SWG first time maintenance / afraid to raise CYA

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T

tcasto

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LifeTime Supporter
Jun 25, 2013
96
Bucks County PA
Forgive my ignorance on here - and thank you for your help and patience- We had the pool installed October 2012 and we are really just learning how to care for it now as we go along. So I will understand those of you who slap your foreheads when I ask:
1. - how do I know if I need to clean the cell in a SWG (we haven't cleaned it yet )
2. - how do I get to it?

I am asking this because last year we ran our SWG at 10 percent and sometimes that was creating too high of a FC level. This year I moved it up to 50% and I am still dropping a gallon of bleach in every 4 days just to keep the FC at 3.

I know the drop in FC could be because of something growing in there even though the pool is clear.
I also know that it could be just going because of the sun and low CYA
But I also recently learned that my SWG cell is supposed to be soaked in acid every 3 months or so.
(You can shake head in disgust now):p

My salt numbers on Sunday were 2700 and I added 70 pounds of salt to make sure the SWG had what it needs.

My pool numbers tonight without adding any bleach since Saturday night:

FC 3 CC .5 or less PH 7.6- 7.8 TA 90 CYA 40 (repeated the test several times) CH 80 Salt 3400 (SWG says it is now too high - but I hear rain is on the way tomorrow and the pool could use a little water)
Memorial Day weekend the CYA was 60 - but we had a number of heavy rains and I drained a few inches a couple of times. Is it possible to drop like that?

I plan to add stabilizer to raise CYA but I am afraid because of the horror stories I have read on here about people with really high CYA who have to drain their pools. Pool Math says that I should add 92 oz of stabilizer to bring CYA up to 70. I am a little nervous to do that much - especially because I overdid the salt when I followed the rec of Pool Math

I am considering following the directions for adding borates to help stabilize the numbers once I get this all balanced

What do you think?
 
tcasto said:
I am asking this because last year we ran our SWG at 10 percent and sometimes that was creating too high of a FC level. This year I moved it up to 50% and I am still dropping a gallon of bleach in every 4 days just to keep the FC at 3.
Click to expand...
How are you setting the IntelliChlor to 10% or 50%?
Do you have automation?
What is your pump run time?
 
Get your CYA up to 70 and give us some detail on Pump Run Time. I assume that you are using the Less/More buttons on the Intellichlor to select your percentage. For example, if you are running your pump for 10 hours, with the Intellichlor set at 10%, you are generating chlorine for 1 hour. An FC of 3 will be great if you get the CYA up to the recommended (Pool Math) range. As said above, approach the CYA number in small steps so as not to overshoot.
 
elwood58 said:
Get your CYA up to 70 and give us some detail on Pump Run Time. I assume that you are using the Less/More buttons on the Intellichlor to select your percentage. For example, if you are running your pump for 10 hours, with the Intellichlor set at 10%, you are generating chlorine for 1 hour. An FC of 3 will be great if you get the CYA up to the recommended (Pool Math) range. As said above, approach the CYA number in small steps so as not to overshoot.
Click to expand...

Hi again and thanks to everyone for your help!

I am using the control panel to adjust the SWG


https://www.flickr.com/photos/12323147@N06/14264840617/in/photostream/


Pump run time is 7 hrs per day. The schedule was set up by the pool guy when we first got the pool and I have not played with it since. I was/am afraid to mess with it. I changed the SWG percentage back to 20% last night.
The kids and hubby swam in it til 9:30pm and the pump does not run over night.

Numbers as of 8am this morning: FC 2.5 CC.5 (barely) PH 7.8 CYA 50 (I think last nights test was wonky)

I am not sure if I have something that needs a slam in the pool - overnight after kids swam it dropped .5 Do I need to slam.
And the CYA level is still low at 50 but I am going to heed your advice and proceed conservatively with stabilizer.
 
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Almost certainly not keeping up because you have the CYA level too low and because you have the percentage setting too low. While there is a remote chance the cell needs to be cleaned, nothing you have said in any way suggests that.
 
zimm said:
intellichlor cleaning instructions

You can make your own end cap with a PVC threaded cap instead of their "kit"
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link - I will explore the website since we cannot find the manual that came with the unit. I may just ask Mr. Pool Guy for a lesson in how to clean the cell - in the past they would just send the guy over while I was not home and leave me a hefty bill. I would rather learn and save the money going forward but I guess that's why he comes when I am not home.:)
 

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JasonLion said:
Almost certainly not keeping up because you have the CYA level too low and because you have the percentage setting too low. While there is a remote chance the cell needs to be cleaned, nothing you have said in any way suggests that.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I was hoping that was the issue. I still have to become familiar with the SWG and be able to clean the cell. I am guessing that it is overdue simply because we have never done anything with it since the pool was built in Oct 2012.

In the meantime, based on Pool Math and the test results I have to add 59 oz of stabilizer. I am thinking I will add half that amount and test again Friday morning. I also would like to lower the TA - Pool Math says I should add 50 oz of muriatic acid. That will lower my PH too - which will end up being good since it drifts up with a SWG. I am going to add a little bleach to keep the FC up while I wait for the CYA to bump up a bit.
Does this sound ok?
 
Most people never need to clean the SWG cell. You should only clean the cell if you have white chalky deposits on the cell plates. With CH at 80 the chances of that happening are very near zero.

If adding granular CYA, give it a full week to dissolve before retesting.

I wouldn't worry too much about your TA level. Just lower the PH to around 7.2 each time it gets to 7.8 until the TA comes down into range.

Addling a little bleach sounds good. I would also raise the percentage setting a bit.
 
JasonLion said:
Most people never need to clean the SWG cell. You should only clean the cell if you have white chalky deposits on the cell plates. With CH at 80 the chances of that happening are very near zero.

If adding granular CYA, give it a full week to dissolve before retesting.

I wouldn't worry too much about your TA level. Just lower the PH to around 7.2 each time it gets to 7.8 until the TA comes down into range.

Addling a little bleach sounds good. I would also raise the percentage setting a bit.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much! You guys are the best! And my kids will be thrilled that they can jump in the pool today after school before the rain comes in. Thanks again
 
DITTO raising the percentage. For example, with the high temps and sun I'm experiencing right now, I'm running my SWCG 12 hours at 80% and just keeping up! Not saying that's what you need by any means. The idea is to play with the settings to keep up your target FC level and NOT having to use bleach except to catch up to the target level (such as you need to do now). Or if you should have an algae bloom which shouldn't happen if you're keeping your FC at an adequate level and CYA where it needs to be.
 
We still have the hottest months in front of us! This is my first year with a salt pool so, I'm sure I'll have to adjust my settings in the not too distant future. I got my FC up for a 2 week vacation and it has pretty much held at what I had before I left. I'm experiencing some high evaporation rates lately and need to top off my water level at least weekly.
 
timerguy said:
DITTO raising the percentage. For example, with the high temps and sun I'm experiencing right now, I'm running my SWCG 12 hours at 80% and just keeping up! Not saying that's what you need by any means. The idea is to play with the settings to keep up your target FC level and NOT having to use bleach except to catch up to the target level (such as you need to do now). Or if you should have an algae bloom which shouldn't happen if you're keeping your FC at an adequate level and CYA where it needs to be.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much! This is good information.... I was under the assumption that the higher the percentage level, the shorter the SWG cell life. That's why I was reluctant to raise it too much. Also last year I kept it at 20 percent the whole season - but my CYA was higher last year. We had a lot of rain/snow over the winter/spring and I had to drain several inches a few times to make sure the skimmer works efficiently. So I am off to the pool store to get some stabilizer and muriatic acid.
Thanks for your help
 
timerguy said:
We still have the hottest months in front of us! This is my first year with a salt pool so, I'm sure I'll have to adjust my settings in the not too distant future. I got my FC up for a 2 week vacation and it has pretty much held at what I had before I left. I'm experiencing some high evaporation rates lately and need to top off my water level at least weekly.
Click to expand...

Wow! You have a more of a concern with the sun/heat than I do here in eastern PA! Congrats on getting your pool balanced! It's nice when you get things on autopilot. As far as evaporation goes - I was not firing on all pistons when I drained 3 inches out of the pool last Friday. I wish I had just let it be.... if it doesn't rain enough tonight I may have to add some! Thanks for your input - enjoy your week :)
 

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