Pool Pilot Output Settings

[Smurfe]

Hello, I have a Pool Pilot Digital with the 60 cell. I have it installed on an in ground, vinyl liner 32,000 gallon 40x20 pool. I live in South Louisiana. It has been hot here. Water temps are around 90F. I have been having a time keeping my chlorine levels up to where I want. I was running the unit at level 2 at 50% but my chlorine levels would drop to 1ppm or less.

Right now I have been running on Level 2 and am at about 85% output to keep my levels around 3-4ppm where I want it. Is it better to run Level 2 high or Level 3 low? I run the pump in 2 shifts for a total of around 16 hours a 24 hour period. I also notice that the unit will change to output levels automatically due to water temps which I knew but am surprised to see the cell off at times. For example. I had the output set at 50%. The temps rose and the unit bumped up to 73% automatically to make more chlorine but I noticed the panel said the cell was off. It did kick on a bit later. I also notice that if it bumps the output level up, it never reduces it down when the temps fall. It stays at the highest level it bumped up to.

Here is the latest chemistry taken last evening. Test kit is one of Ben's Kits.

FC = 2
CC = 0
TC = 2
pH = 7.5
Alk = 110
Cal = 110
Cya = 40
water temp = 88F
Salt level = 2900
Cell checked, no scaling noted

So basically my question is, should I bump up to level 3 at lower output, keep as is until I max on level 2 or what? I will add that I have a very heavy swim load right now. Probably at least 100 kids a day between swim lessons and free swim from 8:30am to 3:00pm Lots of sun block. water is cloudy every afternoon and I have been running the pump more to filter the water. I sure would like to keep my chlorine level between 3ppm to 5 pmm to cover the swim load.

 

[tenax]

you could go 3 and give it more range, but...how old is your pool pilot? i wouldn't think you should need to go that high for your pool size unless the cell was wearing out. that's my first thought..second, the cya level of 40 seems very low..the pool pilot recommendation is like 70 ppm so you're pretty low for cya using an swg is my guess and i suspect between that and 90 plus temps so lots of sun, you're burning off your chlorine output fast. you could bump your salt level a bit higher too. i'd shoot for 3300 range to help the pool pilot do it's job a bit better in that regard.

 

[bestlandlord]

Wouldn't that kind of use be considered commercial? Is there a limit to what the residential unit can do and that is why they sell commercial units?

 

[Smurfe]

The unit is only a couple months old. I will try bumping the CYA up. I might run the pump longer periods during heavy swim loads. I don't have all of those kids in at once. In regards to commercial, I figure a cell twice the size needed for my pool should carry it. I don't have this load year round, only for a couple months. I have a commercial size filter and pump on it. When I used chlorine pucks, a residential feeder kept the pool adequately chlorinated.

 

[tenax]

have you checked your cell voltage and current diagnostics to see if it's actually putting out what it should be? i get your point about twice the size. i have an 11,000 gallon pool so i use the 36 cell rated for 20,000 gallons. mine has had about 2 months use as i installed it very late last season and i've had it going for about 2 to 3 weeks this year. with my pool at 85, cell power of 1 at 50% doesn't quite cut it..i would have to run it at least 85%. based on poolsean from autopilot's recommend, i switch to power 2 and left it at 50% and as the pool warms and heats, the range is working well. matter of fact, i could probably tweak it down to 35 to 40% at power level 2 as my free chlorine is between 3 and 5, closer to 5 as i've checked the past few days..at cell power 1 and 50% for 3 days, it just kept dropping until it was about .5 finally before i switched the cell power and gave up on level 1. by the way, there is no difference to wear and tear on cell according to sean if you run at at say power level 2 and 80% and power level 3 and 50% ( i asked that question last week)..but, i would be concerned cause what happens when power lelve 3 is not good enough anymore and your cell is only a season old? that's why i think something is not correct. you're right..your cell size should have plenty of oomph for your pool..running your pump more than 10 hours a day should be plenty for most pools and adequate turnovers. ( i run 2 -5 hours even in hot weather and it's fine) so, next step is..is their a fault with the cell or your unit? sean is usually good at watching these threads, but he's on the road a lot. if you end up having to, post one here that says..POOLSEAN..I NEED AUTOPILOT HELP as the title and then paste the shortcut to this thread. that should get his attention

 

[tenax]

ps- have you read the threads here just below about cya and swg and swg not producing enough chlorine? some good thoughts on both.

 

[catnip]

The SC-60 cell is sold as having a 50,000 gallon capacity, and, as I recall Sean saying, this is based on 24 hour chlorine production, i.e. 24 hour pump run time. So, your results in a 32,000 gallon pool don't seem out of line. I agree that increasing the CYA level to 60-80 might make the chlorine production more efficient (this is still being debated and investigated on this forum and others) while providing greater protection from ultraviolet degradation of FC, but does mean that you will need to keep your FC in the +/- 5 range.

As a point of reference, I have an SC-60 in a 16,000 gallon pool and found that I needed to run at 50% on level 2 to maintain 5+ ppm FC with a CYA of 60 and similar temps to yours (low 90's).

 

[Smurfe]

Sorry haven't got back here sooner. I took a water sample to the pool store. My CYA is OK so it isn't that. Guess the I read the test wrong. All of my other results I tested were on line with what the pool store obtained. They said the CYA was 70. I bumped the settings up to Level 3 and will see how that does.