Any harm going high on salt levels? - SOLVED!

Jump to latest Follow Reply
S

Striff23

0
Bronze Supporter
Aug 23, 2017
29
Morganville, NJ
Pool Size
22000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
It's been cold & rainy so just getting my pool going, and trying to get the salt level to where the SWG likes it (CircuPool RJ-60 PLUS).

My initial reading from the Taylor drop test was 3200, but the SWG was reading +/- 2400 and shutting down due to "low salt" after 15 minutes or so.

I added 2 bags and now read 3600 via Taylor kit, and SWG shows roughly 2800 and eventually shuts down.

I took the water to Leslie's for a test and they read salinity at 4100.

Instead of trying to figure out who's right, isn't the important thing that the SWG is happy? If I add 600 ppm, it should get me above 3000 on my CircuPool unit, and put me around 4000 or so on my Taylor kit, and I'll just pretend the pool store reading never happened?

Is there any harm to this approach? As of right now, I'm back to liquid chlorine until I get the unit running. Note that the unit is less than 1 year old and has little to no scaling on the plates, so I'm assuming it's the salt level and not the SWG.

Thanks in advance!
 
How old is the cell?
Do you leave it in place or remove and store indoors in winter?
Look thru the menu in the Circupool controller and be sure the RJ60+ cell is selected.
What is the reading when pressing instant salt and what is it in the menu itself?
 
Striff23 said:
Is there any harm to this approach? As of right now, I'm back to liquid chlorine until I get the unit running. Note that the unit is less than 1 year old and has little to no scaling on the plates, so I'm assuming it's the salt level and not the SWG.
Click to expand...
Did you buy it at DiscountSaltPools? If so, call them. In another post, a member had an issue (think unit was 2 yrs old) and they resolved it very quickly. Not sure what the issue was but they praised DSP for quick support.
 
I have no engineering knowledge about it...but ...
The generator determines salt by measuring the electrical conductance of the water. So there likely can be other reasons for why it is off besides direct salt level. Or, of course, the unit is defective. It is common to have the test and SWCG disagree, but not to the extent you are seeing.

It makes chlorine via electrolysis, so higher salt levels would likely increase the production. While generating, this would increase wear and tear, and to some amount shorten the cell life. Turning down the "strength" would reduce the on/off time the cell cycles through (it is an all or nothing deal, averaged over time). That may help mitigate some of the effects - but it is still working harder than it should during those "on" cycles.
Kind of akin to running a light bulb on a 240v circuit - it will shine really bright for a while. Of course, not anywhere near the extreme of that example!

Call the vendor. As noted, the other poster got a free replacement, despite being in to the prorated warranty period. Perhaps they are dealing with a defective batch...
and you don't have to deal with swimmers complaining about the water tasting "too salty".
 
proavia said:
How old is the cell?
Do you leave it in place or remove and store indoors in winter?
Look thru the menu in the Circupool controller and be sure the RJ60+ cell is selected.
What is the reading when pressing instant salt and what is it in the menu itself?not quite
Click to expand...
Not quite one year old
I left it. It was dry all winter.
Confirmed RJ60+ is on the display
When I press Salinity button it says “average 2300”
 
Thank you all for the quick replies. I had called CircuPool before I posted above and he suggested as the first step to confirm at Leslie’s just to get more info. I doubt he expected all 3 numbers to be so far off.
My Taylor liquid is fresh from the sale a few months ago and the label on the bottle confirms it. So I have to believe that is giving me the true salinity.
I’ll call back tomorrow and will try Discount Salt customer service to see what they suggest.
Thanks again!
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Lake Placid said:
How long has the pool been circulating since you started it up from its winter slumber with the erratic results?
Click to expand...
Anywhere from 4 to 8 hours per day, for almost a week.
Enough that the 2 bags of salt I poured in the shallow end registered two days later in the deep end water sample I took.
But you think it’s just maybe not enough turning over yet?
 
Mention to DSP, that while you are willing to get a test at LPS if necessary, you are a TFP member and that your test kit uses Taylor reagents (which are fresh).

Don't be surprised if they first want you to reduce phosphates before they will want to warranty the unit.
 
Striff23 said:
Anywhere from 4 to 8 hours per day, for almost a week.
Enough that the 2 bags of salt I poured in the shallow end registered two days later in the deep end water sample I took.
But you think it’s just maybe not enough turning over yet?
Click to expand...
It’s a super longshot, but I’d run your pump 24/7 for a day or so with the SwG off, and brush to stir the solution up. Test, then restart the SWG. I’m doubtful, but it’s worth a shot while you’re waiting for warranty response from DSP.
 
Thanks again for all the quick replies & suggestions. Turns out it was a very rookie mistake by me. I assumed after one season that the plates were clean. When I searched online for pics of deposits on plates, I saw tons of build-up and my cell looked nothing like that. Per suggestion from Discount Salt, I put the cell in the acid mix and it bubbled for 25 minutes. Rinsed and reinstalled and the SWG instantly read salinity of 3900!

Chlorine production currently in process!
 
  • Like
Reactions: HermanTX
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply