Help! Our pool build was complete Feb 2020. Things have been going well with water chemistry until recently. We have been adding salt the past month or so as the cell keeps saying low salt, so we’ll add a bag or 2 to bring the numbers up and it will be fine for a week or 2, then it will show ‘low’ again. It’s usually after a big rain so we were thinking that’s the reason. Typically when I’m testing water, my K-1766 results are pretty close to what the cell reading is. I just tested it today and I got 8600ppm - twice! My cell is showing 3500ppm. We did add 2 bags of salt yesterday as again it was giving us a ‘low’ warning. I’ve never gotten a salt reading this high before and I’m not really sure what to do at this point??
Hayward T-15 cell showing 3500ppm; K-1766 test showing 8600ppm 😱
- Thread starter joynun
- Start date
Go to the diagnostic screen, note the readings and then press the + button to reverse the polarity.
When the new numbers appear, see what they are.
Then, press + again and note the new readings.
Check the cell for scale and clean if necessary.
Double check your procedure for the salt test.
When the new numbers appear, see what they are.
Then, press + again and note the new readings.
Check the cell for scale and clean if necessary.
Double check your procedure for the salt test.
Followed your directions and these were the results:
-26.24V -6.27A 3000PPM, then
+26.09V +6.54A 3200PPM, then
-26.09V -6.46A 3200PPM
We will go clean the cell now. It hasn’t been too long since we last cleaned it. But we’ll double check it.
I made sure I followed the directions on the salt test to a T. I’ve been doing it for months now with no big discrepancies, so I’m just so confused about today’s.
Thank you so much for your help!!
If the cell is clean, I suspect that the cell has failed or the salt test has a problem.
If the cell is clean, verify the salinity a different way with a different test kit or salt meter.
If the salinity is verified, file a warranty claim.
If the cell is clean, verify the salinity a different way with a different test kit or salt meter.
If the salinity is verified, file a warranty claim.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,483
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
How do you think you got 8,600 ppm of salt into your pool? That is hundreds of pounds of extra salt. 800 lbs of salt would have raised your water by 5000 ppm. Do you think you have added 20 40 lb bags of salt recently?
I suspect your salt test is wrong.
I suspect your salt test is wrong.
No, definitely not 20 bags!! Maybe 5 total over the past several weeks. I hadn’t thought of it that way. Would it be abnormal for my salt test to go bad? The bottles say good until 01/21. But it took me 43 drops to get it to turn salmon color both times!
Btw, the cell was very clean when we checked it. Going to have the pool store check the salt level now. We’ll see what their measurement is...
I used 10mL of pool water. Then it says multiply the number of drops of R-0718 by 200 to get your ppm.
I will double check. I swear, I read and re-read the directions to make sure I was doing it correctly. I remember doing 10mL both times... but I’ll check again!
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,483
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Make sure you used a 10ml sample and not a 25Ml sample.
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That's a common mistake with the salt test and the difference almost exactly matches.
8,600 divided by 2.5 = 3,440.
You guys...this is why you can’t trust a blonde to do your water testing!! I just re-tested and got 3400. As you all figured out, I must have had too much water the first 2 times 
I am so sorry to have wasted your time this afternoon!! But I am so grateful for this forum for always being so helpful and teaching me so much! Today I’ve learned to TRIPLE check myself before posting. Thank y’all so much!!!!
I am so sorry to have wasted your time this afternoon!! But I am so grateful for this forum for always being so helpful and teaching me so much! Today I’ve learned to TRIPLE check myself before posting. Thank y’all so much!!!!
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,483
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
People usually test FC and pH frequently and the full set of tests is done less often. The full set of tests includes TA and CH, which both use 25 ml. So, you’re in the momentum of using 25 ml when you do the salt test.
Just for future reference also- when adding bags of salt, turn the cell off entirely as a big bolus of salt going thru the device can mess up the poor thangs brain. Seriously. Wait until the next day, and after having brushed it to mix it in entirely, do you turn the device back on.
Maddie
Maddie