Need help with SWG install details

[Poolzer]

Greetings I'm in the Phoenix area & have a CircuPool RJ-60 PLUS Swg on the way. This will b my first swg pool so I'm going to rely on the most gracious &/knowledgeable members here for guidance. Currently using chlorine and will do drain and refill after swg installed. I've read about turning off swg after I add salt and have read the recommended salt to buy.

1. I will likely get a very handy friend (who's never installed swg) to do install. Pic of my equipment attached.

Any suggestions for where/how to put the swg with my plumbing? Pls talk to me about plumbing like u r writing book for dummies or if u can draw on pic to ilkustrate, even better. I need to get someone to label my equipment bc I don't know what valve controls what.

2. What additional equipment do I need to purchase to have on hand for install?

3. Do I need an electrician to setup the wiring?

4. What are other things I need to watch for, plan for, or things you think would b helpful?

5. What testing equipment should I get?

6. What else am I forgetting or things that are commonly in the yfou don't know that you don't know category?

Thank you in advance for your comments and help. Looking forward to getting the swg installed!

 

[woodyp]

Welcome to the forum. Your shiny new SWG should be plumbed in AFTER the heater if that's what that is on the right hand side of the picture. I don't know how you test your water but we recommend the TF100 with salt option. You can get it combined. Link in my sig.

 

[Poolzer]

Thank you!

 

[woodyp]

Also......is your equipment pad running on 110 or 220? That salt unit should come preset to hook to 220. You have to move a couple jumpers inside control box to convert to 110.
Very easy.

 

[JamesW]

The blue line is water going to the heater and the red line is water coming out of the heater.

You can put the cell at the green dot and replumb as needed.

You probably need a timer for the SWG to turn it off when the pump is scheduled to be off.

 

[proavia]

You should also have a timer to connect the SWG to. The SWG float switch is a secondary safety device. The timer is the primary safety device. The timer should be set to start the SWG about 30 minutes after the pump start and stop the SWG 30 minutes before the pump stops.

As @JamesW suggests, plumb the SWG in at the green dot in his picture. You can extend the return line horizontally to install the SWG and then 180 the line, install the flow switch and connect into the vertical pipe just under the 3-way valve.

 

[generessler]

The plumbing doesn't have a pipe segment where needed to splice in the SWG. Your friend can consider one of these to avoid replacing thee bypass valve and salvage some other fittings. Maybe it won't pay for itself on this job, but it will on the next.

 

[Mdragger88]

urrently using chlorine and will do drain and refill after swg installed.

This is not necessary- a pool with a swg is a chlorine pool just with a specific amount of salt necessary to operate the swg. You just follow the swg
FC/CYA Levels
& the same
Pool Care Basics
Test your salt level before adding any- you may be surprised by how much you already have.

 

[proavia]

Where in Arizona are you located?
Why do you think you need to drain/refill?
If you are using un-softened water for the pool autofill and you haven't drained in several years, chances are your CH is quite high as most of AZ has hard water.
When was the last time the pool was drained/refilled?

What test kit are you using?
Post a complete set of current test results from one of the recommended test kits.
Test Kits Compared
The TF-Pro Salt would probably provide the best bang for your buck.

FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
Salt - even without a SWG, a pool has quitea bit of salt after a few years
Water temperature

Test your fill water pH, TA and CH (no need to test the others for fill water).
Post those test results also.

 

[Poolzer]

Where in Arizona are you located?
Why do you think you need to drain/refill?
If you are using un-softened water for the pool autofill and you haven't drained in several years, chances are your CH is quite high as most of AZ has hard water.
When was the last time the pool was drained/refilled?

What test kit are you using?
Post a complete set of current test results from one of the recommended test kits.
Test Kits Compared
The TF-Pro Salt would probably provide the best bang for your buck.

FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
Salt - even without a SWG, a pool has quitea bit of salt after a few years
Water temperature

Test your fill water pH, TA and CH (no need to test the others for fill water).
Post those test results also.

Hi all, I definitely need to drain/refill. I'm a new owner and the older owners haven't drained in years. I don't have the numbers memorized, but it definitely needs to be drained and refilled. the calcium hardness and other levels are not great, it's been probably 10+ years since it was drained and refilled, so it's beyond time. Phoenix area, and the prior owners were using pucks so that has contributed to the build up and scale.

In terms of timing, I need to re-read about that to see if I drain/refill/get chemicals stabilized, then schedule SWG install? I will review, it's just a lot of reading and work has been over the top for me, so doing this in between that.
Appreciate all the suggestions and help. Ready to get this show on the road. I need to order the timer and double check to make sure I'm not forgetting anything else.

 

[Poolzer]

The plumbing doesn't have a pipe segment where needed to splice in the SWG. Your friend can consider one of these to avoid replacing thee bypass valve and salvage some other fittings. Maybe it won't pay for itself on this job, but it will on the next.

Thank you!

 

[Poolzer]

You should also have a timer to connect the SWG to. The SWG float switch is a secondary safety device. The timer is the primary safety device. The timer should be set to start the SWG about 30 minutes after the pump start and stop the SWG 30 minutes before the pump stops.

As @JamesW suggests, plumb the SWG in at the green dot in his picture. You can extend the return line horizontally to install the SWG and then 180 the line, install the flow switch and connect into the vertical pipe just under the 3-way valve.

Thanks, all this info is super helpful and very much appreciated

 

[Poolzer]

The blue line is water going to the heater and the red line is water coming out of the heater.

You can put the cell at the green dot and replumb as needed.

You probably need a timer for the SWG to turn it off when the pump is scheduled to be off.

View attachment 478837

Really appreciate the drawing. Helps a lot! Thank you!

 

[Mdragger88]

Definitely get your test kit (tf100/pro salt or taylor k2006c salt) on order asap so you know exactly how much water you need to exchange if necessary due to cya,ch, & possibly salt.

Check out this recent post from your area…

Taylor Sodium Chloride test kit

Quick question. I am having a SWCG being installed in week and half. I just received the Taylor Sodium Chloride test kit for water salt content. For the heck of it I did a test with our current water......which is clear as a bell. Followed the instructions and ended up putting in 53 drops of...

www.troublefreepool.com

Here are the how to’s for draining/exchanging water

Draining - Further Reading

www.google.com

 

[Poolzer]

Thanks for all your help everyone.

Questions.
1. On the Intermatic timer, is a digital one ok? Is there a specific model that I'm looking for? Having the digitial just makes it easier for me to operate unless there's a good reason to go with the other type.

Also......is your equipment pad running on 110 or 220? That salt unit should come preset to hook to 220. You have to move a couple jumpers inside control box to convert to 110.
Very easy.

I will find this out. Added this to my list. Thank you!

 

[proavia]

Digital timer is fine. But you need to know if you will be powering the SWG with 120 or 240 volts.

What city in the Phoenix area?
Each city has specific draining requirements. Some to street, some to sanitary sewer mostly.
Also, some cities calculate the sewer portion of the water bill based on water usage in Feb, Mar, Apr.

Additionally, drain/refill and SWG install can be done at the same time or separately - either one first.
Watch the temps and get this done soon as it appears it's finally starting to warm up.

 

[Poolzer]

Working through all the suggestions. Have drain into checked and all good there.

There is no consumption billimg.

Ordered rest kit.
Will b getting answer on voltage today.

Thank you.
How is this salt?

Let us know you're not a robot - Sam's Club

www.samsclub.com

 

[mknauss]

That salt is fine. Normally cheaper at Home Depot - but no big difference.

 

[Mdragger88]

It won’t show me the salt via the link- but when I pull up pool salt on my sams app it only shows me clorox pool salt which should be avoided.
I have had a terrible time with the amount of rocks in the Morton’s professional pool salt I got last season so I will be going with something else this year. Just put about a quart worth in my hot tub & even ran it through my little fishy dipper net to dissolve it & I am still fishing out tiny rocks a week later!

 

[jmastron]

It won’t show me the salt via the link- but when I pull up pool salt on my sams app it only shows me clorox pool salt which should be avoided.
I have had a terrible time with the amount of rocks in the Morton’s professional pool salt I got last season so I will be going with something else this year. Just put about a quart worth in my hot tub & even ran it through my little fishy dipper net to dissolve it & I am still fishing out tiny rocks a week later!

That's a pain. I buy the "Diamond Crystal Solar Naturals Water Softener Salt Crystal 40 lb" which HD here carries also but is actually a bit cheaper at my local Ace Hardware, and they load it in my trunk (Diamond Crystal Solar Naturals Water Softener Salt Crystal 40 lb - Ace Hardware). Even when I put it in a ~50 degree pool, it only took 5-10 minutes of sweeping for it to dissapear (I'm sure it took longer to fully dissolve). Haven't noticed any pebbles or rocks. Salt should be salt, but I wonder if there are any differences in industry or manufacturer standards for "pool salt" vs "water softener salt" when it comes to allowing pebbles and such. In many pools small pebbles might get picked up by the cleaner and never really noticed. In any case, the softener salt has always been less expensive so I just go with that.

To OP, I echo suggestions to test the water fully before draining anything. The SWCG certainly isn't a reason to do so; in fact you can likely take advantage of the salt levels that have built up over the years. In my case, I already had ~2000ppm of salt, saving ~10 bags. Not saying other levels might not call for it, but you definitely want to do so with specific reasons in mind. We don't worry much here about "total dissolved solids" or phosphates or other reasons pool stores might give for draining or using expensive chemicals to "treat". Post your results here and you'll get plenty of support and suggestions.

For wiring, I set my SWCG for 120V (virtually all have a way to select 120 vs 240), put a cord and plug on it, and plugged it into a cheap WiFi timer. I set that timer within the times that the pump runs, and I can adjust the run time easily from my phone, which is really nice from inside after I test since my pool is a ways from the house. I just leave my SWCG at 100% and use the timer to control the daily output.