How much Chlorine do I need per day.

[DoDo1975]

Trying to fire up my SWG, but unsure how long I should run my pump per day, and how long I should generate chlorine.

Is there any rules of thumb for how much I need to generate daily under normal conditions.

I have a 15000 gallon pool, and an Intellichlor IC20. It can generate 0.7 lbs per day running 24 hours.I don't know to start how much I should be trying to generate per day?

 

[aussieta]

run at 50% for 24 hours
or 100% for 12 hours
will be 2.8ppm fc per day

 

[DoDo1975]

For some reason I keep having almost no chlorine in the pool. I have added granules several times over the last 2 weeks, but my Intellichlor does not seem to be producing enough. Is there some way to test whether it is actually producing?

I have taken my water to pool store for testing and all other readings are good. Salt is 3250, stabalizer and ph right in middle of target. Intellichlor has no alarms and is running 16 hours a day at 80%. IC20 on a 15000 gallon pool.

 

[mguzzy]

Use the PoolMath app and use the effects of adding for your model SWG. That will tell you how much you can produce for a given runtime. Do you know how much your FC drops over the course of a day? You will need to create enough chlorine to make up for the loss. There are only two parameters you can control the amount of time the SWG produces and the output. Hopefully the daily loss is not more than your SWG can put out.

I see you have a IC20 and a 15K Gallon pool. We recommend that you get an SWG that is twice the rated size of your pool.. so an IC40 would have been a better option. that way you are not having to run you pump 24/7 just to make enough chlorine and you have some elbow room to turn it up and down.

 

[DoDo1975]

Yes, I tried to buy an IC40 however they were on backorder. Reading my printout from pool store I have 0.56 ppm FC, 0.81 ppm TC and 0.25 ppm combined chlorine.

We had a windstorm a bunch of little yellow things from my maple tree blew into the pool. Could this be killing my chlorine levels?

I did try to calculate the chlorine my swg would produce and it should be producing between 2-2.5 ppm per day. This should be more than my expected demand as we aren't using the pool much yet and its not that warm out (60 degrees or so). That said, its a new pool and I do not know it's typical demand yet.

 

[mgtfp]

With your current settings (IC20, 80%, 16h, 15k gal) the SWG is producing 3ppm of FC. That should be enough, something's not right.

Have you verified that the water is warm enough do that the SWG is working normally, no low temperature shutdown or output reduction?

It sounds like you might have algae consuming your chlorine.

I'd suggest turn off the SWG for now and use liquid chlorine until everything bis settled.

Start with an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. That will tell you if you have to follow the SLAM Process.

Do you have a good test kit? I wouldn't trust pool store testing too much. See Test Kits Compared. You can't really SLAM without one.

To calculate your chlorine output, you can use PoolMath.

 

[mguzzy]

Test your FC in the morning and then again in the evening with the swg off. The difference will be how much FC you go through over the course of the day. An Overnight Chlorine Loss Test on the other hand is the same test done after the sun is no longer shining on the pool and before the sun hits the pool in the morning. That will tell you if you have any FC being used by processes other than the sun. Most of the time that leaves algae as the culprit. My guess is you have a low grade algae bloom that your SWG is keeping at bay but its using up your FC as soon as its made.

 

[Oly]

Dodo, you will need the ability to test your pool water at home and as needed with a proper test kit. Test Kits Compared As Mark said you may have a low level algae bloom and you will need to diagnose that yourself, at home. Once your water is clean and you can raise and hold your FC the SWG system will work better, more efficiently when your CYA levels are >60ppm and you will need to be able to test that reliably.
A good test kit also allows you to monitor your FC levels throughout the season and adjust your FC output as needed or in times of high demand bump up with liquid chlorine for fast sanitation.

 

[DoDo1975]

I have a test kit on route. I ordered 3 weeks ago but I am in Canada and have to wait for it to cross the border. I got the T-100. My water is crystal clear. Can algae be clear?

 

[Oly]

You may not have algae but the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test will confirm this and is an inexpensive and quick diagnostic tool you can perform yourself at home as needed. A good test kit will also be able to determine your daily FC loss down to 0.5 ppm or even 0.2 ppm FC if needed. Next finding your ideal CYA level to minimize your FC loss from the sun will allow you to fine tune your system and get the most from your SWG system.

 

[DoDo1975]

I am looking back over my chemical report from the pool store after reading some basic pool school docs. My Stabilizer is only 37 ppm (which is within target range on the sheet). I assume this could be a problem.

 

[mguzzy]

DoDeeOhDo..... I just had to say that... sorry
So the problem is trying to apply pool store recommendations. I under stand you are still waiting for your TestKit.. so we are going to have to work with what we got. The recommendations on the pool store test results are based on an old pool industry standards from like the 80's so don't follow them. Follow ours. Your FC should be based on your CYA rating by this FC/CYA Levels for a CYA of 40 (I am rounding up) you should maintain a FC of 5-7, but that is for a non SWG pool. For a SWG chlorinated pool your CYA should be closer to 70-80 because of the way SWG operate.

Most pool stores don't know about this CYA/FC relationship.

 

[DoDo1975]

I suspect you can understand my confusion.

Intellichlor used to have 60-80 ppm in their manual, but recently has been reduced to 30-50. I am going to cross fingers test kits comes soon.

 

[mguzzy]

Right..So the fine folks here keep us up to date with all the latest info. So follow our charts and we can even walk you through the exceptions to the rule. Until you get your own testkit you will just have to trust their results. Any idea when you will be getting it? Or is it "it gets there when it gets there" kind of thing!

 

[Newdude]

The recommendations on the pool store test results are based on an old pool industry standards from like the 80's so don't follow them

Guzzy following the pool store in the 80s


Guzzy now with TFP



Be like Guzzy

 

[DoDo1975]

3 weeks to a month before it jumps the border. Pool opened first time last year in mid September. Never had high chlorine before closing, but didn't turn on the SWG last year.

Maybe I should shock it, but don't have ability to slam recommended way till I have test kit. Should I just do a shock and see what happens? Pool has never been shocked before.

 

[mguzzy]

Yer gonna need to put chlorine your your pool until you get the SWG going. Do you have access to liquid chlorine? that is the stuff to use anyway...

And don't mind the 'Dude.. he is easily excitable.

 

[DoDo1975]

I have the SWG going now. I do not have liquid chlorine, only granules. I am sure I can find liquid somewhere.

 

[mguzzy]

What kind of granules.. can you send a pic so we can see the name and ingredients? If its stabilized chlorine we may be able to use it since your CYA should go up as well for a SWG.

 

[mgtfp]

On the other hand: If a SLAM really is required, we don't want CYA too much higher for now. And how much those 37ppm can be trusted, is another question.