SWG and too much chlorine

[aplanedrvr]

Hi all,

We have an 8000 gallon pool using a SWG to produce chlorine. The pool water is in total balance.

The issue I'm having is even with the chlorinator set at 20% and the pump running 7 hours, I'm getting a surplus it chlorine each day with no drop overnight.

I know this is an issue many on here wish they had since most of the posts involve algae and chlorine demand.

Since this is an issue of adjusting pool pump timer, how low can you get in hours before the pool water isn't getting a full turnover and starts getting cloudy from not filtering?

------------------------------------------
Test Results 11-09-2018 @ 06:49 PM
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Free Chlorine: 8.5
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
CSI: -0.42

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Test Results 11-08-2018 @ 04:44 PM
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Free Chlorine: 7.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.5
pH: 7.5
CSI: -0.42

------------------------------------------
Chemical Addition 11-08-2018 @ 01:11 PM
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+ 13 FluidOunces of Baume31

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Chemical Addition 11-08-2018 @ 01:11 PM
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+ 55 FluidOunces of LiquidStabilizer

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Test Results 11-08-2018 @ 12:31 PM
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Free Chlorine: 7.5
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
pH: 7.8
Total Alkalinity: 60
Calcium Hardness: 400
CYA: 50
Salt: 3800
Temperature: 76°F
CSI: -0.13

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Maintenance 11-08-2018 @ 11:37 AM
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Vacuumed, Cleaned Filter, Brushed

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Test Results 11-08-2018 @ 08:01 AM
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Free Chlorine: 6.5
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
pH: 7.8
CSI: -0.03

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Test Results 11-07-2018 @ 10:18 AM
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Free Chlorine: 9.0
CSI: -0.32

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Test Results 11-05-2018 @ 10:25 AM
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Free Chlorine: 9.0
CSI: -0.32

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Test Results 11-03-2018 @ 05:13 PM
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pH: 7.5
CSI: -0.32

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Chemical Addition 11-03-2018 @ 03:04 PM
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+ 18 FluidOunces of Baume31

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Test Results 11-03-2018 @ 02:39 PM
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Free Chlorine: 11.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
pH: 8.0
Total Alkalinity: 80
Calcium Hardness: 400
CYA: 60
Salt: 4000
Temperature: 72°F
CSI: 0.16



Jandy Ei 35 SWG, 8000 GAL, Jandy PHPM .75 pump, cartridge filter, Central Florida

 

[Jimrahbe]

a,

Welcome to TFP... A great place to find the answers to all of your pool maintenance, whether you live on an "Old" or "New" Beach....

There is zero reason to worry at all about "turnovers"... Having to have X turnovers a day is just a myth. Chemicals are what keeps your water clear and sanitized, the filter is just there to clean up the junk that falls into your pool.

Does your cell not go below 20%? If not, I would just shut it off for a couple of days.

Obviously you have to have some circulation, here are the main reasons to run a pump...

1. To keep surface debris moving and being pushed into the skimmers. The more debris the more often you need to run the pump.

2. If you have a Salt Water Chlorine Generator (SWCG) you'll need to run it long enough to generate the amount of chlorine needed.

3. To circulate the water to ensure the chlorine is effectively distributed throughout the pool. Two or three hours per day is all that is needed for this to happen in most pools.


Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[aplanedrvr]

Jim,

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately, the SWCG does not go below 20%, except for off. I've used the SWCG calculator/spreadsheet and came up with about 3.5-4 hours pump run time to match the low chlorine production needed.

I wanted to make sure decreasing the pool pump run time that low wouldn't cause issues.

Thanks again. This forum has been an awesome source of info!

Pete

 

[tomfrh]

I run two timers, that way they can be individually adjusted to suit.

Pump runs about 8 hours (9-5)

chlorinator runs far less, from about 10-12

I run chlorination at 100% and increase/decrease chlorinatoe run time to suit.

In the dead of winter it only runs for 15 minutes a day.

 

[aplanedrvr]

Thanks

 

[aussieta]

dont get too crazy
drop pump run time by 1/2 to 1 hour
let it run for a week then adjust again if required
i like to keep my fc 8-9 to make sure i never dip under

 

[aplanedrvr]

Thanks for all the info. It's just going to be trial and error with pump timing. Of course the prior owners didn't give any helpful info about the pool after buying the house. [emoji849]

 

[see_feel]

Thanks for all the info. It's just going to be trial and error with pump timing. Of course the prior owners didn't give any helpful info about the pool after buying the house. [emoji849]

I am experiencing the exact same issue. Our pool is brand new so I'm in the process of learning it. My chemistry is great but FC levels are at 12. Dropped SWG % twice and runtime and it's still cranking out chlorine, good problem to have.

I shut my SWG off Friday and will test the water this evening to see how much FC I lost. If I didn't lose much, i.e. less than 2ppm, then I will probably run the SWG for 2 hours per day at 100% and adjust from there. I also might shut the SWG off and use bleach until March. It's clearly a process to learn the nuances for specific pools but I couldn't imagine depending on someone else to take care of my significant investment.

 

[OrangeAndBlue]

As the water starts to get cold and chlorine consumption is reduced, this is not uncommon. In the summer, I need to run my pump for 8-9 hours at 100% SWG output to maintain FC levels. Now with colder temps, I'm running the pump about 3-4 hours at 30% SWG output.
It takes a little trial-and-error to get it dialed in, but I have had no issue running the pump just 3-4 hours. As Jim stated in the first reply, as long as you're still skimming the surface sufficiently and have at least about 2 hours for mixing purposes, you should be fine. If you have a Variable Speed Pump, you may want to consider increasing RPM a bit if you are going to drastically reduce overall pump run time in order to still achieve sufficient skimming action.

 

[aplanedrvr]

Thanks OrangeandBlue.

 

[Dirk]

Hey! Welcome to TFP!

Just a thought. I don't know anything about Jandy gear, but my Pentair SWG has a very obvious way to adjust its output in 20% increments, down to 20%, like yours, and a not-so-obvious way to adjust it in 2% increments between 2% and 10%. Download the manual for your SWG and have a good look. Maybe yours has a similar feature.