IC60 not lasting

[vegas-doug]

Do not use cal hypo. Adds calcium. Our fill water has plenty of it.

Phosphates. Never checked them. With a water softener I have not changed water in nearly 3 years. You are welcome to mess with them. But no real need if FC is properly managed.

Ok, thank you. Good to know!

 

[vegas-doug]

Yeah, you reeeeeeeeaaaaally don't want to add cal-hypo shock to a Vegas pool. It's just a bad idea. All brands and concentrations of cal hypo shock are loaded with calcium and carbonates. It very rapidly and strongly raises the pH. Pool owners that regularly use cal-hypo often get cloudy water right after adding it and it can take several hours for the filter to clean it out. An SWG getting hit with a slug of high CH water is going to "spit snowflakes" like crazy.

Thank you. Will gift my box of cal hypo shock to a pool owner I don't like very much. haha.

So how should I go about getting rid of the white flakes? Vacuum and clean filter?

Could that have damaged my IC60?

Is Leslie's clean and clear better?

Should I worry about 650 calcium?

Sorry for all the questions. Thanks!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Thank you. Will gift my box of cal hypo shock to a pool owner I don't like very much. haha.

So how should I go about getting rid of the white flakes? Vacuum and clean filter?

Could that have damaged my IC60?

Is Leslie's clean and clear better?

Should I worry about 650 calcium?

Sorry for all the questions. Thanks!

Definitely give you box of cal hypo to someone you don't like.

You can vacuum up the flakes, no worries. Do you have some kind of automatic cleaner? Robot? Use whatever is easiest. The filter will catch the flakes and next time you clean the filter they'll get flushed out.

As I said earlier, I'm going to "put my money on the black" to coin a Vegas phrase - I really think the acid injector location is the source of your degraded IC's and so, yes, I think your IC60 has been impacted. When my previous IC-40 started to spit snowflakes after 5 years, I got another 3 years out of it. So it will probably still work for a while, just be prepared to replace it.

Don't use ANY shock products. If you need to raise your FC to shock levels, use liquid chlorine.

650ppm CH is not great. If you can't lower your CH easily, then your TA and pH need to be lower. You need to target a negative CSI value, anywhere between -0.3 and 0, preferably hanging out at -0.1 as much as you can. This will likely mean keeping your TA below 80ppm, and making sure your pH stays around 7.6.

Questions are what we do here at TFP, ask away ...

 

[vegas-doug]

Definitely give you box of cal hypo to someone you don't like.

You can vacuum up the flakes, no worries. Do you have some kind of automatic cleaner? Robot? Use whatever is easiest. The filter will catch the flakes and next time you clean the filter they'll get flushed out.

As I said earlier, I'm going to "put my money on the black" to coin a Vegas phrase - I really think the acid injector location is the source of your degraded IC's and so, yes, I think your IC60 has been impacted. When my previous IC-40 started to spit snowflakes after 5 years, I got another 3 years out of it. So it will probably still work for a while, just be prepared to replace it.

Don't use ANY shock products. If you need to raise your FC to shock levels, use liquid chlorine.

650ppm CH is not great. If you can't lower your CH easily, then your TA and pH need to be lower. You need to target a negative CSI value, anywhere between -0.3 and 0, preferably hanging out at -0.1 as much as you can. This will likely mean keeping your TA below 80ppm, and making sure your pH stays around 7.6.

Questions are what we do here at TFP, ask away ...

Thank you for the information! I see your pool is similar size. Do you run the IC60 or IC40?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Thank you for the information! I see your pool is similar size. Do you run the IC60 or IC40?

I upgraded from an IC40 to an IC60. My pool ran fine on the IC40, but I just wanted the added chlorine production your get from the IC60. I was also lucky in that my IC40 died right before the pandemic hit so I was able to get an IC60 for around a $1,000 ... cheap by today's standards ... and there was no supply chain shortages at that time.

People who waited to go salt and then finally got fed up with liquid chlorine scarcity in the middle of the pandemic got walloped with both higher prices AND equipment delays.

 

[vegas-doug]

This is the current setup. Left the cracked nuts on the pipe. Hoping I would have enough room to cut the union off by that valve and put the injection there. Then salt cell would be moved right a bit. Just not sure about having it very close to that 90 degree turn.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

What about just putting the acid injector on the pool return pipe after the valve? You don’t need acid injection into the spa. It’s safer for the acid to go to the pool anyway.

 

[vegas-doug]

What about just putting the acid injector on the pool return pipe after the valve? You don’t need acid injection into the spa. It’s safer for the acid to go to the pool anyway.

I guess my concern would be that it could inject acid into the pipe without water moving if it is installed on pool return pipe. Can't see from that picture but there are 3 valves there to choose between Spa Jets, Spa Overflow, InFloor or Pool Returns. I mostly use Pool Returns but few hours a day it runs InFloor.

 

[Serious1]

Interesting. I've never had a TSP cleaning. I just hose them off and spray cartridge cleaner on them. Then rise that off. Is TSP safe for DE cartridge filters?

Depends on how often your car mechanic uses your pool I guess, I have a heavy grease load in my pool. If I don't TSP the grids then DE doesn't stick, pressure goes up and apparently my salt cell won't work. I'm on day 2 of the cell working perfectly.