Intellichlor - How low can you go?

[Patrick181]

Easy question perhaps. My TC and FC are showing around 4-4.5ppm not concerning at all but I want to try and get it down to 3ppm or so. Started the season 4 four weeks ago at 40% (after the shock settled down) on the Intellichlor and now I'm down to 8% with the same TC and FC reading. For the first 3 weeks I left the pump running 24/7, this week I'm shutting it off about 3 hrs a day to see if chlorine burns down a bit. Weather has been overcast and rain most of the 4 weeks and nobody has been in the pool. The pool is like glass and has been meticulously cleaned every 2-3 days. Is it safe to assume that the chlorine demand is simply not there?

 

[kevinskii]

I'm not sure why you want to get FC down to 3ppm, but putting that aside, I'm pretty sure that the Intellichlor generates the same amount of chlorine when it is running, so what you're really programming is the percentage of time that the controller will activate it during the pump schedule. If you schedule the pump to run for 100 minutes and Intellichlor is set to 8%, then it will be on for 8 minutes.

It makes sense that with cloudy days, 24/7 pumping, and little pool use, your FC levels would be higher than normal. I only pump 10 hours a day.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Patrick,

What is your reasoning for wanting to reduce your FC level? An FC of 4 could well be too low, it just depends on your CYA level.

Please read though our Pool School and see what your FC needs to be... You can't just decide where you want the FC to be, it is based upon the amount of CYA in your pool water.

Check out this chart.. FC/CYA Levels

I noticed you did not even mention what your CYA level is...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Patrick181]

Thank you for pointing out the data on the CYA/FC relation, this is my first opening. Trying to get a feel for the balance swings and experimenting with the output setting on the IC40.

I'm targeting the Intellichlor IC40 recommended stats but I understand that some of these are different than other recommendations:

• Free Chlorine: 2.0 - 4.0 ppm. Above 4.0 ppm may cause corrosion of metal components
• Cyanuric Acid: 30 - 50 ppm
• Total Alkalinity: 80 - 120 ppm
• Calcium Hardness: 200 - 400 ppm TDS (includes salt): 3000 minimum to 5700 to 6000 maximum ppm
• Salt: 3600 - 4500 ppm (ideal 3600 ppm)
• Metals (Copper, Iron, Manganese): None
• Nitrates: None
• Phosphates: Less than 125 ppb Saturation Index -.3 to .3 (zero (0) best)

My Test Kits (all new):

• Pool Master 5-Way Liquid Kit
• Accustrip 7-Way
• Taylor Calcium Hardness Liquid Kit
• Salt Strips

Stats as of this AM:

• FC: 4.0
• CC: 4.0
• pH: 7.6
• TA: 100
• CH: 190
• CYA: 40 (Can only get this reading off the strip)
• SALT: 3000
• TEMPERATURE: 79° (at heater display)
• Pressure: 14ps

Thank you