New house with pool and first test- Free Chlorine is ~16ppm - sheesh!

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bertschb

bertschb

Bronze Supporter
Dec 11, 2021
392
Arizona
Pool Size
13600
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
So we went to our new-to-us house for a couple hours today (we move in tomorrow) and I tested the free chlorine at 15ppm using a 25ml water sample. Being new to this and sensing this was way too high I tested the water again using a 10ml water sample and that one came back at 17ppm. I'll do a much more thorough test of the water tomorrow when I'm rested but that seems WAAAAY too high. I glanced at the Pentair IC40 SWCG and all the lights were lit so I think the pool care guy the previous owners used had it set at 100% which seems way overkill because the water temperature is 55. The SWCG was set at 100% when we looked at the pool a couple weeks ago too.

I tested the salt and it was around 3,600 so at least that is OK.
 
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Depends on what the CYA is - but just turn down the SWCG to create about 1 ppm FC per day. It will create FC when the pool water is above 52F.
 
Congratulations on your new home! Oh and the pool, too. Marty has you covered. Will you jump into the pool but like to ceremonially believe it is all yours? 😁
 
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Check out the FC/CYA page to know if 15ppm is too high or not. If your CYA is really high, then 15ppm may be ok.

www.troublefreepool.com

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
I just tested CYA and the solution didn’t even get cloudy. I could see the black dot at the bottom of the test tube when it was full. Not very happy right now. First two tests of my new pool are off the charts.
 
Poor water chemistry is typical of a pool maintenance company managed pool.

Just slowly get it turned around. Check the CH as you may want to drain it.
 
Brian,

What you are finding is pretty typical when a pool maintenance company gets involved.

Just turn the cell down to zero and it won't take too long for the FC to come down.

Please run a full set of tests and report what you find.. Like this.

FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
Salt

Some other things I suggest would be to Clean the filter, so you know what the clean pressure should be..

Inspect and clean the cell if necessary. Again, you need to know where you are now.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
I will run all the tests tomorrow. It’s been a long day. Thank you all very much for your input. It’s very much appreciated!
 

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mknauss said:
Then they drained and refilled in the last few months.
Click to expand...
The pool was built during 2021. Not exactly sure which month though. I turned the SWCG down to 10% from 100% where it's been for at least 2 weeks. Could be months. Who knows? I'll post full test results tomorrow when we get back to the house.
 
I will say, after doing these water tests this evening, I'm tempted to get the...

LaMotte WaterLink Mobile Spin Touch Photometer​

 
I do kind of enjoy the chemistry set feel to the Taylor K2006C kit but that Spin Touch appeals to the gadget side of me...
 
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OK, here are some additional numbers:

Ph - 8.0+
TA - 240ppm
FC - 16
CH - 380
CYA - off chart (high)
Salt - 3,600
Water temp - 54
 
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TA of 24 ppm -- that is not a usual result of that test. It should be in whole 10's. Do that test again.

CYA off chart like none or too much?
 

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