Constant adjustments or let it ride through?

red-beard

Gold Supporter
May 27, 2019
1,621
Houston, TX
Pool Size
25000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite Pro (T-15)
I'm still new to the SWG but it is obvious I need a setting of 22% on a bright sunny summer day. On cloudy days, it definitely doesn't need as much chlorine. We went from a lot of super sunny days to a lot of mostly cloudy days and I find that 10-15% is better on cloudy.

Are you changing the setting on the cloudy/sunny days, or do you just leave it alone and let the FC go up on the cloudy days?

At 20%, it definitely loses FC over 24 hours.
 
I absolutely let it ride. My FC will vary be several before I adjust the setting. There is just no need to hit a specific number. Keep it in range or on the higher side of a range (or little above like me often). Then you'll have no worries. There are no ill effects of having a little bit too high FC.
 
I always let it ride and a little high is nothing but insurance. I am moving and was busy packing things for a week and a half so I let it go. Then we got delayed for another week but only 1 day at a time so I let it go some more. This weekend I checked for the first time in 2.5 weeks and it was a 12. It was probably 14 a few days that were overcast. If anything it was piece of mind for me not to be worrying about it while I had bigger fish to fry.

Even if I was staying and I would see those hours of production taken off the lifespan, I wouldn’t care 5 seasons from now that I didn’t have to baby sit it to make it last 5.25 seasons. I’ll gladly trade the extra month or two for the 5 blissful years.
 
The FC is going to vary based sun, volume of water in the pool (evaporation and rain), organic load, and a bunch of other factors Unless there is some sort of major change (like you normally have your family of 4 swimming for 2 hours a day, and now you are planning a 20 person pool party on a sunny weekend) just let it ride.
 
James,

There are two kinds of SWCG owners... The let it ride group = :) and the micromanager group = ☹

I'm in the :) group, which group do you want to be in.. ??? :mrgreen:

I never worry about FC being too high.. I just make sure that it never comes close to going too low.

Thanks,

Jim R.
😊
 
I'm "splitting the difference". Monthly adjustments. Based on solar readings, if 22% is my "August" setting, the rest should follow based on the UV which I can estimate based on the solar kWh/day-meter-squared..

SWG settings.jpg

I'm an Engineer. Do you really think I can just "let it go"?
 

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I expect there is a "temperature" effect in the winter. Less chlorine off-gassing, Not to mention bather load is lower. OTOH, most of the time, I am the only one to get in.
 
Nice chart.. but you left off a column.. what is the FC on those months.. That is really what you are shooting for, right? In real life I turn the knob and measure the FC. Need more FC? Turn up the knob.. Need less FC? Turn down the knob. I found the system is so slow to respond, granular control is not really worth trying to chase. So I test once a week and adjust.

Sometimes overthinking the problem is just overthinking the problem.. my dad was a machinist by trade, an engineer by education and a pilot by profession.. we would work on a projects adnauseaum. I on the other hand was a physicist, and I could never explain to him the difference between accuracy and precision and significant figures... but he understood; "Dad, What, are you building a piano? You'll never see it from 50,000 ft." ;)
 
The FC is the gain per day. I keep the FC above 8. Test once a week and adjust? I'm trying to get it DOWN to only 12 adjustments a year...
 
The FC is the gain per day. I keep the FC above 8. Test once a week and adjust? I'm trying to get it DOWN to only 12 adjustments a year...
Good luck with that... the conditions are not stable enough for me to be able to do that. Between bather load, temperature swings, crab falling from the sky (right now its ash from the local fires)... etc. Just having a big party is enough to require a tweak to the knob. And even the demographic of who is in the pool will have an effect... Big Kids and adults, can hold there own and make it to the can... little kids not so much. That means more FC to battle that. I guess what I am saying there is only so much you can do proactively.. the rest is reactive adjustments to the "knob".
 
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