So I have an Intellichlor IC-40 salt cell. It’s about five years old. It recently started showing low salt. I checked the level with my Taylor test kit (keep in mind the chemicals are old) and while it wasn’t low it wasn’t high either so I added salt. This went on for about three bags of salt. It still shows low. At this point I figured it’s not a salt issue so I installed a new flow switch. It still shows low. My cell shows 40% used but it’s 5 years old so that seems odd to me. I haven’t had any issues with it until this year. It was recently cleaned and flow is good. No debris inside it. Do I just buy a new cell at this point? Is there a way to see if the flow switch I received is defective? I really don’t want to shell out money on a new cell if I don’t have to but I’ve run out of ideas.
Is my salt cell bad?
- Thread starter AZLynn
- Start date
- May 3, 2014
- 62,895
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
That is odd. Normally the low salt is an indicator of a bad flow switch.
Try the Pentair Diagnostics.
"Pressing and holding the “More” button launches the System Status Mode. When the lights finish scrolling, the percent lights indicate hours of usage in 1,000s. For example, if the 40% light lights, that indicates 4,000 hours.
Version 3.1 on adds the ability to determine system temperature. Pressing the “More” button after the display shows 1,000s of hours of usage, will show temperature as follows:
Lights…………….....………Temperature
No LEDs………….…..………Below 30F
40%..........................36 to 45F
40% and 60%............46 to 55F
60%..........................56 to 65F
60% and 80%............66 to 75F
80%.........................76 to 85F
80 and 100%............86 to 95F
100%.......................96 to 99F
100% blinking……..….over 99F
All LEDs blinking……...Sensor bad "
Try the Pentair Diagnostics.
"Pressing and holding the “More” button launches the System Status Mode. When the lights finish scrolling, the percent lights indicate hours of usage in 1,000s. For example, if the 40% light lights, that indicates 4,000 hours.
Version 3.1 on adds the ability to determine system temperature. Pressing the “More” button after the display shows 1,000s of hours of usage, will show temperature as follows:
Lights…………….....………Temperature
No LEDs………….…..………Below 30F
40%..........................36 to 45F
40% and 60%............46 to 55F
60%..........................56 to 65F
60% and 80%............66 to 75F
80%.........................76 to 85F
80 and 100%............86 to 95F
100%.......................96 to 99F
100% blinking……..….over 99F
All LEDs blinking……...Sensor bad "
The 20% and 40% light up so I think that means 4000 hours which seems low after 5 years in Arizona. I think I accidentally checked the temperature earlier. It showed 80 and 100% after I pressed the more button again. I guess I had not done it before because I wasn’t sure what it meant. Now I know. Temperature sounds about right. So now what? I suppose I could call the pool company I turn to when it needs something I can’t do myself but if the cell needs to be replaced I can do that myself so maybe I should just buy a new one. I will need it eventually and maybe it’s just not showing that it’s done.
- May 3, 2014
- 62,895
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
- May 3, 2014
- 62,895
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Lynn.
I suspect your cell is bad, but hard to tell as you just told us half a story.
What is the actual current salt level from your Taylor test kit? Does the "Cell" light turn on/off every few minutes indicating the cell is working?
Do you just have the low salt light or do you have an EasyTouch that shows the salt level?
Thanks,
Jim R
I suspect your cell is bad, but hard to tell as you just told us half a story.
What is the actual current salt level from your Taylor test kit? Does the "Cell" light turn on/off every few minutes indicating the cell is working?
Do you just have the low salt light or do you have an EasyTouch that shows the salt level?
Thanks,
Jim R
You need to be really sure about the actual salinity. How sure are you and what salinity are you getting on the test?
Once you get the actual salinity to at least 3,400, you should get a good salinity light on the cell.
If not, try disconnecting the temperature sensor wires to see if that makes any difference.
Once you get the actual salinity to at least 3,400, you should get a good salinity light on the cell.
If not, try disconnecting the temperature sensor wires to see if that makes any difference.
Okay so I updated my signature. Sorry about that. I thought I had done that years ago. The salinity when I first tested about a month ago was 3600. It’s now reading about 4000, maybe higher. I know my test reagents are old though so I thought maybe my results were off or the cell was just being picky since it’s old. It is a stand alone IC-40. The temperature appears to be reading over 80. Oh and the salt light did sometimes turn green. Another reason I thought the flow switch was bad. Now it’s just red. So I don’t know if the flow switch I bought is defective or the cell is bad. Which wires are the temperature only ones? I won’t be able to check that theory right away but I’m willing to test it before buying a new cell.
The salt light turns on and off when the system first turns on like it’s checking levels but then it turns red. It was green a couple of times so I thought it was not reading the salt level correctly or my test reagents were just too old to be accurate. I think they are at least two seasons old. Maybe older. I need to replace everything I suppose. Most of the time I have checked, the salt light was red. It did appear to be making some chlorine at one point but not enough because there is no measurable chlorine and it’s turning green. CYA is at least 50. I added more a few days ago and haven’t checked again yet.
Ok, let's be clear about what the cell is displaying.
In the Salt Level section, there are two lights, Good and Low. The Good light is off and the Low light is on solid red, correct?
In the Status section, you have three lights, Cold water, Cell and Flow. The Cold water light is off, the Cell light is off and the Flow light is solid green, correct?
When you first power the cell, the Salt level lights blink for about 30 seconds and then the lights go to what's described above, correct?
What percentage is the cell set to?
Try changing the percentage to 100% and see what happens when you power the cell.
The green and white wires go to the temperature sensor. If you disconnect them, that should make the cell read the temperature as 77 degrees Fahrenheit.
There's a sticker on the bottom of the cell. What is the date on the sticker?
You need to check the salinity with another method to be very sure about the salinity.
In the Salt Level section, there are two lights, Good and Low. The Good light is off and the Low light is on solid red, correct?
In the Status section, you have three lights, Cold water, Cell and Flow. The Cold water light is off, the Cell light is off and the Flow light is solid green, correct?
When you first power the cell, the Salt level lights blink for about 30 seconds and then the lights go to what's described above, correct?
What percentage is the cell set to?
Try changing the percentage to 100% and see what happens when you power the cell.
The green and white wires go to the temperature sensor. If you disconnect them, that should make the cell read the temperature as 77 degrees Fahrenheit.
There's a sticker on the bottom of the cell. What is the date on the sticker?
You need to check the salinity with another method to be very sure about the salinity.
- Feb 6, 2015
- 7,955
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
What test kit are you using? TF-100, K2006C?
What salt testkit?
If the reagents are old, replace them. Look here for refills TFTestkits.
Post a full set of your most current results.
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
Salt
Water temp
By you username, I'm guessing you are somewhere in AZ. Please update your profile with your city, state.
With no measurable FC and green water, you will need to SLAM Process. But you will need accurate test results to be successful.
Until you get the pool clear and sort out you SWG issues, treat the pool as a non-SWG pool - use the FC/CYA Levels and PoolMath to dose chlorine for a non-SWG pool.
You can remove the salt cell and have a pool store test it. Report back with what they say.
What salt testkit?
If the reagents are old, replace them. Look here for refills TFTestkits.
Post a full set of your most current results.
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
Salt
Water temp
By you username, I'm guessing you are somewhere in AZ. Please update your profile with your city, state.
With no measurable FC and green water, you will need to SLAM Process. But you will need accurate test results to be successful.
Until you get the pool clear and sort out you SWG issues, treat the pool as a non-SWG pool - use the FC/CYA Levels and PoolMath to dose chlorine for a non-SWG pool.
You can remove the salt cell and have a pool store test it. Report back with what they say.
Yes. Salt good light is off. Low salt light is red. Cold water is off. Cell is off. Flow light is green. Yes the lights blink and then go to above. Percentage was 40 but I think I ended up putting it on 20 last night. I will up it to 100 and see what happens.
I’m in Tucson. Thought that was there too. I will have to test everything again. I have a mix of Taylor and TF-100 tests. I had the K-2006 and then bought the TF-100. I also have the K-1766 salt test and Taylor speedstir. Everything is at least two seasons old. The K-2006 is even older. I know calcium is high but don’t remember how high. We have very hard water so it is what it is.
The last time I tested everything based on memory because I didn’t write it all down:
Chlorine 0 - I added liquid
PH 8.0- added muriatic acid
TA 120
CH 400 something
CYA 50 - I added more.
Salt 4000
Water temp 82
Don’t have time to remove it and take it in until July. I work 7 days a week, minimum of 8 hours plus lunch and travel times each day. I rarely even use the pool but I like looking at it when it isn’t green. Lol.
I can’t see the bottom of the cell clearly. Tried to take a picture but it won’t focus. It looks like there is a serial number and some other number that looks like 3 04 but I can’t be sure. Looks like I’m buying a new one. I don’t have time to look at it anymore right now. Have to get to work. Is amazon okay or do you have a favorite vendor.
Before replacing the cell, I would suggest the following.
1) Acid clean the cell with a dilute acid mix. Your chemistry readings indicate high potential for scaling and the salinity probes might have a thin layer of scale affecting their sensitivity.
2) If that doesn't help, try disconnecting the temperature sensor wires.
Check the manufacturing date on the sticker on the bottom of the cell so that we can verify the age of the cell.
You should get the TA down to about 60 to prevent scaling.
Check your CSI using PoolMath and keep it between -0.3 and 0.0.
1) Acid clean the cell with a dilute acid mix. Your chemistry readings indicate high potential for scaling and the salinity probes might have a thin layer of scale affecting their sensitivity.
2) If that doesn't help, try disconnecting the temperature sensor wires.
Check the manufacturing date on the sticker on the bottom of the cell so that we can verify the age of the cell.
You should get the TA down to about 60 to prevent scaling.
Check your CSI using PoolMath and keep it between -0.3 and 0.0.
Don’t mean to sound flip. It’s been a very expensive year for me and I’m frustrated. Every time I think things will slow down something else happens and a few more hundred or thousand dollars has to be put out. I wouldn’t doubt the scaling. I did not clean the cell when I replaced the flow sensor because it was just cleaned a month or so ago and didn’t look like it needed it and I didn’t have time yesterday. I had about 30 minutes of light. It will be Wednesday at least before I have time and light to play with the wires.
I have never been able to get the TA below 100 no matter how much muriatic acid I put in. I have drained the pool in the past when I wasn’t working as much and had help but the calcium in the incoming water is very high and I can’t drain it every week so it is what it is unless you know some other way to lower the calcium. I don’t even have a way of draining it because my pump quit and I trashed it a couple of years ago.
I have never been able to get the TA below 100 no matter how much muriatic acid I put in. I have drained the pool in the past when I wasn’t working as much and had help but the calcium in the incoming water is very high and I can’t drain it every week so it is what it is unless you know some other way to lower the calcium. I don’t even have a way of draining it because my pump quit and I trashed it a couple of years ago.
Try to keep the pH down to 7.2 until the TA gets down some. Controlling the CSI will help prevent scaling.
You can buy a new cell if you want, but if you don't control the CSI, it's just going to scale up the new cell and you're right back where you started.
I suspect that an acid clean might get the cell working again.
You also need to be very sure about the salinity. You need to check it with another test to verify the accuracy.
If the salinity checks out and the acid clean doesn't help, disconnect the temperature sensor.
If it still doesn't work, you probably need a new cell.
You can buy a new cell if you want, but if you don't control the CSI, it's just going to scale up the new cell and you're right back where you started.
I suspect that an acid clean might get the cell working again.
You also need to be very sure about the salinity. You need to check it with another test to verify the accuracy.
If the salinity checks out and the acid clean doesn't help, disconnect the temperature sensor.
If it still doesn't work, you probably need a new cell.
Ok thanks for the info. If I disconnect the temperature sensor won’t that mean it will make chlorine all the time? Assuming it works that is. That seems like it will just eventually quit anyway.
The pool has been in the same condition, high calcium and high TA since I bought the house 5 years ago. The cell was new at that time. In fact the calcium was over 700 and the CYA was off the charts when I bought the house so I drained most of the water the first summer. I have never been able to get and keep everything in line for very long because the incoming water is so hard and the evaporation rate is high in Arizona. I know I need to buy new reagents because they are old. I will look into that and the temperature sensor before I buy a new cell. I try to do everything myself but starting to seriously consider a pool chemical company to maintain the chemicals. Eventually I will either have to sell the house or hire someone anyway as I don’t seem to be getting younger. Lol
The pool has been in the same condition, high calcium and high TA since I bought the house 5 years ago. The cell was new at that time. In fact the calcium was over 700 and the CYA was off the charts when I bought the house so I drained most of the water the first summer. I have never been able to get and keep everything in line for very long because the incoming water is so hard and the evaporation rate is high in Arizona. I know I need to buy new reagents because they are old. I will look into that and the temperature sensor before I buy a new cell. I try to do everything myself but starting to seriously consider a pool chemical company to maintain the chemicals. Eventually I will either have to sell the house or hire someone anyway as I don’t seem to be getting younger. Lol
The temperature sensor only helps the cell determine the salinity. It has no effect on the percentage of time that the cell runs.