New Pool- Almost no chlorine

[4estrx7]

Looking for some advise...

we installed a new pool this season. I am not sure our salt generator has ever worked?? My PH is 7.2 and CYA is 50 and FC is either 0, or around .5 if I add tabs or some dichlor.

I super chlorinated 3 times last week and Salt gen runs at 80% all the time. Has anyone heard of a salt gen failing in the first few months? it is a Pentair IC20.

FYI-
We have cleaned our filter catridges and water is clear but no chlorine. UGH!!

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

This is a pretty common problem here. It generally isn't the SWG.

First question: are there any warning lights on at the controller?
Second question: Can you see bubbling in the cell?

It's really common around here that the SWG is working, but it can't keep up with the demand, whether it's the solar degradation from insufficient stabilizer or the beginnings of an algae bloom.

A full set of test results would really really help with the diagnosis. What test kit you're using also tells us a lot.

Without the answers to those two questions and the test results, anything I suggest would be nothing more than a wild guess.

And until you get things sorted out, you need to get some chlorine in that pool. Bleach will raise the chlorine level immediately. You don't want to let it sit with no FC for long lest your next thread be one of the "Help! My pool is green" threads.

Try sticking a large plastic cup or pitcher upside down in the water in front of the return when the pump and SWG are running. Tilt it so it burps out the trapped water and fills straight from the return. Then check the FC level right away. If it shows higher FC than the pool water in general, the SWG is working.