Pool company didn't get back to me after he made an estimate (acceptable btw) and showed up and did the work. I am reading the manual but I have questions. Now that I have an SWG where do I keep my FC? I used to keep it 3-5, up it by 10 for shock or SLAM. I have an approx. 19k gallon pool got a 40k cell. And how much stabilizer do I need?
Just got a new SWG--Aqua Rite 900. It was a "surprise"
- Thread starter Tyrone Shuz
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borjis
LifeTime Supporter
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
How long will it take the SWG to make the chlorine? I'm at 1.5 FC now, how long will it take to go to 3? Should I raise the % to 60 from 50?
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
I should backup... and lets see where you are:
1) Do you have salt in the pool at the level that is required by the SWG? it takes a day or so to stabilize and mix and you don't want to turn on your cell until then. The reason being high salinity water that is common at the bottom when the salt is dissolving is not good for the cells. (and how are you testing for it. the K-1766 test kit is the best way.)
2) I would bring your CYA level up to around 70. SWG's work better with a higher level of CYA than liquid chlorine pools.
3) I would bring your CL level up with liquid chlorine and then let the SWG take over. You can certainly crank the % production up until it get's to level but that is slower than just dumping in some liquid.
You can use the pool math app with your model SWG in the "effects of adding" section to calculate how much runtime to get to a certain level. I can't tell you how long it will take to raise the Cl with your SWG without more info about your pool.. like its volume.
Can you update your signature so it has your pool equipment in it? It makes a ready reference for others to provide advice.
1) Do you have salt in the pool at the level that is required by the SWG? it takes a day or so to stabilize and mix and you don't want to turn on your cell until then. The reason being high salinity water that is common at the bottom when the salt is dissolving is not good for the cells. (and how are you testing for it. the K-1766 test kit is the best way.)
2) I would bring your CYA level up to around 70. SWG's work better with a higher level of CYA than liquid chlorine pools.
3) I would bring your CL level up with liquid chlorine and then let the SWG take over. You can certainly crank the % production up until it get's to level but that is slower than just dumping in some liquid.
You can use the pool math app with your model SWG in the "effects of adding" section to calculate how much runtime to get to a certain level. I can't tell you how long it will take to raise the Cl with your SWG without more info about your pool.. like its volume.
Can you update your signature so it has your pool equipment in it? It makes a ready reference for others to provide advice.
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DAB942
Gold Supporter
I'm assuming you already added salt? There is some salt in the water already, but... I added it a day or two before flipping the switch. It will starting making Cl right away. I wouldn't make drastic changes, so you're not yo-yoing. I took mine to 60% and watched -- Cl went up a little too much, so I backed down and waited a few days. Too many variables for a definitive answer -- sun light, rain, pump run time, etc. You have dial it in over time. Or atleast I did.
OK I think the cell is on, they added the salt first and turned it on after it was plumbed and the controller installed (2.5 hrs or so).
I can't seem to get my CYA test to function as I've put 3 gallons of liquid stabilizer in there (early in the season) and I thought it read around 40 earlier in the season, too low for the amount of stabilizer I put in. I ordered a new set of reagents a few weeks back, tested CYA just now and it's reading 30 and that black dot isn't totally gone. That's wrong. CYA doesn't vanish. But if it really is 30, it's gonna take two more gallons to get to 70. I should probably add one, wait a few days and retest.
Manual says if you need to super-chlorinate, throw the switch and let it run that way for 24hrs. But the manual also recommends CYA 50 max. I normally do my own research, and I wasn't done yet when this thing suddenly was installed in my pool (see initial post). So does the super chlorinate switch work, and how soon do I need to get my CYA to 70?
I can't seem to get my CYA test to function as I've put 3 gallons of liquid stabilizer in there (early in the season) and I thought it read around 40 earlier in the season, too low for the amount of stabilizer I put in. I ordered a new set of reagents a few weeks back, tested CYA just now and it's reading 30 and that black dot isn't totally gone. That's wrong. CYA doesn't vanish. But if it really is 30, it's gonna take two more gallons to get to 70. I should probably add one, wait a few days and retest.
Manual says if you need to super-chlorinate, throw the switch and let it run that way for 24hrs. But the manual also recommends CYA 50 max. I normally do my own research, and I wasn't done yet when this thing suddenly was installed in my pool (see initial post). So does the super chlorinate switch work, and how soon do I need to get my CYA to 70?
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
-First question... How much salt? Have you tested your salinity?
-CYA can degrade over time.. about 5-10ppm per month depending on the conditions if I recall. I would trust your test and bump it up.
-Go by the FC/CYA Levels. It is more up to date than the SWG manual most of the time.
-The super chlorinate switch will just set the SWG controller to 100%. I rarely use it. If I need a fast shot of chlorine I use my handy spare jug of liquid chlorine.. its faster.
-CYA can degrade over time.. about 5-10ppm per month depending on the conditions if I recall. I would trust your test and bump it up.
-Go by the FC/CYA Levels. It is more up to date than the SWG manual most of the time.
-The super chlorinate switch will just set the SWG controller to 100%. I rarely use it. If I need a fast shot of chlorine I use my handy spare jug of liquid chlorine.. its faster.
10 bags of salt with two more unopened if I need 'em. The unit is reading 3000 and the instant salt reading is 2900. Bleach is made of unobtanium around these parts, I'm sure that will eventually change, but that was a contributing factor towards the SWG installation. THANKS for the knowledge about CYA degrading. I will grab some.
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
So you are getting the salinity off the SWG controller? I would confirm that with your own test. That's not to say a brand new SWG is wrong, but they are often off a bit. I would order a k-1766 test kit from tftestkits.net. So here's the weird thing. The SWG will operate based on what it detects, even if its incorrect because there is no way to calibrate it. If it thinks the salinity is high it will throw a warning, even if the salinity isn't. And as the SWG ages, the salinity reading will drift making you think you need to add more salt. That's fine up to a point. If the actual salinity is too high it causes issues with the electronics of the controller. So its a good idea to have a second independent reading of your salinity.
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Oh boy...tested for FC this AM (added a bag of cal hypo yesterday afternoon) and am still reading a solid 4.0 FC. Yay. I used liquid stabilizer, and after a couple hours of circulation got a reading of at least 55, it may be higher depending on how "disappeared" the dot should be. But now the salt reads 2300, the check salt and inspect cell lights are on. My salt test kit doesn't come till tomorrow. I have strips that were given to me. I still have 2 bags of salt, do I need to add already? 10 were put in.
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
Well there ya go. You've got to make the cell happy. Each 40lb bag will add about 250ppm by my calculations. Aquarite cells work better on the low end of the range, so I would add the bags one at a time, let it mix and see if the alert lights go off.
Did you order a K1766 or the strips yesterday? The drop test is always more accurate.
Did you order a K1766 or the strips yesterday? The drop test is always more accurate.
I reset the average salt on the unit. It now reads -3100 and no funny lights are on. I will test FC now and in the morning. The strips say 2850, and I'll more likely believe them, especially because of what the bags of salt say (2760 for 20k gallons I believe my pool to be approx. 19k). My drop test comes tomorrow. Looking forward to very infrequent adjustments to the water, especially as far as chlorination goes.
You have to learn something new, it takes time just like anything else. But boy oh boy when you learn how your pool responds to it.......... welcome to the club !!
I had strips that read 2850..Added 6 bags of salt still read 2850 Thrashed and bought the 1766
If I have the pump turn off for a few hours that won't affect the SWG right? It'll just not run because there's no water going through it, that's how I understand it, am I wrong?