IC-40 inspect cell blinking

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Torrente

Torrente

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May 17, 2018
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Panama City, Panama
Hello, I have a Pentair IC-40 installed 3.5 years ago, my calculation is that I have used about 7,000 hours of its 10,000 (1270 days of use, 45% SWG output average, 12 pump hours per day).
The unit is producing chlorine as I can see in the tests plus the bubbles appearing in the returns.
I have cleaned the unit with muriatic acid, and as expected from the water here that is very soft there was not any build-up or any kind of reaction to the muriatic acid cleaning.

For some reason the feature to check the SCG Usage Hours Meter of the cell does not work pressing "More", apart of that sometimes the cell is giving 0ppm salt. I noticed this 2 years ago and apart of those issues the cell seems to work well

Any idea?
Thank you!

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Cell: Shows the status of the IntelliChlor SCG.

• Green (flashing): The IntelliChlor SCG needs to be inspected. The blades may have calcium buildup. The IntelliChlor SCG is not producing chlorine.

• Green: IntelliChlor SCG is good and producing chlorine

No Light: IntelliChlor SCG is off and not producing chlorine. It may be in an off-period of the sanitizing cycle and will return on shortly.
Click to expand...

A flashing Cell light means that no chlorine is being produced.

What is the water temperature?
 
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Flying Tivo said:
The led lights can stop working. Do you get any alarms on your Pentair app? The 0 ppm reading could be the thermistor going bad.

Pentair Intellichlor ICXX SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
Click to expand...
I asume LEDs are not the issue as they correctly reflect % chlorine output, Easytouch reports "No errors"
Regarding the ppm meter I am not worried, when it works it reports a much higher level than Taylor K-2006C and I am not using it.

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When the thermistor sensor starts failing it usually reads lower salt PPMs. As per the leds they seam to be working fine and your cell is producing CL fine. The 0 ppm reading in the ET could be a com's problem.
 
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Torrente said:
In rainy season (with a lot of rain here) I usually keep K-1766 measure between 2800 to 3700, with those measures usually IC-40 reports 1,000ppm higher than K-1766
Click to expand...

The thermistor is probably bad. You can replace it with a new flow switch or a separate sensor.

Replacing Bad Temperature Sensor in the Flow Switch with a Separate Sensor

Pentair has the temperature sensor integrated with the Flow Switch. If the temperature sensor fails Pentair expects the entire Flow Switch assembly to be replaced. The temperature sensor in the Flow Switch is a standard 10K thermistor temperature sensor which can be used in place of the one in the flow switch.

Install the thermistor in the plumbing near the cell using a water temperature probe, like the one that comes with an EasyTouch. Drill a hole in the pipe, stick in the probe, and use a hose clamp to hold it in place.

Then cut the green and white wires in the flow switch. Attach the two wires from the thermistor to the green and white wires going into the cell using Scotchlok UR2 connectors so you don't have to strip the wires. Just crush the button and the wires are connected. The two green and white wires coming from the switch will be left disconnected.

Now the cell sees the water temp from the new probe and not the thermistor in the flow switch.

Pentair Intellichlor ICXX SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
Click to expand...

Torrente said:
The light is flashing, at that time the K-1766 was at 2900ppm and IC-40 at 0ppm (I added 100pounds of salt after)
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Did adding 100 lbs of salt correct the flashing Cell light or is the light still flashing?

What is the new salinity?

The cell is probably dying. You can probably get some more life from the cell by keeping the actual salinity at 3,700 ppm to 4,500 ppm.
 
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JamesW said:
The thermistor is probably bad. You can replace it with a new flow switch or a separate sensor.
Click to expand...
I am going to leave it like it is if the cell works, I really don't need that measure and water temperature here is not a problem.

JamesW said:
Did adding 100 lbs of salt correct the flashing Cell light or is the light still flashing?
What is the new salinity?
Click to expand...
No, it is still measuring 0ppm and light is flashing. I have not measured the salinity since then, I usually only do a full test every one or two weeks (the gardener does basic OTO chlorine and pH test 3 times per week and tells me if something is wrong)

JamesW said:
The cell is probably dying. You can probably get some more life from the cell by keeping the actual salinity at 3,700 ppm to 4,500 ppm.
Click to expand...
I will keep monitoring the cell, in fact I already have a new one ready as I saw one at good price and purchased it some months ago.
 
Torrente said:
I am going to leave it like it is if the cell works, I really don't need that measure and water temperature here is not a problem.
Click to expand...
The thermistor can cause issues because it affects the salinity calculation and the expected amperage of the cell.

I would cut the green and white wires going to the flow switch to see if that helps.

I would increase the actual salinity to about 3,800 ppm to see if that helps.
 
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JamesW said:
Cut the green and white wires going to the flow switch to see if that helps.
Click to expand...
I asume the unit is producing chlorine as I can see in the tests plus the bubbles appearing in the returns.
I really thank your support but I am reluctant to do it if the cell seems to work, why should I do it? (FYI the water temperature here is pretty much the same all the year around, currently is at 80F)
 
If the "Cell" light is flashing, then it's not making chlorine according to the manual.

Cell: Shows the status of the IntelliChlor SCG.

• Green (flashing): The IntelliChlor SCG needs to be inspected. The blades may have calcium buildup. The IntelliChlor SCG is not producing chlorine.

• Green: IntelliChlor SCG is good and producing chlorine

No Light: IntelliChlor SCG is off and not producing chlorine. It may be in an off-period of the sanitizing cycle and will return on shortly.
 
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JamesW said:
If the "Cell" light is flashing, then it's not making chlorine according to the manual.

Cell: Shows the status of the IntelliChlor SCG.
• Green (flashing): The IntelliChlor SCG needs to be inspected. The blades may have calcium buildup. The IntelliChlor SCG is not producing chlorine.
• Green: IntelliChlor SCG is good and producing chlorine
No Light: IntelliChlor SCG is off and not producing chlorine. It may be in an off-period of the sanitizing cycle and will return on shortly.
Click to expand...
I read that but I am sure that currently it is generating chlorine and green light is flashing, I do not have another source of chlorine plus I can see the bubbles on the returns according to the IC-40 schedule, I have put a lighter near the bubbles and they are making the pop sound.
No sure how long has been like that, I use to go into the machines room once a week but easily I could miss that green blinking light.
I will keep monitoring it and if I notice the cell is not working I will cut the wires as you suggest.
 

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