DIY SWG system?

[int0x2e]

Hi,
First off - I love TFP! This community is just incredible.

I am looking for someone to rain on my parade, and tell me why I'm crazy for even thinking of building my own SWG.

My current understanding of SWGs could be greatly oversimplified, but to the best of my understanding:
The core of the SWG is a set of alternating titanium plates where current passes between them to generate chlorine and hydrogen gas from the brine solution.
Most common config is a set of up to 7 parallel electrodes made of Titanium (for its corrosion resistance), coated with Iridium-Ruthenium for greater electrolysis efficiency.
A low voltage (~10v), high-ish current (10A-30A) power supply is used to send power between alternating plates.
The flow, temperature and salinity sensors are there mostly for safety and to prevent support calls from owners, and play no part in the actual operation of the cell as far as I understand it (I can still build these into my device, I just think there is no compensation/adjustments taking place.
I believe some controllers use PWM to control the rate of chlorine production, and good controllers reverse the polarity periodically to reduce calcium buildup and slow electrode degradation.

If this is close to accurate, it all sounds pretty easy to DIY - electrode assemblies for this use are available online for less than half the cost of a single salt cell, and the controller sounds like a glorified H-bridge driver (which can also support the polarity reversing feature and support precise control of the production rate). Finally, an isolated power supply based off a used computer server power supply is very cheap and easy to acquire...

Now, I know DIY can often be more trouble than they're worth, and it's often not cheaper than buying a well made device - but I do love the challenge and the idea of making this work myself...

I am hoping someone smarter and more experienced could help me understand what I'm missing and/or what I'm risking by trying to build this in our next pool.
I don't really mind this experiment failing and losing the cost of the prototype, but I am concerned about safety and/or possible damage to the pool surface.
Any work on a prototype would be within an empty pool, not indoors or anything, don't worry about these safety aspects.
I will of course be doing daily and weekly testing with the TF-Pro kit for all relevant metrics.

 

[Bperry]

Hi,
First off - I love TFP! This community is just incredible.

I am looking for someone to rain on my parade, and tell me why I'm crazy for even thinking of building my own SWG.

My current understanding of SWGs could be greatly oversimplified, but to the best of my understanding:
The core of the SWG is a set of alternating titanium plates where current passes between them to generate chlorine and hydrogen gas from the brine solution.
Most common config is a set of up to 7 parallel electrodes made of Titanium (for its corrosion resistance), coated with Iridium-Ruthenium for greater electrolysis efficiency.
A low voltage (~10v), high-ish current (10A-30A) power supply is used to send power between alternating plates.
The flow, temperature and salinity sensors are there mostly for safety and to prevent support calls from owners, and play no part in the actual operation of the cell as far as I understand it (I can still build these into my device, I just think there is no compensation/adjustments taking place.
I believe some controllers use PWM to control the rate of chlorine production, and good controllers reverse the polarity periodically to reduce calcium buildup and slow electrode degradation.

If this is close to accurate, it all sounds pretty easy to DIY - electrode assemblies for this use are available online for less than half the cost of a single salt cell, and the controller sounds like a glorified H-bridge driver (which can also support the polarity reversing feature and support precise control of the production rate). Finally, an isolated power supply based off a used computer server power supply is very cheap and easy to acquire...

Now, I know DIY can often be more trouble than they're worth, and it's often not cheaper than buying a well made device - but I do love the challenge and the idea of making this work myself...

I am hoping someone smarter and more experienced could help me understand what I'm missing and/or what I'm risking by trying to build this in our next pool.
I don't really mind this experiment failing and losing the cost of the prototype, but I am concerned about safety and/or possible damage to the pool surface.
Any work on a prototype would be within an empty pool, not indoors or anything, don't worry about these safety aspects.
I will of course be doing daily and weekly testing with the TF-Pro kit for all relevant metrics.

The flow sensor is critical. If no water is flowing when the cell starts producing chlorine, gas builds up and it explodes.

 

[int0x2e]

The flow sensor is critical. If no water is flowing when the cell starts producing chlorine, gas builds up and it explodes..

I couldn't agree more.
To clarify - I only meant that the sensors are there to prevent safety issues and to reduce support calls (e.g.: tell the pool owner that the salt level is too low/high or that it's too cold to operate).
I don't believe the sensors are used to change operation parameters or compensate in some way. That's all.

 

[Bperry]

I couldn't agree more.
To clarify - I only meant that the sensors are there to prevent safety issues and to reduce support calls (e.g.: tell the pool owner that the salt level is too low/high or that it's too cold to operate).
I don't believe the sensors are used to change operation parameters or compensate in some way. That's all.

I rhink the salinity meter also may alter how much power is given to the plates as well. Its not generally accurate at measuring salinity