What is your Pentair IC-40 run time and percentage?

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TresW

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Jan 26, 2008
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Forney, TX
We had an SWG installed on our pool last weekend. We had originally wanted to get a Pool Pilot, but we have a very good relationship with our PB, got a good deal on the installation plus we get a 3 year warranty through the PB as well; so we went with a Pentair IC-40. BUT... it seems to me we have to run it a lot harder than I was expecting. The PB seems to think it is operating normally, but I wanted to check and see how everyone else's run time compares to ours. We have a 13k gallon in-ground pool that was completed in March. We used an inline chlorinator, then switched to BBB and we have never had a problem with the water (other than climbing CYA which is what led us to the SWG). CYA level is 70. We use a TF100 test kit and all other numbers are within normal ranges (except FC, running at 1 right now). Pump is a Pentair 4x160 running at 2200 rpm on circulation mode. We were running the circulation for 8 hours during the day and the installer set the SWG to 40%, but upon checking the FC the next morning it was 0. We bumped the SWG to 80% and FC has been testing as 1.0 since then, still too low. I called the PB and they suggested increasing run time to 10 to 12 hours, increasing the CYA to 80-100 and running at night instead of during the day so that the sun wouldn't burn the FC off as soon as it's made. I increased the run time to 11 nighttime hours yesterday afternoon, but have not tested it yet since then (will do so this evening). Our pool is in direct sunlight all day and it has been in the mid to upper 90's here lately (water temp 88) and probably will stay that way until September. Now it seems to me that the IC-40 which is supposed to be good for up to 40k gallons is way bigger than our 13k pool needs, so I was expecting it to handle the load easily running at a much lower percentage. I mentioned this to the PB and he said the IC-40 is designed to handle 40k gallons if run for 24 hours a day at 100% and that it is not unusual for it to have to run at 70 or 80% for 12 hours for a pool of my size. As always I appreciate comments, feedback and comparison info :) Thanks!

Oops, forgot to mention that the salt level is 3700. They were targeting 3350, but got a little too much in because their records indicated our pool was 16k instead of 13k.
 
TresW said:
it is not unusual for it to have to run at 70 or 80% for 12 hours for a pool of my size.
Click to expand...

Just my opinion, but your PB is talking out of his a**!
I have a 11K gal pool using a Intellichlor IC-20. Run time - 8 hrs/day, current temp. ~86F, mucho grande sun w/ ~75ppm CYA, currently running my cell @ 60%. Avg daily FC level 2.5-3.0.
 
Thanks for posting your numbers. Yeah, obviously I don't believe him or I wouldn't have posted this thread :wink: But the one thing I can't figure out is what could be causing this seemingly light output. The cell is working because it is generating some chlorine, just not as much as I expected. We just ran the full set of TF100 tests on Sunday and everything looked good except FC. Maybe I just need to bump the CYA up like he suggested. I'll take a sample in to confirm the CYA, that number is from our TF100 test and you how tricky it is to get an accurate CYA reading from the dot test once the CYA is over 50 or so.
 
Yes, what waterbear said! You need to manually add chlorine until the pool is holding a FC level, then the SWG will be able to keep up.

By the way, it is most energy efficient to run the variable speed pump at a lower speed for a longer time.
 
Thanks guys, we'll go get some bleach :)

Jason, I'm running the pump at 2200 on circulation mode, should I/ can I lower it more? Which reminds me of another question I had, for a given SWG percentage is it putting the same amount of chlorine into the pool regardless of pump speed?
 

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I have a IC-40 and and a 28000 gallon pool when I first installed it I could not keep chlrine in the pool, even running 80%. The water was always clear also. I had 45 ppm CYA and 35 PPM Borates.

I'm now running it at 20%! I'm sure I had algae in the pool, even though the water was clear.

I think you have algae in your pool. The generator is putting out enough to keep the water clear, but not enough to get ahead.

This what i did and it has been a night and day difference.

1. Shocked the pool to 25 ppm and held it there for 24 hours.
2. Increased borates to 50 ppm with 20 mule team borax. It works!!!! This is one of the best algae sides you can use. You have to have it!
3. Increased CYa to 70 PPM. I first this sounds like the wrong thing to do, but the manufacture warns against running CYA below 50 ppm.

I know you have take advice given on the net with a grain of salt, but the Borax works. I would also shock the pool to high level of FC and hold there. This way you will be absolutely sure no algae is trying to grow in the pool.

Good Luck!

EDIT. My pump time is 12 hours.
 
TresW said:
I'm running the pump at 2200 on circulation mode, should I/ can I lower it more?

Which reminds me of another question I had, for a given SWG percentage is it putting the same amount of chlorine into the pool regardless of pump speed?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can lower it more. I would try speeds around 1000 to 1500. As you slow down the skimmers might become a bit less efficient. Check how the skimmers are working and if it bothers you turn the speed up a bit. Remember that at each speed there will be a different ideal pump run time, lower speed require longer pump run times.

For the most part the SWG will produce the same amount of chlorine per hour at any speed. There are speeds that are too slow and speeds that are too fast. The IntelliFlo at it's very lowest speed should be right about at the lower limit for the SWG, so anything above that should be fine. Though this can vary a little bit from pool to pool. You are unlikely to go fast enough to be too fast for the SWG, more likely to be too fast for the filter if you turn the pump up all the way.
 
87 degree water, 40% on IC-40, FC 4.5 (constant) 1700rpm on 4x160, ZERO problems. Since you have a new cell, I suspect yours may be defective even though you are indicating no errors on your cell.
 
My pool is still pretty new, but I have the same pump and the IC-40 on about an 18,000 gallon pool. I've been playing around with settings as well and am currently running it for six hours at about 1200 rpm during the day, which may be too high, but the water is clear. I then have it run for another two hours on a higher speed at night to get the Pool Cleaner going. My CYA level is about 100. I've played with the output anywhere from 20% to 80%. My FC is about 3, but I'm trying to get it up a little.

The IC-40 has a "shock" feature that you may want to try so the FC level gets where you want it. After that I think trial and error is the best way to get it dialed in. You could also try running 24/7 at 100% and test the levels until it comes up to where you want it and then start dialing down the percentage until it sustains the level you want with the run time and speed you want. Also, Pentair recommends a CYA level of up to 80 ppm.
 
Thanks so much for all the help, I think we've got a plan-of-action now :) We're going to get the water checked for CYA level and add CYA to get it up to at least 80 if it's not there now. We're also going to shock it with some bleach in case there's some algae growing that we can't see (plus we're having a pool party this weekend, so it'll probably need a good shock afterwards anyway). I'll also dial down the pump speed some more and increase the run time from 11 to 12 hours. We'll get some borate test strips and try out the Borax treatment after seeing where it ends up after the above actions. I appreciate all of you taking the time to post, it's very helpful! :-D
 
As a quick update, we were going to shock the pool over the weekend after our pool party, but by then the FC had slowly crept up to 3. That backs up the above comments that it takes an SWG a long time to raise FC, it's better at holding levels steady than short-term boosting. We added CYA to get the level from 60 to 80 and have dialed down the SWG from 80% to 70%. We haven't gotten the borate test strips yet, we'll do that next and add the borax. CC still holding at zero even after the big pool party and no sign of any problems with the water.
 
To directly answer your question I run my IC-40 at 20%, pump runs on high speed for 2 hours for cleaner and 7 hours on low speed split into two intervals. FC stays at about 4. Water is very clear.

As Strannik stated we use SWG to maintain levels and use bleach when we have pool parties or other unusual events. The fires in California have been one such instance. A lot of ash dropped into pool that required Dolphin to run more than normal as well as increase in Chlorine demand. I wonder that this smoke is doing to human lungs. Hopefully our firefighters get a break and get fires under control.

FYI. Lightning strikes have started over 1,000 fires in California. Firefighters or doing a GREAT job, they certainly deserve our thanks and best wishes. :party: :-D
 
I usually run on minimum as otherwise Cl runs too high. For a while I was having to toggle it on and off to keep FC in check. I now run it daytime instead of overnight so that the sun effects keep Cl levels more balanced. Runs from like 9 AM to midnight.

Intelliflo on about 1300 RPM = 33 GPM circulation for 15 hrs
15000 gallon pool (2 turnovers). Wattage about 200 watts (oversized cartridge filter/short lines, few elbows -- I designed that part and I'm cheap)

FC -- 3.5-4.5 (very low bather load)
pH -- try to hold to 7.8. Using at least 1/2 gallon HCl/week
TA 70-80
Borax -- up to about 40 (8 boxes or so) by strip eyeball interpolation.
Ca hardness 350 ish (got away from me over winter and I'm working it down)
CYA -- 70
 
We dropped the % to 60 and the FC got too low, so we bumped it to 75 and FC crept up a bit high, so now we're at 70. It's higher than I expected to run it, but we haven't messed with Borates yet. Everything is fine though, all the test results look great and we've never had a problem with the water since day 1, it remains crystal clear. The temps are insane here, we're hitting 100 to 105 every day with lows at night in the low 80's. Can't wait for August! :roll: Sure nice to have the pool, it makes the grueling summer much more bearable, almost pleasant even :-D
 

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