I FINALLY got my SWG installed and running

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timerguy

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Oct 26, 2013
1,141
Chapin, SC
rarenomad said:
The SI45s we have are rated to put 2 lbs /day an up toft 45k gallons. My pool is 24k and I believe timerguys is also but I don't want to put words in his mouth

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You know, I've not seen what the 2lbs /day means.
I FINALLY got mine installed and running. Shows my salinity level is 3500ppm after 16 bags. Everything working ok -- except for two minor leaks in a couple of my plumbing connections.
Initial numbers at start up:

FC-- 5.5
Cc--< .5
PH--7.8
TA--70
CH--90
CYA--60
Salinity--3400
Water temp--60
I'll run FC tests daily until I see how it's doing -- going to run it at 80% for 8hrs/day and adjust ss needed. We're going on vacation next Saturday week and I'd like to get it stabilized before we leave.
 
Looks like all went well. Im gonna crank mine up for the 1st time one day next week. Salt is going in tomorrow. Im a bit nervous about it, but I guess thats a good thing!
For some reason, even though I think technically chlorine is actually a gas, these SWG people state the chlorine output in pounds. I dont know how the unit of measure is accomplished, but Im sure there is a good explanation for it. I just dont know what it is!
 
Chlorine output is measured in lbs of chlorine gas equivalent produced in 24 hours with the percentage set to 100% and the pump running the whole time. PoolMath has a chlorine gas setting in the FC section that, with a little fiddling, can show you what that is equivalent to in other forms of chlorine you are more familiar with.
 
It usually takes a bit of fiddling with the run time and SWG setting to get it just right. Those are your two variables that control how much chlorine you generate.
 
Thanks Jason & Chief-- good luck divindave!
Next question-- does low pool water temps increase salinity levels. This morning on startup, the control box said mine was either 4200 or 4400 ppm depending on whether I'm seeing the average level the display shows constantly whenever it has power to it, or the instsnt salt reading which is shown when I go through all the displays. 16 40lb bags should have only raised my salt level 3157ppm. If the 400ppm leslies said I had was correct, thenwhat it read yesterday afternoon was right on, and there shouldn't be any way the reading could be snywhere near as high as what it's reading this morning. The box is showing a water temp of 60º now which is the same as it was yesterday afternoon.
Thanks again for you help!
So the math should look something like this running 8hrs/day at 80% ???? Pool math converts chlorine gas to ozs, do what do I put in to calculate it?
 
If anything cold temperatures will show lower salt levels than actual.

You will always start with a salt level above zero to begin with. If the pool has been using chlorine for a year or more, probably above 1000.

None of the possible salt tests are all that precise, the actual level will be at least +-400, and possibly more, and that is if the test isn't wildly wrong for some reason (common at pool stores). All that said, the SWG readout of the salt level is likely to be misleading if you haven't had the pump running for 24 hours after adding salt (and in some cases another 24 hours for the salt readout to average over).
 
Jason, if it's likely that my salt level was probably 1000 then I'm going to have to drain some water out of my pool to lower it. I hate having to do that!!! I should be getting my salt test kit soon. I'm just hoping it will continue to generate chlorine, but I'm afraid it will shut off. I actuslly put 14 bags in initially Tuesday and ran the pump for at least 32 hrs before installing and running the swcg for the first time yesterday. The salt appeared to have been completely dissolved within a few hours of pouring it in the pool.
 
No need to drain water. If your cell is working (producing) let it go. If you're not getting a water fault it will work. If it does read high salt, it will compensate. I'm pretty sure their the same as the compupool series in that aspect.
 
Exactly what I was planning on doing. And one more question-- Why are CYA requirements higher for salt water pools? I ask this because I had to drain and replace 43,000 gallons of water last year to get down to 50ppm, Now, I need to increase it? I understand that a lot of the FC used for sanitization is done by the Cell as water goes thru it and the Chlorine that makes it to the pool is lost mostly to the Sun. That was more a question than a statement? Please correct me if I'm wrong!
 
You have it right, most of your chlorine usage is due to sunlight.

We recommend CYA be between 70 and 80 when using a SWG. This is done partly to increase the cell life on the SWG and partly because the usual problems with higher CYA levels tend to show up far less often with a SWG.
 

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I wouldnt worry too much with the bit higher ppm, as long as the SWG is happy enough. At least thats what I have read in other posts here.

It probably wont be long anyhow, now that it's spring time, it will most likely rain (at least here it does). If it rains enough and the water level goes above the top of the skimmer like mine does, you will have send some to waste. Or - it will go out of a overflow and that would bring down the salt level just a bit I would think.
 
I backwashed about two inches just the other day, cleaning my filter at the same time. If my water level goes near or over the top of my skimmers I end up with pockets of water inside my vinyl liner, so I watch that very closely. Thanks Jason, I understand that a little better now, though the second part of your reply leads me to question why that is, seeing that High levels of CYA need much more chlorine to keep the bugs away. And I KNOW what not keeping the bugs away leads too I had too many algae blooms in the first year of owning a pool that had nothing but trichlor tabs and dichlor shock for so many years. That and that even a pretty blue sparkling pool water can be murky green in no time at all. Thanks to TFP, I haven't seen that in almost a year, and hope to never again. But having to add a bottle of bleach every day during the summer was $$$$$, Thus the conversion to a salt pool. If I had done any reading about the merits of a salt pool--mostly the ability to leave the house for a week or two without too much concern over what I was going to come back too.
 
After first full 8hr/80% day of generating Chlorine, My numbers are:

FC-- 7.5 So, I made 2ppm (wonder how much in lbs chlorine that is) today not counting any that was burnt up by the sun (probably not much)
Cc--< .5 How much less than is a question I'd like the answer to--I really think a lot less than a full drop would have turned the barely noticeable pink tinge clear.
PH--7.8
TA--70
CH--90
CYA--60
Salinity--4000 using my just received K-1766 Test kit-- Last I saw on the control module was Average 4200 Instant 4300
Water temp--60
 
2 ppm FC in 24,000 gallons is 6.4 oz of chlorine gas. PoolMath is your friend.

Your numbers are acceptable, some minor tweaking worth doing in the long run, but nothing time critical. Keep FC a little higher than normal for a few days and the CC will most likely go away.
 
Works for me!! Thanks Jason. I wasn't planning on touching it just yet, but I need to start fiddling with it in preparation for my vacation in a week-- just to be confident the water doesn't turn all green on me like it did last year. Wish I'd ordered the K-1766 test kit at the same time as I ordered the Si-45-- Could have saved some salt and worry about too much in the first pour.
 
This thread is making me more and more happy that I went the same route a as you timerguy. I'm in a holding pattern till my slamming is done. Though I might put in my salt tomorrow. I'm already getting the "look" from the wife on "is that going to stay in our garage all spring"?! Lol

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LOL mine was on the kitchen table for over a week! Finally got my salt poured in. I was lacking the guts to do the plumbing. I haven't ever done Pvc before and was scared that I would screw the measurements up and have to buy new couplers or a flow switch. Turns out one of my leaks wasfixedby putting another layer of pvc cement around it. No more drips there. The other one I still have to fix. It's where the black plastic nut connects the flow sensor to the pvc. Housing, I called dsp and suggested just tightening it up a bit. He said "noooooo-- unless you can turn it a full 360º which I doubt you can do. So just take it out completely and wrap some plumbers tape around it and reassemble it." Is Not much of a leak anyhow, do I'm not too concerned about it. I was really foncerned over the other one that I'd have to tear it all up snd start over. I read your thread as about your problem. Good luck we ith it!
 
Day two of full 8 hrs @80%
FC-- 8.0
CC--0
PH--7.8
TA--70
CH--90
CYA--60
Salinity--4000 using K-1766 Test kit-- Last I saw on the control module was Average 4600 Instant 4700 Discount Salt pool is calling me tomorrow to help with the difference
Water temp--60
 

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