guy was here today and fixed. It was the flow switch. He said he’s fixed a few in HOUSTON recently.

B,

Thanks for the feed back...

Jim R.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The only component in the flow switch that would affect salinity readout is the thermistor. I recently replaced mine and took some data readings from the “bad” one. I have Excel data that I’m currently analyzing on my home-built quantum supercomputer....it should crank out an answer in about 5-1/2 years...that is, assuming the superposition of the quantum bits (qubits) is not disturbed by any thermal photons or magnetic flux noise....if so, then we reboot and try again.

Funny enough though, the resistance of the “bad” thermistor was only a few hundred ohms off from the theoretical values of a 10k thermistor. So it must be the something with the reference 10k resistor and voltage comparator circuit that is used to convert temperature to voltage. There must be something in the logic that doesn’t like it when the readout voltage is suddenly changed and thus rebooting the ET panel helps.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Pentair guy was here today and fixed. It was the flow switch. He said he’s fixed a few in HOUSTON recently.

B,

Did the tech take the old flow switch, or do you still have it???

Jim R.

 

[JamesW]

The software can analyze the data from the thermistor and maybe if the data is deemed unreliable, the system reports the salinity as zero to indicate that there is a problem with the salinity calculation.

Maybe the 0 salinity reading is intended to indicate a non-specific system problem.

I imagine that Pentair probably knows why it's happening.

It's like the "Check Engine" light in your car. The system knows exactly what the problem is. Just say it. Don't play games.

 

[Jimrahbe]

The software can analyze the data from the thermistor and maybe if the data is deemed unreliable, the system reports the salinity as zero to indicate that there is a problem with the salinity calculation.

Maybe the 0 salinity reading is intended to indicate a non-specific system problem.

I imagine that Pentair probably knows why it's happening.

It's like the "Check Engine" light in your car. The system knows exactly what the problem is. Just say it. Don't play games.

JamesW,

Pentair "might" know what the problem is, but they sure don't know what to do about it... the same problem has been fixed by Pentair techs, by replacing three different parts.. They try the flow switch, if that don't fix it, they try a new cell, and when that don't fix it, they try the cell power supply (surge PCB). I assume that if they knew what was causing the problem they would only have to replace one part..

Time will tell..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[bdavis466]

I've replaced 12 flow switches on IC's this year that were all reading 0ppm salt. It fixed the issue on all except one and I believe that one ended up being a bad flow switch out of the box.

I spent 3 hours on the phone with a Pentair tech and I truly think he had no idea what was causing the issue.

I now have an AquaRite that I fully planned to replace with an IC but that will not be the case. The T cell integrates just as well as the Intellichlor with the Pentair automation and is much less complicated.

 

[Jimrahbe]

I've replaced 12 flow switches on IC's this year that were all reading 0ppm salt. It fixed the issue on all except one and I believe that one ended up being a bad flow switch out of the box.

I spent 3 hours on the phone with a Pentair tech and I truly think he had no idea what was causing the issue.

I now have an AquaRite that I fully planned to replace with an IC but that will not be the case. The T cell integrates just as well as the Intellichlor with the Pentair automation and is much less complicated.

Brian,

So how does that work? Can you just replace the cell, and then rewire it to the ET somehow? Or do you need the whole external T-Cell power supply and controller and then just wire the RS-485 between the two, leaving the salt connector at the bottom of the ET empty?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[bdavis466]

Brian,

So how does that work? Can you just replace the cell, and then rewire it to the ET somehow? Or do you need the whole external T-Cell power supply and controller and then just wire the RS-485 between the two, leaving the salt connector at the bottom of the ET empty?

Thanks,

Jim R.

Yeah you need the whole setup and then connect run a 4 wire from the panel comm port to the T-Cell power supply comm bus.

I'm not really sure what the best decision is because it seems like there are just as many T-cell issue threads as the IntelliChlors.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

CircuPool SWGs have better (larger) chlorine output. You can get a 3lbs/day cell.

If you really want to be a bad-boy, then you should look into installing your own mixed oxidizer generator (MiOx Rio Zuni system - On-Site Generation, Sodium Hypochlorite Water Treatment | Products | MIOX ). You can then generate your own liquid chlorine and directly inject it into the pool’s return line.....

 

[bdavis466]

CircuPool SWGs have better (larger) chlorine output. You can get a 3lbs/day cell.

If you really want to be a bad-boy, then you should look into installing your own mixed oxidizer generator (MiOx Rio Zuni system - On-Site Generation, Sodium Hypochlorite Water Treatment | Products | MIOX ). You can then generate your own liquid chlorine and directly inject it into the pool’s return line.....

I'm going to order the 2,000lb/day system and bottle my pool water to sell as liquid chlorine

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I'm going to order the 2,000lb/day system and bottle my pool water to sell as liquid chlorine

I’d love to be at that meeting of HOA’s architectural review committee when you submit the plans for a commercial bleach production unit in your basement

 

[Dirk]

I regret to inform you all that my SWG stopped producing today. Low salt. Which I presume is the precursor to the Cold water warning light. I have to admit it, in spite of the warm days we've been having, summer is over, and winter is here! I had to buy chlorine today, at Leslie's, for cryin' out loud!

So this is the unit that reports zero salt back to ScreenLogic. Pentair sent me a replacement, but I've yet to install it. As I mentioned, I'm waiting to see if they're going to ask for the defective one back, before I put in the new one. Might as well eek out the last of those plates before I gotta return. I'll let that one weather the winter.

In the meantime, this is more evidence that the SWG itself is performing as expected (reporting low salt in 52° water was expected, as I tend to run the salt on the low side). I'm expecting the cold water light any day now. I hate to give up on this unit. It performed all the way down to 52°. It tends to report higher than actual salt, which means I don't have to add more than I need to. And other than the non-reporting to ScreenLogic, it's been working great.

That's the update. Woe is me. Pool season is officially over. On the bright side, I got to bust out the ol' Save-a-Deck® and it's still working great. So I'm able to get some more mileage out of that experiment!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I’d bet a box of Dunkin Donuts that they never ask for the “defective” unit back....and, for $99 to replace the flow switch and fix the zero salt reading, you’d get 2 cells that should last you 10+ years.

Safe bet for me as there are no Dunkin Donuts in CA .... at least there weren’t any when I lived there.

 

[bdavis466]

I’d bet a box of Dunkin Donuts that they never ask for the “defective” unit back....and, for $99 to replace the flow switch and fix the zero salt reading, you’d get 2 cells that should last you 10+ years.

Safe bet for me as there are no Dunkin Donuts in CA .... at least there weren’t any when I lived there.

There actually are Dunkin Donuts now... Pay up sukka

The only thing they asked me to send back was a protocol adapter but that was to diagnose a supposed fixed issue...