Salt reading... Chlorinator or AquaChek White Test Strips?

[eelhc]

Just got my Polaris Autoclear Plus going today..

Prior to starting the SWG up I tested the salt PPMs with AquaChek white test strips and added 320lbs of salt to get the salt level to the recommended 3000~3500PPM.

I then hooked up the the Autoclear Plus and started it up and the Autoclear Plus is reading 2500PPM salt and the salt scale (add salt) light is on although it is running and the service warning LED is not on. I checked again with the AquaChek white test strips and it is showing ~3400PPM. The test strips are brand new and not close to the expiration date.

So... which to trust? The water temperature is ~72*F.

Too much salt is worse for the SWG than too little salt, right? Could it be that I need to wait a little while longer for the salt to completely dissolve?

 

[JasonLion]

It can take salt a number of hours with the pump running to fully dissolve and mix.

Give everything a day or two to stabilize and see what it is doing at that point.

 

[Poolsean]

The tendency is for the salt to read slightly on the high side, rather than the low side, once it's added and not fully dissolved. Do you have any salt sitting on the floow of the pool still? Is so, brush in into the main drain.

What is the temperature reading on the Autoclear Plus unit? I believe you have to match this to the temp for the salt to read correctly.

If the salt doesn't increase by tomorrow, I would call Polaris to see what they recommend.

 

[eelhc]

After reading the manual several times...

Solved my problem....

The manual is not very clear but there's a temperature setting on the unit. The manual goes through how to adjust it but doesn't explain what it's for. After reading through it the first time, I assumed it was a disable feature (do not run under xx*F).

Well... turns out that the temperature setting is not a setting. One simply enters what the water temperature is. I looked at the pool thermometer and did this and viola... the SWG is measuring close to the test strips. A little lower still (~3200 vs 3400) but at least I am in the right church now.