IntelliChlor SWG and Adding Salt

[ShallowWater]

I have started to salt my pool to switch from LC to SWG.

I added 2-40# bags yesterday and swept the floor to mix it somewhat then changed the pump to 2500rpm from the 24/7/365 1200rpm. The IntelliChlor told me the salt concentration was 5000ppm. Later in the evening it read 2050ppm then this morning it read 2000ppm so I added another 40#, swept the floor and switched the pump to 2500rpm again. Now IntelliChlor is telling me the salt concentration is over 7000ppm. I'm assuming this is because a slug of highly concentrated salt water got picked up by the bottom drains and it will settle down after a few hours.

Is this normal?

Any harm expected?

I hadn't noticed this phenomenon with my previous pool using a Hayward SWG, BTW.

 

[proavia]

The SWG should be off when adding salt.
Add the salt, brush until dissolved, run pump non-stop for 24 hours or more, test for salt using a Taylor K-1766 salt test kit.
Don't depend on the SWG salt reading, it isn't that accurate.

 

[Jimrahbe]

I'm assuming this is because a slug of highly concentrated salt water got picked up by the bottom drains and it will settle down after a few hours.

SW,

That is exactly what happened and why you should have the cell shut off or the main drains closed when adding salt.

I suspect that you are running your main drain 100% open. I run mine at only 5 or 10% open which works better for me. More skimming and main drains are almost useless anyway.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ajw22]

Do you have a Taylor K-1766 Salt test kit or TFT Salt test kit to properly test your salinity?

You should not be relying on the IntelliChlor salt display. It is often not accurate.

PoolMath says 120 lbs of salt will add 1300 ppm into your 11K pool.

Each 40lbs bag adds 435 ppm of salt.

If you started with fresh fill water with no salt you need 8 bags of salt to get 3500 ppm for your IntelliChlor.

 

[ShallowWater]

SW,

That is exactly what happened and why you should have the cell shut off or the main drains closed when adding salt.

I suspect that you are running your main drain 100% open. I run mine at only 5 or 10% open which works better for me. More skimming and main drains are almost useless anyway.

Thanks,

Jim R.

I'm not at home right now but can I just set the percentages on the Chemistry Page to 0%?

I'm having a different experience with the main drains. Since the floor of my pool is probably 150sf they're seeming to keep the floor clean even though I haven't put in the 4WD Poolvergnuegen PoolCleaner yet. It is an old one I had and doesn't seem to drive itself around so I think I need to do some surgery on it but may not even bother since it seems my pool is staying pretty clean without it.

 

[ajw22]

can I just set the percentages on the Chemistry Page to 0%?

Yes, setting the SWG output to 0 turns the cell off.

 

[ShallowWater]

Do you have a Taylor K-1766 Salt test kit or TFT Salt test kit to properly test your salinity?

You should not be relying on the IntelliChlor salt display. It is often not accurate.

PoolMath says 120 lbs of salt will add 1300 ppm into your 11K pool.

Each 40lbs bag adds 435 ppm of salt.

If you started with fresh fill water with no salt you need 8 bags of salt to get 3500 ppm for your IntelliChlor.

I do have the Silver Nitrate tester but haven't made the time to use it yet. I'll check it tonight.

My fill water is from my water softener and had a residual salt level of 950ppm as that is what the softener provides. I supplemented with calcium chloride when filling the pool initially and have my CH at 270ppm currently. So the addition of 80lbs of salt should bring the salt level up from 950ppm to about 1850ppm so maybe my pool is a bit less than 11000 gallons? I'll keep adding a bag at a time to dial it in over the next couple of days.

 

[ShallowWater]

The SWG should be off when adding salt.
Add the salt, brush until dissolved, run pump non-stop for 24 hours or more, test for salt using a Taylor K-1766 salt test kit.
Don't depend on the SWG salt reading, it isn't that accurate.

Thanks!

As stated above I have the test kit.. Time to break the seal!

SWG is off now.

 

[JamesW]

Make sure to brush the pool thoroughly several times when adding salt.

 

[Newdude]

I do have the Silver Nitrate tester but haven't made the time to use it yet. I'll check it tonight.

When you do......... *10* ml. Keep reading past the 'fill 25 ml vial' part, and see the second half of the instruction 'to 10ml'

Ask me how I know.

 

[ShallowWater]

Yes, setting the SWG output to 0 turns the cell off.

SWG is off now.

 

[ShallowWater]

Make sure to brush the pool thoroughly several times when adding salt.

DONE!

 

[ShallowWater]

When you do......... *10* ml. Keep reading past the 'fill 25 ml vial' part, and see the second half of the instruction 'to 10ml'

Ask me how I know.

Care to elaborate?

 

[ajw22]

Stop adding salt until you do the silver nitrate test.

Then calculate the correct amount of salt to add. Add 2/3 of that and retest after at least 24 hours of dissolving. Then sneak up on 3600 ppm with smaller doses.

 

[Newdude]

Care to elaborate?

When you're racing and miss the instructions and fill to 25ml, your reading is 2.5 times higher than it should be.

It has gotten many of us. More than once.

 

[Dirk]

I like to pour the salt in the shallow end, close to a wall, in a small pile. Then I use my pool brush and just keep sweeping it into the same small pile. I do so until it is gone, I never leave any on the bottom. The first time I added salt I expressed it all over the bottom, walking around the edge of the pool with the bag pouring slowly out. Not only was that more work to dump it in, but a total pain to brush the entire pool bottom. Sweeping into the same small pile in the shallow end is waaaaaay easier, and way faster.

Then I wait two days (running the pump the entire time) and then test the salt level. One day is probably enough, but I'm never in a hurry to add salt so two days seems safer, in terms of getting an accurate salt level test result. I really don't want to overshoot, because salt can build up in your pool over time, and then I'd have to exchange water to bring it back down. So I add just enough to make the SWG happy (about 2800-3000 for my SWG).

Liquid chlorine, pool acid and those pesky humans leave salt behind as a byproduct. Salt doesn't evaporate with the water, so it eventually builds up. Salt can come in from your fill water, too. The only way to lose salt is through splash out (or if you backwash your filter), or a water exchange (rain that fills your pool and then drains out through an overflow port counts as a mini-water exchange). That's why you always test your water for salt before you add salt, because it is very likely already in there in some amount.

Enjoy your SWG!

 

[ShallowWater]

When you're racing and miss the instructions and fill to 25ml, your reading is 2.5 times higher than it should be.

It has gotten many of us. More than once.

OMG.. This is the stupidest instruction ever!

1. Rinse and fill 25 mL sample tube (#9198) to 10 mL mark with water to be tested.

The tube is graduated to 25mL but holds more than that. I did read right over the 10mL part. Lame!

 

[ShallowWater]

I like to pour the salt in the shallow end, close to a wall, in a small pile. Then I use my pool brush and just keep sweeping it into the same small pile. I do so until it is gone, I never leave any on the bottom. The first time I added salt I expressed it all over the bottom, walking around the edge of the pool with the bag pouring slowly out. Not only was that more work to dump it in, but a total pain to brush the entire pool bottom. Sweeping into the same small pile in the shallow end is waaaaaay easier, and way faster.

Then I wait two days (running the pump the entire time) and then test the salt level. One day is probably enough, but I'm never in a hurry to add salt so two days seems safer, in terms of getting an accurate salt level test result. I really don't want to overshoot, because salt can build up in your pool over time, and then I'd have to exchange water to bring it back down. So I add just enough to make the SWG happy (about 2800-3000 for my SWG).

Liquid chlorine, pool acid and those pesky humans leave salt behind as a byproduct. Salt doesn't evaporate with the water, so it eventually builds up. Salt can come in from your fill water, too. The only way to lose salt is through splash out (or if you backwash your filter), or a water exchange (rain that fills your pool and then drains out through an overflow port counts as a mini-water exchange). That's why you always test your water for salt before you add salt, because it is very likely already in there in some amount.

Enjoy your SWG!

My pool IS the shallow end.. Max Depth is 4.5'. It's in my screen name even! At any rate due to the fact that there's a bench around the entire perimeter, I poured it in over about a 5 foot length of pool, some on bench but most on the floor. I swept the bench and then the floor. What I didn't do was pile it up or sweep it into a pile but rather dispersed it and let it dissolve all by itself. About two hours later it was not to be seen but the SWG was giving me high readings still. Better to use the test kit with the correct volume of water to test it!!

Since my fill is soft water to keep the high Calcium Hardness, other, hard salts at bay and resultant scaling at bay, I'll need to monitor salt going forward and do partial drains as necessary.

 

[Newdude]

I did read right over the 10mL part. Lame!

Anywho, I'm the treasurer of that club. We meet on the 3rd Tuesday of each month to sit around and .

 

[proavia]

Add your SWG and test kit(s) info to your signature.

https://www.troublefreepool.com/account/signature