Need Help with Pentair IC40 SWG

[CaliPoolOwner]

Earlier, I gave you this link to TFP resources...

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

Pool store CYA test maxes out over 100. Your CYA is high and could be over 200 or 300. Only your own test kit will tell you what you really need to do.

You need to get the Taylor K-2006C or TFT Salt Test Kits The TFT kits are a better value.

Once you get your test kit, post the results here, and we can discuss what to do next.

BTW, calcium hardness up to 800 is okay. Around 450 is just fine.

You are not getting good advice from your Pool Store.

Your choice if you want to adopt TFP methods or follow the Pool Store. You can't go in halfway. That does not work out well.

I'm all in on resources recommended by this forum. So I will be avoiding pool store testing/recs from here on out. The pool store exists for me to buy salt and supplies only.

I ordered the TF-100 salt test kit and will post my results when they are available.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Great job on getting the test kit.

Your pool will still need chlorine while you are waiting, so you may buy a gallon or two of liquid chlorine and add a few cups daily until your test kit arrives so you don't end up with algae. Or you can just turn your SWCG back on and run your pump 24/7.

Also one note on the evaporation comment. The water evaporates, but the CYA, and salt remain. Your calcium remains too and then more calcium is added with your fill water. I'm sure you knew all of that but I wanted to be sure as people often assume that CYA, Calcium and Salt leave the pool in the evaporation.

 

[ajw22]

In the meantime, is it fine to leave my SWG off?

Yes

If its simply plumbed in line, but has no power to it, is running the pump going to harm it in any way? I

No

assume the water is just flowing through it without it generating any chlorine.

Correct

 

[Ahultin]

@CaliPoolOwner , you've got all the smart guys giving you great advice in here but I'm going to throw a couple tidbits out.
It appears you have an intermatic timer on the far left of your pad. This was likely bypassed when the intelliflo 2 was installed but should you choose not to run 24/7 you may be able to connect the swg to this and set the time to shutoff when the pump is off. I run my if2 24/7 @~1200 rpm but am unsure what the true cost given ca's electricity costs as we have a large photovoltaic array that offset most of our usage.

All that I have invested in so far is the heater

The heater is likely the most expensive piece of equipment on your pad and if it was just installed, it is likely still under warranty. The gas line install does not comply with pentairs requirement for a sediment trap and the (per your estimate) 25yr old restrictive shutoff was left in place. I would suggest rectifying that while your working on everything else as it could be reson for a denied warranty claim should something go wrong.

Since my filter is a bit under-sized, is it worth replacing in the near future as well?

The small filter will just require more frequent cleaning that a larger filter. If doing this as a diy, no big deal. If having the pool guy do it, it gets costly. ( my neighbor pays $175 per cleaning, 4x per year whereas I clean my large ccp420 filter 2x per yr and it really doesn't need it that often)

 

[HermanTX]

It appears you have an intermatic timer on the far left of your pad. This was likely bypassed when the intelliflo 2 was installed but should you choose not to run 24/7 you may be able to connect the swg to this and set the time to shutoff when the pump is off. I run my if2 24/7 @~1200 rpm but am unsure what the true cost given ca's electricity costs as we have a large photovoltaic array that offset most of our usage.

@CaliPoolOwner
See above and my previous post #31 regarding a timer. this is not a priority at this time until we get your pool chemistry on track after you do your first test. But if there is an unused timer then that could be your answer to turning off your SWCG with a reduced pump time.
We really need to see where your current SWCG is powered from and where the pump is powered from.

 

[CaliPoolOwner]

@CaliPoolOwner , you've got all the smart guys giving you great advice in here but I'm going to throw a couple tidbits out.
It appears you have an intermatic timer on the far left of your pad. This was likely bypassed when the intelliflo 2 was installed but should you choose not to run 24/7 you may be able to connect the swg to this and set the time to shutoff when the pump is off. I run my if2 24/7 @~1200 rpm but am unsure what the true cost given ca's electricity costs as we have a large photovoltaic array that offset most of our usage.

The heater is likely the most expensive piece of equipment on your pad and if it was just installed, it is likely still under warranty. The gas line install does not comply with pentairs requirement for a sediment trap and the (per your estimate) 25yr old restrictive shutoff was left in place. I would suggest rectifying that while your working on everything else as it could be reson for a denied warranty claim should something go wrong. View attachment 636000


The small filter will just require more frequent cleaning that a larger filter. If doing this as a diy, no big deal. If having the pool guy do it, it gets costly. ( my neighbor pays $175 per cleaning, 4x per year whereas I clean my large ccp420 filter 2x per yr and it really doesn't need it that often)

Thanks for the info. If I am interpreting the picture you attached correctly. We would need to add a sediment trap (the stubby part going downwards) on the gas supply line just before it enters the heater?

 

[ajw22]

Thanks for the info. If I am interpreting the picture you attached correctly. We would need to add a sediment trap (the stubby part going downwards) on the gas supply line just before it enters the heater?

Heater Maintenance - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

The correct sediment trap design is for the gas to make a 90 degree turn to go into the heater while the sediment can drop down into the sediment trap as shown in the Pentair diagram. We see many gas line installations with the gas going straight and the sediment trap on a 90 degree bend. The sediment will not make that turn and continue into the gas valve eventually causing it to fail.

 

[Ahultin]

Thanks for the info. If I am interpreting the picture you attached correctly. We would need to add a sediment trap (the stubby part going downwards) on the gas supply line just before it enters the heater?

Sediment trap plus high flow (full port) gas valve - and given the current install , I would verify pressure and make sure that the existing gas meter fully supports your current BTU load.

 

[Sws]

If you're going to have the gas piping re-done (and im not saying you should or must) then put an insulated union on it also. There should be one on each side of the buried piping where its above ground.

 

[CaliPoolOwner]

Still waiting on the TF-100 salt test kit.

My pool servicer came by today. We went ahead and removed the check valve flapper door, changed the pump settings to 20 hours @1700RPM and 4 hours @2800RPM, and turned the IC-40 SWG back on at 20%. 1700RPM was the minimum needed to illuminate the green flow light. 2800RPM is enough to push my suction vacuum around the pool.

He also did a test strip test and found CYA and chlorine (free/total) to be at a good level, so I'm chalking up my wild results to be the typical Leslie's sham/scam water test results. Thanks for the good advice I received here to not react to the Leslie's numbers. I'll get exact numbers once my TF-100 salt test comes in.

 

[PoolStored]

Note: If the minimum the flow switch goes off is 1700, then add 100 RPM and run there. As your filter gets dirty, flow will decrease and the cell will stop generating. Adding a few more RPMs give you some room to allow your filter to get dirty and still make chlorine.

 

[CaliPoolOwner]

Question regarding schedules in the IntelliFlo VST 2.

If I want to run:
0000-0800 1800RPM
0800-1200 2800RPM
1200-2400 1800RPM

Do I need 3 schedules? Or would I be fine with:

8:00 am to 12:00 pm 2800RPM
12:01 pm to 7:59 am 1800RPM?

Does the IntelliFlo VST 2 know that if I start a schedule on PM and end on AM, it goes through to the next day?

Also, I want to avoid shutoff and start cycles on the pump. Should I have the schedules overlap exactly? If the whole 7:59 instead of 8:00 AM will cause it to shut off and back on, I’d like to avoid that. Will this be better?

0800-1200 2800RPM
1200-0800 1800RPM

I would test myself but I won’t be able to check at midnight when it crosses over to the next day anytime soon.

 

[CaliPoolOwner]

Note: If the minimum the flow switch goes off is 1700, then add 100 RPM and run there. As your filter gets dirty, flow will decrease and the cell will stop generating. Adding a few more RPMs give you some room to allow your filter to get dirty and still make chlorine.

Will do. I will adjust to 1800RPM.

 

[HermanTX]

When there is a conflict in schedules the pump will run the higher of the 2 scheduled speeds.
Note- I don’t like using midnight as a start time.
So set as follows
5am to 5am - 1800 rpm
8am to 12pm - 2800rpm

The pump will ramp up at 8am and then ramp down at 12pm

 

[CaliPoolOwner]

When there is a conflict in schedules the pump will run the higher of the 2 scheduled speeds.
Note- I don’t like using midnight as a start time.
So set as follows
5am to 5am - 1800 rpm
8am to 12pm - 2800rpm

The pump will ramp up at 8am and then ramp down at 12pm

Oh this is much cleaner than what I was thinking. Thanks! I will make that change.

 

[CaliPoolOwner]

When there is a conflict in schedules the pump will run the higher of the 2 scheduled speeds.
Note- I don’t like using midnight as a start time.
So set as follows
5am to 5am - 1800 rpm
8am to 12pm - 2800rpm

The pump will ramp up at 8am and then ramp down at 12pm

I went ahead and made this schedule:
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM @2800RPM
9:00 PM - 8:59 PM @1800RPM

My pump wouldn't let me overlap to the exact minute, so I had to make do with a 1 minute gap. But I was able to watch the pump and from 8:56 PM to 9:02 PM it didn't change at all, ran at 1800RPM without kicking off and back on. So I think I got it set up right. Hoping to see it running at 1800RPM tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM before I start work. Thanks for the help!