So far so good, installed Pool Pilot Digital with SC-60 cell on Sunday 7/11/10, and set it to 50% on Power Level 1, runs 8 hours a day with the pump .Checked the water everyday , FC was between 2-3 ppm and pH was 7.5 , Alk is 100 . It rained alot here last night so I checked this morning , FC was 2 , pH was 7.8. I added Ph Down (I know Muriatic acid is cheaper, but with my crazy kids around , I'll pay for the pH minus) but I wanted to add more FC to the pool , so I put it on " Boost ", tested this evening and the FC was 3.4 , pH still 7.8 , I guess due to the SWG working at 100%. Should I add more pH down tonight or wait overnight and see what happens, should I turn the pump back on and let it "Boost" overnight ? The pool is crystal clear , but I don't want to mess it up while I "learn" the SWG . THANKS
Fine Tuning my new Aquapilot SWG
- Thread starter Rescue30
- Start date
I tend to want to run the SWG percentage higher, like around 80% and check the FC level everyday just before it turns on. That way you know what the minimum FC level will be for that setting. Then if the FC is too high you can start adjusting the SWG percentage and/or the pump run time down to back into the perfect FC level. I would not use boost, and I never do. If operated correctly you may never have to use it. If I have to boost, and I almost never do, I would use liquid chlorine for the boost and do not rely on the SWG. Also, you do not mention your CYA level. Most SWG CYA levels require a FC minimum level of 3 ppm and I see you are getting readings below this level. Here at TFP the recommended level of CYA is 70 - 80 ppm if you have a SWG to conserve energy and SWG life.
My CYA is 70 , I'm going to check the FC level tomorrow morning and adjust if from there .
Hey Rescue, you're fine maintaining 2-3 ppm. Using the boost mode is perfectly acceptable. The amount of cell wear as a result is minimal. However, it should not be something that is necessary on a periodic basis. The recommendation of using liquid/bleach to boost, is so that you're not using "hours" from the life of the cell.
If 50% is maintaining your chlorine where you want it, leave it alone. If you want it higher, bump the % up in 5 or 10% increments, let it run a few days, then retest the chlorine to see if it increased your chlorine to where you want it. 50% is always a good place to start.
Seeing that you posted this on Thursday, and lazy me is finally getting around to reading it, I'm sure your pH question has already been taken care of.
If 50% is maintaining your chlorine where you want it, leave it alone. If you want it higher, bump the % up in 5 or 10% increments, let it run a few days, then retest the chlorine to see if it increased your chlorine to where you want it. 50% is always a good place to start.
Seeing that you posted this on Thursday, and lazy me is finally getting around to reading it, I'm sure your pH question has already been taken care of.
2-3 ppm is awful low and is not recommended here for a CYA of 70 ppm. Even though the SWG is pretty good maintaining levels you still have day to day fluctuations because the SWG is not monitoring water FC levels (I realize this unit has temperature compensation) and therefore does not adjust for it. On a particularly hot day with heavy bather load you may find yourself even below 2 ppm if not monitoring closely. In other words 2 - 3 ppm does not leave room for any error.
Ok, so if I have to increase the cell output, which is better for the cell ? keeping it at 50% but raising the power level to 2 , or keeping the power level at 1 but increasing the % ?
Thanks
Thanks
It doesn't make any difference to the cell which way you do it, but it does effect the temperature compensation system. You should adjust the percentage setting until you go above 75% to 80%. Once you get up there, raise the power level to put you back near the middle of the percentage range.