How many times “total” have you cleaned this cell in its life? Something was wrong if it needed cleaning at 45 days. I wonder if it’s just been acid washed too many times.
Get a SWCG, "it will be great" they said......
- Thread starter Oly
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This is season 2 for this unit and while it was cleaned 3 times last year, I never used acid only the plastic zip ties. This year I had trouble one day after the first manual only cleaning as the the low salt light was back on after powering up the unit for one cycle and no obvious plugging. I then used 1:10 MA in a spray to rinse the non plugged cell and this the first time for acid, powered up and worked fine for 40 days. This recent cleaning was #2 this year has been cleaned now 3 additional times with obvious plugging each time over the course of 3 days. The last 3 days I have used acid each time, 1:10 acetic, 1:10 MA and finally 1:4 MA per manual. I have not yet installed the cleaned cell.
Thanks for following along my conundrum.
arff
Active member
Interesting times we live in. The milk in my fridge has seen two prime ministers and two sovereigns. How often does that happen?
Why would a prime minister take a meeting with your milk?
A prime minister is a minister greater than 1 whose only factors are 1 and themself.
- Mar 5, 2020
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When you cleaned the cell with acid, did the scale create lots of fizz or did it slowly dissolve?
But the acid definitely removed the scale?
- Mar 5, 2020
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1) Because that's what they have in their tea. And Swiss milk is obviously the creme de la creme. Fresh from the Alpes - can't get better than that.
2) Can't beat that logic. That means there can't only be one to make a minister a prime minister. Kind of a Lowlander then.
Each time I have used the diluted acid on the cell plates I have first used the pressure hose and manually removed the scale prior to treating with acid. I did not observe the fizz reaction after that but it seemed to soften small areas I had missed manually that then were removed after a pressure rinse.. I did test some of the scale I had removed manually and dried with undiluted MA and it did react as expected. Now despite the acid there remain small thin areas of white scale on and inside the plastic cage that holds and indexes the metal plates. The area between the metal plates is always free of any blockage before reinstallation. Viewing the faces of the plates is impossible due to the tight spaces but I can see end to end between all the plates. Sure would be nice to be able to get the plate rack out of the housing for cleaning and inspection but alas not possible with this unit.
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I suspect that you have damaged plates and/or you are getting several types of scale.
Maybe calcium phosphate, but difficult to tell for sure.
Damaged plates and/or calcium phosphate can accelerate the accumulation of calcium carbonate scale.
You can try a different cell and/or maybe try a phosphate remover.
Did you have the phosphate level checked?
Maybe calcium phosphate, but difficult to tell for sure.
Damaged plates and/or calcium phosphate can accelerate the accumulation of calcium carbonate scale.
You can try a different cell and/or maybe try a phosphate remover.
Did you have the phosphate level checked?
Was there a reason you knew when to clean it the first year? Ours is over a year old (second swim season) and has never been cleaned or actually even looked at.
Rattus Suffocatus
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- Jun 5, 2019
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If his Circupool unit is anything like my different Universal, there is a cell maintenance timer that reminds you to clean it at least once every three months. I suspect the reason I have to do it so often now is my high CH... but even so, if I do a mechanical cleaning once a month I am good now. (The waterpik idea made it easier) I could go the three months or even more when the cell was new. I suspect I'll get one more year out of mine no matter what I do. I have had a warranty replacement display board for a week now, and it's gonna be Saturday before I get that in as it is.. so at some point if the cleaning cycles get to be weekly for me then I guess even if I can keep the cell working I'll replace it then... I can hardly keep up with the pool maintenance as it is anymore. Entropy is beating me in a big way lately.
But to scale up in one day? Insane!
I do suspect the acid based cleaning might eliminate nucleation sites on the plates so they should be done every three months regardless. I mix my acid at about 1/2 the strength recommended in the manual and it works fine at that rate.
As for it getting worse because the coating is failing... likely in my case. I didn't want to admit it, but of course Matt just blurted it out with his curdled Baileys....
But to scale up in one day? Insane!
I do suspect the acid based cleaning might eliminate nucleation sites on the plates so they should be done every three months regardless. I mix my acid at about 1/2 the strength recommended in the manual and it works fine at that rate.
As for it getting worse because the coating is failing... likely in my case. I didn't want to admit it, but of course Matt just blurted it out with his curdled Baileys....
Waiting on the K-1106 to test PO4 and it should be here in a few days. Right now I am actually finding comfort adding liquid chlorine each evening and confident my FC level is in the zone for the next 24 hours. I don't miss having to check my salt cells operation every hour only to eventually see the signs of an impending low salt shut down and cleaning. I realize if my PO4 is a possible issue I am obligated to mitigate before moving forward with CPool. I will get to the bottom of this SWCG glitch at some point but for now it's keep it simple water sanitation and summer swim time.
If you know your actual salt ppm (K-1766) and monitor your cells calculated salt ppm you will get a clue of scale fouling when observing a significant reduction of the calculated salt ppm over time. You can also monitor your cells performance by observing the voltage and amperage during operation. When voltage increased slightly and amperage declined significantly over time a low salt/maintenance shut down was eminent. Hopefully one is not on a multiday vacation when that occurs.
Rattus Suffocatus
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As sad as it sounds... at some point I think all of us have to do a water change. I am admitting defeat there soon.... Hopefully you will figure it out, otherwise, maybe just changing 1/2 the water out is in order anyway?Waiting on the K-1106 to test PO4 and it should be here in a few days. Right now I am actually finding comfort adding liquid chlorine each evening and confident my FC level is in the zone for the next 24 hours. I don't miss having to check my salt cells operation every hour only to eventually see the signs of an impending low salt shut down and cleaning. I realize if my PO4 is a possible issue I am obligated to mitigate before moving forward with CPool. I will get to the bottom of this SWCG glitch at some point but for now it's keep it simple water sanitation and summer swim time.
My wife: Let's get a pool! it'll be fun she said....
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That's the odd thing here: Did you see the water parameters in the first post? CH and CSI are pretty low, you wouldn't really expect Calcium Carbonate to be a problem.
Rattus Suffocatus
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Yeah.. honestly I'd be thrilled if my water ever was that good! Didn't say it though. I probably need some past date Bailey's myself....
One of the issues with a SWCG sanitation system when compared to using liquid chlorine is the required increased awareness and monitoring of your water chemistry. Calcium hardness, total alkalynity, chloride and pH levels are obvious players but specific levels of sodium chloride, calcium chloride, phosphate, sulfate, magnesium, TDS and help me out here with more...... can all be players in the chemical soup called pool water. Run this solution through electrolysis then expose to catalysts and hope for the best? This pool water solution changes over time too, with evaporation and source water usage, external contamination events and seasonal temperature swings altering the reaction. There is also the mechanical device itself, power supply and reliability to consider. Consistent with complex operations involving many factors, diagnosing a failure can be complicated and can lead to several wrong assumptions. Anybody subscribe to the KISS method?
Rattus Suffocatus
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Well.. again that is why I said that at some point, water exchange is necessary. I suppose you can test for more and more stuff but there has to be a point of diminishing returns. I guess I am happy I made it 2.5 years, and 2 years with a SWCG before contemplating a partial reset. I couldn't imagine what would have happened to me last year without it. I would have had lily pads growing in it...
A water exchange has crossed my mind and may wind up being the solution but it is too soon to pull that plug. My plan now, test PO4, reduce if high, install clean cell, if no change begin process with CPool and try swapping parts. The heat wave here is abating, cooler temps are in the forecast, days are shorter and water temps will be dropping soon.
Yes! This site has taught me that overthinking is an enemy of ease of maintenance. I like to understand where trouble might be coming but unless and until it does, KISS! Like the fifth element, FC, TA, CH, pH, TDS, I think that’s it. Not rocket science lol.
Sometimes it is rocket science.
It's all well and good as long as everything is working, but when you get an unusual issue, then it takes more than a "simple" understanding about what's happening.
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler". - Albert Einstein