Think my Cell going out- newbie Qs

[Boomhaur]

Howdy all, I am a newbie pool owner with a 30,000 inground saltwater pool.

I feel like our salt cell is going out but I am not 100% sure. Chlorine is low to nonexistent except for super chlorination. The reading on the sensor for salt is in the 2800 range but when taking it to get tested it's routinely 3400 or so.

Do you have to supplement saltwater pools with bleach or should the salt cell provide enough chlorination by itself?

My amps and volts are in the 5-6 and 25 range

I were to replace the cell is it plug-and-play assuming the board is not zapped? Model is T cell 15 SWP. If needed can I just swap with another Hayward T cell 15 and be good to go?

Should I take the salt cell to Leslie's to be tested?

Cell life is undetermined but at least 3 to 5 years old.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

You certainly should be testing your FC levels and supplementing with bleach as required. Although if it is not keeping up, there could be problems either with your chemistry allowing algae to start, or your CYA being too low, or a problem with the cell itself.

Post up a full set of test results. {You have your own good test kit right?}
How long are you running the pump/SWG? What % output?
Have you taken the cell out and checked for scaling and cleaned if needed?

Leslie's can certainly test the cell to see if it is working.

BTW, it is not uncommon for the SWG to read a different salt level than you test. Mine says 3400ppm, while my independent test is usually 4000ppm. It is the SWG that matters, your salt level may just be slightly too low and thus the SWG not working as well as it should.

 

[Boomhaur]

Thanks! Pump going 9-10 hrs day. Just cleaned SWG this weekend, have no idea when it was last cleaned. Had hardly any buildup though surprisingly. Was wondering if that should be a sign. Bought house in last 2 mos. Water kind of cloudy when bought but now nice and clear. Have had to fight off some algae spots.

Will post up results when home. Ph seems like it's always running higher, typically around 7.6-8.

 

[jblizzle]

What % output on the SWG? You have a big pool for the SWG (we recommend sizing the cell 1.5-3 times the size of the pool). So I would imagine you will need significant run time and/or output to be adding adequate FC.

BUT, if the FC has dropped too low for your CYA level, then you may have low level algae consume all the FC faster than the SWG will generate it.

- - - Updated - - -

Your SWG outputs 1.4 pounds of chlorine in 24 hours running at 100%. For your size pool, that equates to 5.6ppm of FC if you have the output at 100% running for 24 hours.

Assuming you have the output at 100% and running for 10 hours, that is only 2.3ppm of FC added each day which is pretty normal for a clean pool. But if your pool is not clean, then the SWG is not going to keep up.

Again, this all also depends on your CYA level.

 

[Boomhaur]

It has been on 60% since we bought the house. Was thinking of bumping it up to 70% but also didn't know if that would push it too much.

I've had it on Super since late last night so I am curious where the FC will be when I test it at home.

 

[jblizzle]

Well at 60% then you are only adding 1.4ppm of FC per day ... it is normal to need 2-4ppm each day. So, I am not surprised that your FC is too low.

You should be using bleach to supplement the FC level as even on high, the SWG is too slow at adding FC to avoid problems once the FC gets too low.

I would think you may need to run at 100% and maybe even bump up the run time of the pump some. Although the demand should now start to drop as the weather cools.

 

[Boomhaur]

Is it ok to run it at 80%+ daily? Is it the more % output the shorter the useful life?

I really appreciate the help.

Thanks!

 

[jblizzle]

Well you have a choice ... extend the life of the SWG and have to add bleach everyday or turn up the SWG output.

It does not matter if you run the SWG 100% for 10 hours or at 50% for 20 hours ... the wear and tear is the same because the FC output is the same.

That SWG is on the small side for your pool, so you will have to run it more than I do on my 18k pool ... thus your cell will not likely last as long as my cell.

 

[Boomhaur]

Thanks again it sounds like maybe my cell isn't dead yet it just needs to be run at a higher percentage to give the pool the chlorine it needs.

And it is perfectly okay to supplement with liquid chlorine bleach?

 

[jblizzle]

Of course it is fine to use bleach.

 

[rycelover]

I would only note that make sure the liquid bleach you purchase has no additives - just pure bleach. I had a neighbor once not notice what he grabbed off the shelf at Target and poured 3 gallons of scented bleach that contained fabric softener; the label looked very similar to the non-scented bottle!

 

[Boomhaur]

Thanks for the help y'all.

I had another question. I cleaned my salt cell a couple weeks ago, but my system continues to read the salt level as 2700-2800 and when I take it to get tested it is 3000-3400. Right now system says 2700 and leslies says 3000.

Do I need to recalibrate my system or add salt? I don't like that the "check system" light is on my control. Feel like I need to fix something!

 

[ping]

I would run the salt level a bit higher and add enough for the SWG to read 3000. Having the salt level a little higher will not hurt and it will keep the SWG working without salt errors.

 

[Boomhaur]

Awesome thanks!