My SWG fell below 75% in accuracy, how much above 3600PPM can I go without any risk of harming the pool?

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Rockstead

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2010
486
Montreal, QC, Canada
Pool Size
100000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
At 75% I was still okay because I would still fall within the range of recommended amount as I would be at 3600PPM to get a reading of 2900PPM.

But now, even though I’m at 3600PPM, my reading is 2600PPm, which would mean Inwould need to bump up my salt to 3800PPM, which is above the recommended amount.

I also had my board repaired and don’t want to cause damage due to high salt.

Looking for input.

Also has anyone priced out a T-CELL-15 lately? Pretty crazy how much it increased in price.
 
The problem with raising salt levels to compensate for a failing cell is that eventually you will need to replace the cell and then, the salt level will be too high so you will need to remove some of the salt which is not easy. So you may be better off getting a new cell.

However, some have been successful in extending the life of the cell by just changing the cell type from T-15 to T-9 to T-5 as it fails.
 
mas985 said:
The problem with raising salt levels to compensate for a failing cell is that eventually you will need to replace the cell and then, the salt level will be too high so you will need to remove some of the salt which is not easy. So you may be better off getting a new cell.

However, some have been successful in extending the life of the cell by just changing the cell type from T-15 to T-9 to T-5 as it fails.
Click to expand...

Wow, I didn’t even know that was an option. So you are saying that T-9 and T-5 have different minimum salt requirements to operate? If that works would I need to double the % or does it output based on it being a T-15 still?

With the current low salt warning, it’s not clear to me at what level it operates at, is it still 100% with that warning or does it default to a different output?
 
mas985 said:
The problem with raising salt levels to compensate for a failing cell is that eventually you will need to replace the cell and then, the salt level will be too high so you will need to remove some of the salt which is not easy. So you may be better off getting a new cell.

However, some have been successful in extending the life of the cell by just changing the cell type from T-15 to T-9 to T-5 as it fails.
Click to expand...
Dang, I just tried changing the cell type on my AquaLogic and it only gives me an option between a T-Cell-15 and T-Cell-5, no T-Cell-9.

When I try putting it on 5 it reports my salt much higher and says high salt and doesn’t operate.

Right now my T-Cell-15 is operating at 62% in terms of being able to determine the salt PPM, so it reads my salt at 2400PPM while really it’s at 3800PPM, I see my chlorine level going down even though my % is set to 40 and I run my pump 24/7, I’ll increase the % to 100% chlorine output but will that even make a difference? It’s not clear to me if it produces chlorine at low salt or not.

I’m surprised there is no calibration that can be done on the Aqualogic like how you would recalibrate a thermometer to off set discrepancies.
 
We’re you referring to the cell serial # , I attached it in case along with my diagnostics on the cell, this time it dipped to 2000PPM but the previous time it was 2900PPM and I did the instant salt save so it’s temporarily working but usually doesn’t last.
 

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There is a larger difference for maximum amps for the T-5 cell so much easier to trigger the alarm. I have experimented with my system with a very old cell and the T-5 setting. The problem is that when first started, the old T-15 cell on the T-5 setting will still draw enough amps to trigger the alarm even though if allowed to stabilize after a long time, it would be below the maximum. So it doesn't always work well.

From my own experimentation, the low salt alarm appears to be triggered by the average salt level. However, the high salt alarm appears to be triggered by high amps.

While the setting is in T-15 mode, does the unit ever shut down or does it only report low salt? If it is just later, ignore the warning and run it normally. The only issue is when the unit alarms and shuts down.

I am in that mode right now with my latest cell. It is right at the start of failure and I am milking a few more hours out of it by just resetting the average salt level after the unit starts. Over time, the average salt level will drop and the unit will display low salt but it will not shut down until it gets really low. But a reset of the average salt, gives you a few more days of operation until it alarms again. I have been operating this way for several months now and it seems to be extending the life of the cell. But I still cannot use T-5 mode as the amps are too high. I am considering a hack to the board to add a parallel resistor to the current sensing resistors so the unit thinks the current is less than it actually is. I have not tried this yet as the average salt resetting is easier and continues to work.
 
ok nice to know I’m not alone.

I would be surprised if it operates at 100% when it gives the low salt message, I’m only saying that because I saw my chlorine level drop by a few % points, I set it to 100% right now to be sure but I’m quite certain that’s the case as I used the shock option and I didn’t see my chlorine level where I expected to.

1K CAD for a replacement model at my local pool store, insane.
 
mas985 said:
I am considering a hack to the board to add a parallel resistor to the current sensing resistors so the unit thinks the current is less than it actually is.
Click to expand...
Maybe put a 24 volt light in parallel to make it draw the correct amount of current on the T-15 setting.

Every 25 watts will give about 1 amp extra.

Plus, it makes it easy to tell when the cell is on or off. (y)
 
Last edited:
Rockstead said:
ok nice to know I’m not alone.

I would be surprised if it operates at 100% when it gives the low salt message, I’m only saying that because I saw my chlorine level drop by a few % points, I set it to 100% right now to be sure but I’m quite certain that’s the case as I used the shock option and I didn’t see my chlorine level where I expected to.
Click to expand...
Correct, as the cell fails, it will generate less chlorine for a given run time. This is due to the degradation of the plates (i.e. less effective plate area = less amps = less chlorine production).

JamesW said:
Maybe put a 24 volt light in parallel to make it draw the correct amount of current on the T-15 setting.

Every 25 watts will give about 1 amp extra.

Plus, it makes it easy to tell when the cell is on or off. (y)
Click to expand...
That is much harder to do than to bridge the amp sensing resistors. To get a connection in parallel with the cell would require soldering on the back side of the board. Plus you don't need a light bulb when a simple resistor will do.

To bridge the amp sensing resistors is much easier as they are exposed on the front side of the board with easy access. The resistor would just need to connect to the exposed leads. It might not even need soldering if you use alligator clips or just hook the leads over the exposed wires. A resistor of the same size would reduce combined resistance (and amp display) by 1/3rd.


1656521253459.png
 
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mas985 said:
To get a connection in parallel with the cell would require soldering on the back side of the board.
Click to expand...
You could cut into the cell cord.
mas985 said:
Plus you don't need a light bulb when a simple resistor will do.
Click to expand...
In any case, the resistor sounds like a better choice.

If you had the option for a T-9, that would give you more flexibility.

Maybe you can upgrade your software?

OntarioCanada said:
hello all, I can confirm with firmware/steps from @eePool and @sph01443, I was able to successfully update my GLX-PCB-PRO board from 4.20 to 4.47

Both users in this thread have already provided all the info needed to perform firmware upgrade, only couple of things I would like to add are listed below.

Note: I am just sharing my experience, if you choose to follow any of these steps, you are responsible yourself for whatever you do to your board or to anything else as a result.

1) board must be capable of taking the latest firmware (it says you need version G1-066061 to upgrade up to 4.45 in the Hayward prologic diagnostics PDF). Version is printed on the board at the bottom in faint color
2) I took pics of all the wiring and used marker to mark couple of the wires on my board (that were the same red color)
3) I went through all the settings including the ones in the locked configuration menu and recorded everything on my phone
4) hooked board up to pickit3 programmer, read and saved my firmware first then flashed the 4.47 firmware, plugged board back in the panel and re-configured all the settings and options from the video I recorded earlier

View attachment 424898
Click to expand...
 

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