Hi. I have recently purchased an Intex Pool and for more than the price of the pool, the Sand/SWG combo filter. I spend that $$ because I really wanted the maintenance free concept that the combo indicates: no paper filters, no chemicals, just a routine timed run and voila; swim safe water for my 8yr old twins and our family.
I can not convey how discouraged I am. 60 days later I still struggle to get it working. intex support has been a horrible, horrible nightmare. They don't even take calls most of the time and when I did get through after 55 min wait, I had to repeatedly explain my problem, that the chlorine was not generating. I finally got them to open a warranty claim to replace the electrolytic cell. I had to jump through web forms and receipt faxes and when it arrived, they sent the the plastic "housing" and NOT the cell. Now I have to revisit that whole painful process again.
Meanwhile it seems the only solution is that I suck it up, accept that this unit does not work, use chemicals instead and just count myself another sucker. OR keep trying to resolve the issue.
MY FINDINGS
• The salt level is around 3200ppm, per Leslie Pool measurements, so that's fine. And no salt alarm triggers.
• The total chlorine is 0 and has never risen via the SWG. The only way there's been any was a 'shock' I did after reviewing Pool School. Even after several "BOOST" cycles for the first 2 weeks, there was nothing in the way of chlorine.
• The PH was too high and it requires using "PH Minus" to bring it down.
• I live in Northern California, the pool gets about 6hrs of sun/day.
QUESTIONS
• The forums indicates that seeing "bubbles" coming out of the SWG flow = chlorine. I see those. But do not measure chlorine. Is it possible to see those "bubbles" and not get chlorine? I *HAVE* removed it, found a tiny bit of the white 'buildup' and I'm doing a vinegar cleaning but I am certain those small bits are not the problem here.
• Is CYA "required" for this pool? And is it expected that I have to use "PH Minus" to bring down PH as well? It appears so in Pool School but I'm surprised, because I was under the impression this was a route to go that didn't require added chemicals. (At least that's what reviews on Amazon indicated when I made the decision to invest $350 in it :-/
Thank you for your consideration and assistance.
I can not convey how discouraged I am. 60 days later I still struggle to get it working. intex support has been a horrible, horrible nightmare. They don't even take calls most of the time and when I did get through after 55 min wait, I had to repeatedly explain my problem, that the chlorine was not generating. I finally got them to open a warranty claim to replace the electrolytic cell. I had to jump through web forms and receipt faxes and when it arrived, they sent the the plastic "housing" and NOT the cell. Now I have to revisit that whole painful process again.
Meanwhile it seems the only solution is that I suck it up, accept that this unit does not work, use chemicals instead and just count myself another sucker. OR keep trying to resolve the issue.
MY FINDINGS
• The salt level is around 3200ppm, per Leslie Pool measurements, so that's fine. And no salt alarm triggers.
• The total chlorine is 0 and has never risen via the SWG. The only way there's been any was a 'shock' I did after reviewing Pool School. Even after several "BOOST" cycles for the first 2 weeks, there was nothing in the way of chlorine.
• The PH was too high and it requires using "PH Minus" to bring it down.
• I live in Northern California, the pool gets about 6hrs of sun/day.
QUESTIONS
• The forums indicates that seeing "bubbles" coming out of the SWG flow = chlorine. I see those. But do not measure chlorine. Is it possible to see those "bubbles" and not get chlorine? I *HAVE* removed it, found a tiny bit of the white 'buildup' and I'm doing a vinegar cleaning but I am certain those small bits are not the problem here.
• Is CYA "required" for this pool? And is it expected that I have to use "PH Minus" to bring down PH as well? It appears so in Pool School but I'm surprised, because I was under the impression this was a route to go that didn't require added chemicals. (At least that's what reviews on Amazon indicated when I made the decision to invest $350 in it :-/
Thank you for your consideration and assistance.