Dropping Salt Levels on Hayward SWG

Jump to latest Follow Reply
C

crosley

Well-known member
Mar 27, 2014
46
Arizona
So I recently converted my 20k gallon pool to a Hayward AQR 15 40k gallon salt cell system.

Everything seems to be working great, pumps out plenty of chlorine. In fact I had to dial it down a bit because it was making too much chlorine.

But the problem is, the salt level seems to drop faster than it should to the point the meter is saying insufficient salt. I'm trying to figure out of this is normal or if I have a leak, or possibly a problem with the salt cell itself.

When I took a water sample to a pool store, they said the level was around 3500ppm. My machine said 2500ppm. I have an inexpensive water TDS tester and after a little math, its pretty close to what my machine is saying. I've added about 4 bags so far. Some of this was I had to raise the level of the pool a few inches and my kids do splash out a bit of water playing.

But I've seen about a 500ppm drop in salt in 6 weeks. Normal?

Thanks for the help.
 
Please add a signature. Read Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post
Information in your signature will show up each time you post and it makes advice more accurate as we know what equipment we are dealing with.

To remove salt you must remove the water from the pool and replace it with fresh water. Are you? Do you have an auto fill? Are you using more water than normal? Evaporation does not count.

Get a salinity test kit. Taylor K1766
 
Crosley,

Monitoring salt levels in a Saltwater pool has a number of variables, so nothing will be perfect..

My cell's accuracy is +/- 500 ppm... And then there is the water temperature which also effects the salinity tests.

Rain or adding water can effect the level. The theory is that salt does not evaporate, but I know in my case, if I take a salt reading when the pool water is low and then add 2.5 to 3" of new water, my salt reading will be lower.

I have done several bucket tests and am sure I do not have a water leak. Just the wife and I, so there is little splash out going on.

Like Marty, I recommend the Taylor K-1766 salt test kit. It only works well, if you have a lot of patience or the Speed-Stir.. :p

I do not have the Hayward unit, but I was under the impression that you could calibrate your salt readings.. Have you already tried to do that???

My routine is to keep the cell "happy" as long as the actual salt level is below 4K.. If I can't do that, then for my Pentair cell, it is time to replace the flow switch which has the temperature compensating thermistor. Do you know where your cell measures the water temperature?

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jim R.

Thanks for that feedback.

I'm starting to lean towards the salt cell readout on the wall unit being incorrect.

I have some salt test strips and its saying the salt level is around 4000ppm. The pool store had a reading close to that as well.

It just doesn't seem logical that I would lose that much salt in just a few weeks. I haven't noticed anything on my water bill that would indicate a leak, but I probably need to do a bucket test as well.

I've heard these units "under count" salt towards the end of their life.

Do you think I should take it in? It's only a few weeks old and seems to do a good job producing chlorine.
 
What are the diagnostic readings?

The aquarite can't be recalibrated. The only thing that you can do is update the average salinity to match the instant salinity if the average is off for some reason.

The temperature sensor is embedded in the cell and is not replaceable.

Does the cell say T-15 on the label?
 
The only thing that you can do is update the average salinity to match the instant salinity if the average is off for some reason.
Click to expand...

James:

Can you please explain the difference? I tried to update the average and the figure kept going higher and higher, all the way to 3,500 and will vary between 3,400 and 3,500. My readings are about 3,200. Even when I use the strips vs. the Taylor K-1766, I could be off as much as 400-500 on each test, and almost 750 off on the computer reading. I try to keep my levels to be at around the 3,000 average between both tests. So far, the SWG is producing chlorine without any problems.
 
The Aquarite measures salinity as it's generating. Periodically, it will take the measured salinity and add it to a running average.

The default display is the average of several instant salinity readings (I don't know how many instant salinity readings are used to calculate the average salinity).

If you go to the instant salinity reading and move the switch from auto to superchlorinate and back to auto, the average salinity will be reset to the current instant salinity.

Recalibration would be if you could go to the instant salinity and change the reading.
 
Yes, the cell says T-15 on the label.

The current diagnostic reading are saying 2500ppm. Two salt strip readings are saying it is just under 4000ppm. The pool store said it was 3500 and that was before I added additional salt.
 
The aquarite can't be recalibrated. You can only reset the average salinity to match the instant salinity.

Check the cell for scale and clean if necessary.

Check the salinity of the water with the K-1766 salt test kit.

500 ppm in 6 weeks is plausible with a lot of splash out.

Do you have a sand or DE filter that you backwash?

How much water have you added in the last 6 weeks?

Do you have an autofill?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
crosley said:
Yes, the cell says T-15 on the label.

The current diagnostic reading are saying 2500ppm. Two salt strip readings are saying it is just under 4000ppm. The pool store said it was 3500 and that was before I added additional salt.
Click to expand...

You are probably high on salt and it is best to confirm using an independent test. Once the strips are finished, I will only work with the Taylor kit as the results are off. You may be high. Report back to see if draining may be necessary.
 
It's probably scale or the salinity is low.

If your CSI gets really high, the cell can scale in days.

Is this a new plaster pool?

What are your chemical readings and did your pH ever get super high?

Are you adding water to the pool?
 
Just an update, so I've had 4 tests that all seem to show the salt range is in the 4000ppm range.

2 were the strips, both gave identical readings of just under 4000ppm. I also got an electronic meter that supposedly calibrated for salt water pools, that's also reading around 4000ppm. It's also close to what the pool store is saying as well.

So I'm fairly confident the salt is on the high side.

The Hayward meter is saying like 2600ppm. It did however climb up after a few more days from where it was. I assumed after 24 hours it would be enough to read the current level but it went up further.

My strategy is going to let it be and just wait for the next cleaning to take a closer look and see if there is any heavy scale build up. As long as the unit is producing chlorine and the salt level is close, I think I'm good to just keep rolling with it. It seems like a pretty common occurence.

If it gets worse, I'll exercise the warranty.
 
If the cell is new, it's unlikely to be failing.

Did you check for scale?

If it's scaled, you should clean it.

If not, you should file a warranty claim.

I still recommend that you get a K-1766 test kit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply