FC too high always generating!?

[Galaxie 500]

Newbie deluxe, pool opened one week ago, still working on chemicals and balance. Hayward Aquarite 900 shows 3500 on display, but my chlorine reading is 12 today and unit was set at 30%. Every time I look the generating light is on, even when i dial to 0? Has a turbocell 925. Pump on 24/7 at 1725 rpm.
i have CYA up to 50 today and a sock hanging with a bit more in it. PH is still high, added 2 cups acid this am.
I 'm a bit lost, right now i have the SWG off.
Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[BowserB]

Caution. I don't know Hayward, but Pentair warns to not use dry acid, saying the other components of that product will damage the cell, so be sure you use only muriatic acid.

 

[mknauss]

How are you testing? The pH test is not valid with a FC above 10 ppm.

The generating light is on all the time the flow switch is closed. Whether the SWCG is actually generating chlorine or not.

 

[cowboycasey]

When you are running your pump 24/7 your SWG can create chlorine that whole time, that is a great thing... I probably would not run your VS pump that high 24/7, maybe 1400 and a couple hours at 1700.. at 30% it is turning on and off during that 24 hours to create 30% of the overall chlorine it can at 100%... SWG's are dumb systems, they have no idea how much chlorine you need or how big your pool is... They just do what you tell them..

This time of year your chlorine need is going down, so you can run your SWG less and it will continue to go down until it hits 60 or so degrees and then your SWG will stop creating chlorine... What you have to figure out is what % to run the SWG at to create the chlorine you need... this time of year I would guess around 18% to 20% for your pool but it will continue to go down to maybe 15%.. More chlorine is better than less...

I keep my FC at 7 all the time, right now mine has spiked because I now have the cover on.. I try to change my % the SWG runs about 3 times a year, in the spring low, then raise it before summer hits, then again in summer, then drop it in the fall.

 

[Galaxie 500]

I have a Taylor k2006c kit I'm trying to learn the ropes on. My FC was 4 two days ago. We filled with our well, and on my free standing hot tub it always takes a good few days to get ph down and steady. CH was super low, its now 210. TA is 225, assuming I'm doing this stuff right.

 

[mknauss]

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[Newdude]

Belated Welcome Galaxy !!! If you’re going to screw up, THIS is the way to do it. FC is safe all the way up to and including slam level which is 40% of your CYA. Let’s say it’s 60 now because you added some at 50. That means you’re in the clear up to 24 FC. Think about all that wiggle room between your ‘high’ 12 FC and 24 FC. If you are approaching minimum however, there is ZERO wiggle room and the door is wide open for an algae bloom.

I personally do not like the term minimum as it kinda leads to the feelings that it’s an OK level. It is SO not an ok level while you learn how your pool behaves. Once you have a one-ness with your pool and you’re all zen like, then you are free to get as close as you wish, while keeping the proper eyes on it. For now, screw up on the plenty of wiggle room side.

Once you get it dialed in, you’ll be overproducing each time the UV demand wanes as the season winds down. For MO it should drop off a cliff soon. You’ll see a spike of FC being produces and remember that a 12(?) is fine as you dial it down to something closer to the current daily loss you are seeing.

This is a GREAT time to learn. In the spring you will be looking out for under producing as the days get longer and the UV ramps up with a higher sun angle. Your regular testing will see the daily FC decreasing slightly and you’ll bump it up to match your needs. Come peak season, everybody is using their most FC per day and then it decreases for the back half of the season, like now.

Keep us posted and ask away anytime !!

 

[Galaxie 500]

Really appreciate the detailed responses, so much reading for months but now I have to put it in practice. Hopefully this brief time till we close helps get me grounded for next year!

 

[Newdude]

Hopefully this brief time till we close helps get me grounded for next year!

Oh, it most certainly will. There is no learning like doing and it will all click 10X faster. When I got here it was for equipment failure and by the time I was sold on the chemistry end of it, it was time to close so I went a full year reading the theories but not practicing them. I kinda know from reading boatloads but still didn’t really grasp anything. The next season it all clicked in 2 weeks of doing it.

 

[TexEdmond]

CH was super low, its now 210. TA is 225, assuming I'm doing this stuff right.

I don't know about the salt cell itself, it sounds like you're suspicious that it's just running full-bore and ignoring the settings on the panel? Might be worth a look troubleshooting.

To the chems issue you're in a manageable situation, but it'd be a good idea to get your FC down below 10 so you can really test the pH. If your pool's alkalinity really is 225, you're going to run the risk of scaling up your SWG over time. Do you have the PoolMath app downloaded? The CSI calculator is your friend here. Calcium Harness isn't as big a deal for a fiberglass pool, but it does allow you to fine-tune the CSI after you get the big numbers like TA in check.

To get the FC under control, you might just consider turning the pump off for a day at a time and measuring your daily FC loss to sunlight. That's a good number to know when dialing in your pump runtime and SWG percentage (assuming your unit is functioning correctly). It'd also help us to know what the model number of your SWG is, that way we can look up the max chlorine it'll make in a day... that'd be useful for troubleshooting as well.

 

[Halzg]

I have the same system. Yes, the generating light is always on if the control unit has power and detects flow. That does not mean that electricity is being provided to the cell. The output % knob only adjusts the duty cycle. If it’s set to 50%, then electricity is provided to the cell for 50 out of every 100 minutes.
H

 

[mknauss]

then electricity is provided to the cell for 50 out of every 100 minutes.

Must be a new cycle time. Historically the cycle time for that SWCG is 180 minutes.

 

[Halzg]

Sorry I just meant that by way of example. I haven’t been able to find tech specs that show the actual cycle times

 

[mknauss]

I haven’t been able to find tech specs that show the actual cycle times

SWG Generation Cycle Times - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Galaxie 500]

I don't know about the salt cell itself, it sounds like you're suspicious that it's just running full-bore and ignoring the settings on the panel? Might be worth a look troubleshooting.

To the chems issue you're in a manageable situation, but it'd be a good idea to get your FC down below 10 so you can really test the pH. If your pool's alkalinity really is 225, you're going to run the risk of scaling up your SWG over time. Do you have the PoolMath app downloaded? The CSI calculator is your friend here. Calcium Harness isn't as big a deal for a fiberglass pool, but it does allow you to fine-tune the CSI after you get the big numbers like TA in check.

To get the FC under control, you might just consider turning the pump off for a day at a time and measuring your daily FC loss to sunlight. That's a good number to know when dialing in your pump runtime and SWG percentage (assuming your unit is functioning correctly). It'd also help us to know what the model number of your SWG is, that way we can look up the max chlorine it'll make in a day... that'd be useful for troubleshooting as well.

Yes have the Pool Math app and also learning it. Aquarite 900 controller wuth a turbocell 925 is the equipment. Thank you for the guidance, will begin tweaking pump run time and useage over the next couple days.

 

[TexEdmond]

Yes have the Pool Math app and also learning it. Aquarite 900 controller wuth a turbocell 925 is the equipment. Thank you for the guidance, will begin tweaking pump run time and useage over the next couple days.

Here's a link to the spreadsheet that shares some math with the app. I found this helpful when learning about how my SWG functions. I don't see your model number in the link there, but it looks like most 25k cells will produce between 0.9-1.2 lbs of chlorine per day, which at your volume is about 4ppm per day at 30%. But that doesn't account for sun loss or swimmer load.

SWG Run Time Calculator

What is the SWG Run Time Calculator? A tool that is designed to answer the common question of "how long should I run my pump/SWG". It calculates the run time of your SWG and Pump based on your pool size, the output of your SWG and your daily FC PPM loss. It is designed as a starting point...

www.troublefreepool.com

As comparison, I have about a 25k pool and a 60k cell. Oversize factor: 2.4 I find my FC stays pretty stable at 25-30% SWG setting. Pump runs 24/7, and CYA is 70.
Your pool is 9k with a 25k cell. Oversize factor: 2.8 - Pretty similar, but your CYA is a little lower. If you're running 24/7 at 30%, you might simply be a little too high and not burning off enough daily to compensate. It's still safe to swim as long as you're below SLAM level for your CYA.

 

[Galaxie 500]

Just to add some follow up because the feedback received certainly got me in a better direction and I always like reading a bit of closure.
Mostly just the obvious but have added acid and gotten PH to 7.6 and FC to 7.0 today. CYA is 70, TA still high at 175, CH is now 260.
Running pump 24/7 still with SWG set just under 10. Want to tackle programming the pump next and keep tweaking the SWG.

 

[TexEdmond]

Awesome! Great job. Prepare to be very bored once you really get it dialed in.

Slow and steady wins the race on TA... I've shoved on mine for months now. I think I'm on jug 19 of muriatic acid and I'll probably need another dose today.