Ic40 too small ?

[Traviz02]

Pool builder installed ic40 and after reading here I’m thinking maybe should switch to the ic60. Am I thinking right and also what percentage should I run the 40 at until and if I change it out
Everything is brand new this year

 

[JamesW]

IC20 Cell (P/N 520554): Designed for pools up to 20,000 U.S. gallons (75,000 liters). The cell will produce the equivalent of 0.70 lbs. of pure chlorine per 24 hours of continuous pool pump run time.

• IC40 Cell (P/N 520555): Designed for pools up to 40,000 U.S. gallons (150,000 liters). The cell will produce the equivalent of 1.40 lbs. of pure chlorine per 24 hours of continuous pool pump run time.

• IC60 Cell (P/N 521105): Designed for pools up to 60,000 U.S. gallons (227,124 liters). The cell will produce the equivalent of 2 lbs. of pure chlorine per 24 hours of continuous pool pump run time.

For a 38,000 gallon pool, the IC40 will provide about 4.4 ppm chlorine when set to 100% for 24 hours. Assuming a 3 ppm per day average chlorine demand, you would need about 16 hours of runtime at 100% or 24 hours of runtime at 68%.

The IC40 should work for you, but the IC60 would have been a better choice.

The IC60 would give you 6.3 ppm per day. For a 3 ppm per day demand, you would need about 12 hours of runtime at 100% or 24 hours of runtime at 50%.

 

[Traviz02]

Thank you for the reply. I run my pump 24/7 so with you saying 68 percent should I leave it at the 60 setting or bump it to 80 ? I’m not opposed to purchasing a 60 and selling or keeping this one as a backup if it would be a better choice

 

[setsailsoon]

Travis,

Welcome to TFP!

As James pointed out the 60 is more in line with TFP's general recommendation that you install a chlorinator with twice the pool capacity. This prolongs cell life and gives you more flexibility to deal with changes in your pool's chlorine demand. If you've already purchased the 40 it may make more sense to go ahead and use it 'till the cell fails then replace with the higher capacity at that time. You may need to supplement with some liquid chlorine when unusually heavy loads occur but that should be infrequent if you follow TFP methods to balance your pool.

I see you've got the test kit we recommend so I'm assuming you're using TFP methodology. If you have any questions as you get started please feel free to ask. We have a LOT of experts here like James for every aspect of pool care.

Welcome aboard!

Chris

 

[JamesW]

You're going to need to adjust the percentage output until it matches what you need to maintain the correct fc for your cya.

 

[Traviz02]

You're going to need to adjust the percentage output until it matches what you need to maintain the correct fc for your cya.

Forgive my questions but how do I know what it is putting out

 

[JamesW]

You should maintain the fc at a minimum of 7.5% of the CYA.

For example, if the CYA is 60, the minimum fc would be 4.5 ppm.

You should start out at 80% for a few days to see what the daily fc reading is. If the reading is 4.5 to 6, that's probably the best setting. If it's over 6.0, drop the percentage to 60% for a few days and check the daily fc reading.