Acid pump Woes

[Ticm]

I have Pentair acid pump connected to Intellichem. I have checked the electrical connections and the setup in program. All is correct. When it shows to be dosing the pump is not coming on and dosing which does not keep my PH within limits. I disconnected the discharge tubing where it connects to pool return line and nothing comes out when dosing. There is check valve to keep pool water from blasting out with this disconnected.
Tank is full of acid and level has not come done any since I filled it.
The connector you plug the power cord to pump is in all the way. You cannot get multimeter leads into the connector on the board with cord connection removed to check for power when dosing. Super small.
I do not know what voltage and type (AC or DC) is going to the pump.
I wanted to see if anyone else had had this issue and/or any ideas on what I can do to get that pump to come when dosing.

 

[ajw22]

@Dirk does your experience with the IntellipH have any relevance to these IntelliChem problems?

You would think Pentair did the same things between the two similar products.

 

[Dirk]

Might. @Ticm, are you using the Pentair acid tank? It'd look like this:

That is probably the same thing as the tank they sell with the IntellipH. That pump needs 24VDC. You could get creative and modify your voltage tester leads with something that will fit into the jack holes. Like tape some paper clips to them. Check the voltage.

But you can also hear the injector pump running. They're pretty noisy. Grr... grr... grr. Like that. Some of the newer models have a clear-ish housing over the injector pump, and you should be able to see it turning.

If the pump is not moving, and you are getting 24VDC, then I'd guess your pump is shot. If you're not getting any volts, then the problem is with the IntelliChem controller, and that would be outside of my experience.

If you got volts and no pump movements, I would disassemble the injector pump housing and remove the pump tube. Then get the injection cycle going and see if the pump turns on its own. Maybe tweak it around to see if it's just jammed. Those things get corroded in there and it might just be bound up.

If the pump is moving, then there are several things to check. Take off the injector pump housing and examine the pump tube. How does it look? It should be a golden color and still flexible. If it's brown, or flattened, it's dead. Those need to be replaced annually. You might also have a clogged supply line. The line that runs from the tank to the pump. Or a clogged filter. There is a small filter screen on the end of the supply tube inside the tank. You'd have to disassemble the top of the tank from the lower half to examine it.

Let us know what you find...