Freeze Protection & SWCG

[Kit]

I have programmed my EasyTouch4 control panel to run the pump for 4 hours/day for general filtration & chlorine generation. During that time, the SWCG produces chlorine for 10% of the runtime. However, now that the nighttime temperatures are falling below 35F, the freeze protection feature automatically switches the pump on. The question I have is: while the pump is running during the freeze protection circuit, is chlorine also being generated?

Thank you kindly.

 

[zea3]

Once water temps drop below 50-60 degrees the SWG will not be able to produce chlorine effectively, if at all. Since the need for chlorine also drops significantly at cold temperatures periodically checking FC levels and giving a little liquid chlorine boost if needed can keep algae at bay.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Kit,

I thought I knew the answer until I realized you just have a large Spa. Freeze protection is turned on when the Air Temperature drops below about 35 degrees. As zea3 says, your SWCG will continue to generate chorine until the Water temperature drops below about 52 degrees.

So, if you keep your Spa heated and covered, so that the water temperature never drops below 52 degrees, then I believe that your SWCG will continue to generate chlorine. If the water temperature is less than 52 degrees, it does not matter what freeze protection does, the SWCG will not generate chlorine.

That said, all the Pentair SWCGs that I have seen have a hard time working below about 60 degrees (Water Temperature) due to inaccurate low salt readings.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[Kit]

Jim & Zea3: Thanks for your thoughts. You are correct that freeze protection will be turned on when the air temp is 35F or below. Also, according to the manual, the SWCG will not produce chlorine at water temps below 52F.

I run the pump for filtration/chlorine generation daily from 2:00 - 6:00 P.M. During that time, the set temperature is 80F. (Since the spa is covered, this enables me to easily raise the temp to 95F is I want to jump in during the evening. Also, it ensures a water temp between 75F - 68F during the night when the air temp is in the 20sF & 30sF). So, as I suspected, the SWCG is indeed generating chlorine when freeze protection is on. My suspicion arose from a gradually rising FC level.

So since the runtime of the SWCG is now set at 10%, I might lower it or even turn it off to allow the FC level to drift back down.

Thank you for your responses. I really appreciate it!