I need help!

Jump to latest Follow Reply
M

Martinmartin

0
Apr 29, 2015
22
MD
First post, thanks in advance for the help - I need it.

This will be our 3rd summer with the pool. ~18k gallon in ground saltwater pool with Mineral Springs MS10 box (same as Hayward I think).

Long story short, I'm not sure the swg T cell 15 has worked from day 1. Maybe the first season (pool was open when we got house). Last year I got the "inspect cell" and "low minerals" error the whole season. I cleaned the cell (which wasn't remotely dirty), but it made no difference. I took the T cell to a pool store where they hooked it up to a machine and tested it and the machine said it was good. But I continued to get the errors. Added salt - nothing.

I had so many other projects to deal with in this old house that I just used chlorine tablets the entire season. This year I'd like to get it working right.

My 'pool guy' told me I needed a new T cell. So I got one and we hooked it up when opening the pool last week. Unfortunately the flow sensor broke over the winter so we couldn't test the new T cell. I ordered and installed a new flow sensor, fired everything up - same errors! Very frustrating.

Do I need a new control box? That's basically the only thing I haven't replaced. (New heat pump, T cell, flow sensor, filter cartridges). I realize the water may be too cold for the T cell, but why the same errors?

I will post the readings in the morning. 1 weird thing I noticed after turning it on is that the temp appears to be in Celsius all of a sudden. It's reading 17 - not sure what that could be and there's no number in the '59' range anymore. Also the salt reading is like -1.6. Isn't it supposed to be more like -3000?

Will take water sample to store soon to check for salt.

Appreciate any guidance. Thank you.
 
Welcome to TFP!

The most likely possibility is that the error light is correct and your salt level is way too low.

You currently have the unit set to metric, to turn it back to English units:
1. Slide the Main Switch to the "Auto" position.
2. Push the Diagnostic button repeatedly until "ºC" appears on the display.
3. Slide the Main Switch from "Auto" to "Super Chlorinate" and back to "Auto".
4. Push the Diagnostic button to exit.

Pool store testing of SWG cells is fairly reliable. If they say the cell is good, it is almost certainly good.
 
JasonLion said:
Welcome to TFP!

The most likely possibility is that the error light is correct and your salt level is way too low.

You currently have the unit set to metric, to turn it back to English units:
1. Slide the Main Switch to the "Auto" position.
2. Push the Diagnostic button repeatedly until "ºC" appears on the display.
3. Slide the Main Switch from "Auto" to "Super Chlorinate" and back to "Auto".
4. Push the Diagnostic button to exit.

Pool store testing of SWG cells is fairly reliable. If they say the cell is good, it is almost certainly good.
Click to expand...

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the reply. I'm actually not too far from your location.

These were my readouts this AM:
100P
-0.00 [what does this mean?]
AL-0
R1.50
T-15
2.10 [i think this is the salt in grams/liter? if so, i think this means ~2100ppm.]
14 [was still on metric at this point, 57.2 degrees F]
30.9 [22-25 volts means chlorine is generating, 30-35v means it's not generating chlorine]
0.00 [cell current]

I read the manual [which I was able to find linked to on the forum, thank you] - and it says that the box will flash "low minerals" if salt is less than 2400, so that would explain the low minerals. Still not sure about the "inspect cell" error - got this all of last year, replaced the cell and put in a brand new one, same error...

Hoping to make it to the store today to test the water. I don't have a Taylor kit yet, but according to my strips:
Hardness: looks ok
Total Chlorine: a little low
Free Chlorine: low (or non existent?)
PH: ok/slightly high - I have some muriatic acid to address. This is a recurring issue (high PH)
Alkalinity: slightly high?
Cyanuric: Ok

So I'm thinking I need to add some salt (135lbs according to manual) and maybe some stabilizer...??
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot 2015-04-30 10.09.15.jpg
    Screenshot 2015-04-30 10.09.15.jpg
    54.4 KB · Views: 114
"-0.00 [what does this mean?]" is the "instant" salt level. It is showing zero because the cell is not powered up. The 2.10 lower down is the 24 hour average salt level in metric, so 2100 in ppm.

The low salt/minerals light and the check cell light both come on for essentially the same reason, because not enough current is flowing between the cell plates. There are several things that can cause that, including: salt level actually low, calcium scaling on the cell plates, and cold water. I suspect you are seeing a combination of low salt level and cold water (which makes the salt level seem lower than it actually is).

I recommend adding enough salt to raise salt by 700-800 ppm, give it 24 hours to mix in, and then see what the SWG says.
 
Another note would be that the water temp should be around 60* or better for the SWG to function properly. Most SWG owners including myself do not turn on the SWG until the water temps are at least 60*. I recently converted to SWG and found this out as well. My manual does state 50*, but the SWG displayed "cold" under 56*. I have the Hayward T15.
 
Thanks again for the help. I'm making progress...but still not there.

I ordered a Taylor Test Kit 2006 a few weeks ago, but it's on backorder - hopefully will be here by next week.

I added 120lbs of Salt and the system is now reading ~3200-3300, which is good. No more error lights on the Mineral Springs (Aquarite?) box. Have it at ~80% and it says "Generating Sanitizer".

But my Chlorine (and Free Chlorine) are 0!.

Pool temp is up ~70, so that's not the problem. I used 6 chlorine tablets in the skimmers the first 1-2 weeks. I also used 2 pounds of Leslie's Shock (I think it was called Fresh N Clear).

Took my water in for a test and they told me that my Alkalinity was a little low (60), CYA was a little low (50), and calcium hardness was a little low (I think 100). [I have to double check these numbers later, but I don't have a lot of confidence in them - the employees there weren't very knowledgable or competent]. My test strips showed CYA was a little low and I thought maybe that was preventing the Chlorine from sticking around, so I added 1 gallon of Conditioner.

Will check later today to see if I have any chlorine. But am I missing something? Do I need to add shock weekly (as they told me at the store)?

Thanks again for the advice.
 
No you do not need to add shock at all. Just bleach to keep your FC up. You probably should not have added all that Stablizer at this point. 50 was probably good for now until you can test everything when your kit arrives. If you need to SLAM you will go through more bleach with a higher CYA level.
 
Backorder? That kit should be easily available from a number of sources. I would cancel, and order another one today if you won't have it in the next few days. Get one ASAP to get started on this.

I should have added. A properly maintained pool in terms of free chlorine never needs regular "shocking" as they say. That is a falicy.
 
Thanks guys - a lot of this is new to me - so much misinformation by the "pool guy" and the local stores. I'm just reading about SLAM for the first time.

I ordered the Taylor kit from Amazon - says backordered until the 13th (which was just recently moved up): http://www.amazon.com/TAYLOR-TECHNO...31354212&sr=8-1&keywords=taylor+pool+test+kit. Figured Amazon had the most reliable shipping, maybe the tf100 from tftestkits is better?

Will post back once I have better data.

In the meantime, should the TCell be producing Chlorine at this point or do I need to add bleach in order to get it off 0? It's the T Cell 15 for up to 45k gallon pools and I run it from ~9AM-5PM.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
The TF-100 is a better deal because you get more of the reagents you actually need. Plus the will ship same day ;)
And can get free shipping if you add on something like the SpeedStir or extra FAS-DPD reagent.

If you get the K-2006, and if you need to SLAM, you will be buying more FAS-DPD reagent, and likely CYA reagent ... and then your kit will have cost more than if you just got the TF-100 in the first place.

You should always use bleach if the FC is too low for your CYA. A SWG (if working) is better at maintaining FC than raising it.
 
jblizzle said:
The TF-100 is a better deal because you get more of the reagents you actually need. Plus the will ship same day ;)
And can get free shipping if you add on something like the SpeedStir or extra FAS-DPD reagent.

If you get the K-2006, and if you need to SLAM, you will be buying more FAS-DPD reagent, and likely CYA reagent ... and then your kit will have cost more than if you just got the TF-100 in the first place.

You should always use bleach if the FC is too low for your CYA. A SWG (if working) is better at maintaining FC than raising it.
Click to expand...

Ordered the TF-100, thanks for the recommendation.

Based on this:
1 gal of 6% bleach or liquid pool chlorine will raise 10000 gal 6 ppm FC

In order to Shock, I figure I need 2-3 gallons of Clorox depending on what my CYA was increased to (according to the SWG Chart here).

But - and maybe this is a stupid question - do I need to shock the pool (bring FC up in the 20s), or do I just need to add enough Clorox to get FC at the target level? The water looks great, clear, no algae, etc.

Thanks again.
 
Well, no bleach is 6% anymore, so that is not helpful ;)

Start using PoolMath to do the calculations for you.

We do not "shock" here, we follow the ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process. I would suggest doing so until you pass the 3 criteria to stop to ensure that there is nothing in the water. It could be clear, but still have issues due to the low FC levels. The process should go quickly since the water looks good ... better safe than sorry ;)
 
Ok, got the kit and tested tonight.

PH 7.6
FC 0
TA 80-90
CYA 70
CH 225

Now what I'm confused about is, should I add 1 jug of Clorox (which is what the Pool Calculator says to get FC from 0-4) or should I SLAM and bring FC up to 28, which would be 7 jugs of Clorox??

For what it's worth, water looks great.

Thanks!
 
jblizzle said:
I would go one step further and take the FC up to 15+ppm and Perform the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test.

That should say if you need to SLAM or not.
Click to expand...

Ok, added 4 jugs of 121oz 8.25% clorox last night, which should have brought FC up to ~16. Added around 9-930pm, had filter running from 9pm-130am.

Tested at 7am this morning (~6in below water level):
FC 3.5
CC .5
TC 4
CYA 70-90?? This one seems kind of subjective/dependent on one's vision. Do you measure until the dot is basically obscured or until it's 100% without a doubt completely impossible to see?

So I guess something is eating up the chlorine!

I think I need to SLAM...
 
Yep, start a new SLAM thread and we will help you through it. Read through the procedure, and get set up for it, and ask if you need help.

You'll need to get the Cya down to at least 40, and the pH down to 7.2-7.5.

The Cya test is a little tricky to new users at first, but you'll get comfortable with it.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply