Hi Folks! Had a great summer... enjoyed the pool a LOT and didn't have any trouble. Then at the end of Sept. and into the first part of October we were away from home a lot. Usually the SWG does fine and I have to do very little in the way of maintenance. So I was surprised to come home a week ago to a green pool.
The SWG was reading on the low side, but not low enough to put the low salt warning up. So I assumed it was just producing less chlorine due to low salt. Since it was after dark, I just left it until the morning. So the next day I added liquid chlorine to shock level, and discovered that the SWG was not producing. It was showing 2800 for the salt level so we added a bag of salt and I brushed the pool to mix everything in. I figured once things stabilized it would start working again. But now it's a week later, the pool is almost clear now from keeping at shock level and filtering 24/7, but the SWG is still not producing.
The LEDs and LCD all function. The power and timer functions properly to run the pump. We found a diagnostic manual online and my husband ran through all the steps.... resetting, checking the cell, testing voltage, re-seating the board. The inside looks great behind the panel. The cell looks great.
When the SWG is first switched on, the LEDs light up just like they normally do. First No Flow blinks for several minutes, then it goes off and the Power and Generating lights come on. But they only stay on for about 30 seconds, and you hear a click and they go dark. The LCD panel was showing everything normal, until my husband did all the diagnostic tests and now it shows 0 for the salt level (before that it was always showing 2800, which I learned from the manual is the default).
At random times I will check it and the power and generating lights will turn on without touching anything on the panel, but they always turn off again after less than 30 seconds or so.
After learning that 2800 was the default salt reading, I thought the salt might be out of whack. I have some salt strips but they are several years old, a year past the expiration, and very hard to read... so I don't really trust them. But I did two tests just now and got 5380 first time and 4850 the second (only one mark difference on the strip). I really don't believe that... I suspected the salt was low even before our trips and according to my neighbor it rained a LOT while we were gone, which would have diluted the salt. The only way the salt could be that high is if the SWG was never reading it correctly, because I always used it for my salt readings.
Here are all my numbers, tested just now:
FC 12.5
CC 0
pH 7.6
TA 70
Salt 4850/5380 (expired test strips)
Didn't test CYA because I topped it off not that long ago.
I guess the next thing is to get a better salt test. I will try to do that Monday. But if it is really just too high salt, shouldn't the SWG have the High Salt LED lit? And can the higher chlorine levels throw off the salt reading?
What else can I do to troubleshoot?
The SWG was reading on the low side, but not low enough to put the low salt warning up. So I assumed it was just producing less chlorine due to low salt. Since it was after dark, I just left it until the morning. So the next day I added liquid chlorine to shock level, and discovered that the SWG was not producing. It was showing 2800 for the salt level so we added a bag of salt and I brushed the pool to mix everything in. I figured once things stabilized it would start working again. But now it's a week later, the pool is almost clear now from keeping at shock level and filtering 24/7, but the SWG is still not producing.
The LEDs and LCD all function. The power and timer functions properly to run the pump. We found a diagnostic manual online and my husband ran through all the steps.... resetting, checking the cell, testing voltage, re-seating the board. The inside looks great behind the panel. The cell looks great.
When the SWG is first switched on, the LEDs light up just like they normally do. First No Flow blinks for several minutes, then it goes off and the Power and Generating lights come on. But they only stay on for about 30 seconds, and you hear a click and they go dark. The LCD panel was showing everything normal, until my husband did all the diagnostic tests and now it shows 0 for the salt level (before that it was always showing 2800, which I learned from the manual is the default).
At random times I will check it and the power and generating lights will turn on without touching anything on the panel, but they always turn off again after less than 30 seconds or so.
After learning that 2800 was the default salt reading, I thought the salt might be out of whack. I have some salt strips but they are several years old, a year past the expiration, and very hard to read... so I don't really trust them. But I did two tests just now and got 5380 first time and 4850 the second (only one mark difference on the strip). I really don't believe that... I suspected the salt was low even before our trips and according to my neighbor it rained a LOT while we were gone, which would have diluted the salt. The only way the salt could be that high is if the SWG was never reading it correctly, because I always used it for my salt readings.
Here are all my numbers, tested just now:
FC 12.5
CC 0
pH 7.6
TA 70
Salt 4850/5380 (expired test strips)
Didn't test CYA because I topped it off not that long ago.
I guess the next thing is to get a better salt test. I will try to do that Monday. But if it is really just too high salt, shouldn't the SWG have the High Salt LED lit? And can the higher chlorine levels throw off the salt reading?
What else can I do to troubleshoot?
