New pool, high salt level from the Hayward box

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M

monsterlab

0
Mar 13, 2017
22
Riverview, FL
Hey everyone. First post, so hopefully I don't sound like a complete idiot. I have a 9,000 gallon pool/spa combo with a salt generator, and the builder just came out today to put the salt in. I wasn't here when he did it, so I'm not sure how many bags he used. The meter on the Hayward box is reading 5000. It's been roughly two or three house since he was here, and I can still see some salt on the bottom of the pool, so it hasn't completely dissolved yet.

Should I be concerned about the high level, or should I give it some time to settle? According to the manufacturer, the ideal reading is between 2400 and 3400. I have the Taylor 2600 testing kit, but it doesn't include a test for salt levels. How accurate is the reading on the Hayward box? Should I get a separate tester for salt levels, or should I go by what the box says.

Thanks!
 
Monster,

Welcome to TFP... A Great resource for all your pool question... :testkit:

I'm the only one around here that is allowed to sound like a complete idiot, so you are safe... :p

I'm told that the Hayward units are pretty accurate, but unless you have something to compare the readings against, it is hard to tell.

If he just dumped the salt in today, then really the system should have been shut off for 12 to 24 hours to allow the salt to mix well before turning the SWCG back on.

I use the Taylor K-1766 salt test kit, which works well. But I have a Pentair SWCG which is known to not be all that close when testing the salt level.

We have some pretty sharp Hayward members who should chime in soon..

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.
 
Yeah, I think turning on the SWG too early while the salt is not entirely dissolved and mixed in can "confuse" the system when its turned on too soon. I would turn it off and leave it off for a day or two then turn it back on and see how it looks.

Taylor's K-1766 Salt test kit, TFTestkits.net , is the most accurate test I think. I trust it over my SWG reading actually.

Yippee :flower:
 
As someone mentioned the SWG should have been left off for 24 hours once salt was added. Additionally when you add salt you may want to reset the salt reading (it's an average) by doing an update to get an Instant Salinity reading. To do this (from the manual):


  1. Slide the Main Switch to the "Auto" position.
  2. Push the Diagnostic button repeatedly until "-xxxx ppm" appears on the display.
  3. Slide the Main Switch from "Auto" to "Super Chlorinate" and back to "Auto".
  4. Push the Diagnostic button to exit.

This will recalibrate the Salt level reading which could be displaying an incorrectly high reading since the SWG was turned on too soon before salt had chance to fully mix.

Note that step #2 will show you want the salt level reading is at the current time, so you could also just check and see if that level is lower than the average reading being display.

Enjoy!
 
bobandsherry said:
Curious as to if you've seen a difference between what your SWG system reports and what the K-1766 results show. Also, which SWG do you have?
Click to expand...

I haven't looked at the device's salt reading in ages, so not sure of hand. But its not close to my salt test kit reading which corresponded with how much salt had been added. And when I tried using salt test strips at the same time as the drop test they didn't agree either.

I have a Compupool device, rated for 36k gallons.

Yip :flower:
 
Wow, thanks for all the great replies. Since the SWG has been running all day today (didn't see the recommendation to turn it off for 24 hours until after the pump had already shut off for the night), would there be any benefit to leaving it off for 24 hours starting tomorrow, or should I just leave it as-is and attempt to recalibrate? This site is an awesome resource, by the way. I've learned a lot just by lurking for the past few weeks.
 
monsterlab said:
Wow, thanks for all the great replies. Since the SWG has been running all day today (didn't see the recommendation to turn it off for 24 hours until after the pump had already shut off for the night), would there be any benefit to leaving it off for 24 hours starting tomorrow, or should I just leave it as-is and attempt to recalibrate? This site is an awesome resource, by the way. I've learned a lot just by lurking for the past few weeks.
Click to expand...
After 24 hours your salt should now be mixed so I wouldn't see any benefit to keeping it off. However, follow my advise above to check the instant salinity and also to re-calibrate the salt reading.

I just noticed you and I are in same area, Riverview, FL. I'm located off Big Bend, where are you?
 

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bobandsherry said:
After 24 hours your salt should now be mixed so I wouldn't see any benefit to keeping it off. However, follow my advise above to check the instant salinity and also to re-calibrate the salt reading.

I just noticed you and I are in same area, Riverview, FL. I'm located off Big Bend, where are you?
Click to expand...

Small world! I'm also located right off of Big Bend. I live in South Fork.

So I followed the instructions to check the instant salinity and recalibrate the salt reading. After switching from "Super Chlorinate" and back to "Auto," the instant salinity reading was at -4200 for about 10 seconds, and then it dropped to 0. The 'check salt' and 'inspect cell' lights are on now. Does it take a bit for things to operate normally after recalibration?

Thanks!
 
I found part of the problem. I have the TCell 940 and the box was set to 't-9.' I changed it to t-15 per the manual's instruction, and now I get a reading of -2800 on the instant salinity meter right after recalibrating. It runs like that for about 30 seconds and then drops to 0. The check salt and inspect cell lights both come on when that happens.
 
monsterlab said:
I found part of the problem. I have the TCell 940 and the box was set to 't-9.' I changed it to t-15 per the manual's instruction, and now I get a reading of -2800 on the instant salinity meter right after recalibrating. It runs like that for about 30 seconds and then drops to 0. The check salt and inspect cell lights both come on when that happens.
Click to expand...
Just to be sure, your pump is running when you are checking? Strange that your pool maintenance guy didn't notice that from prior years, have to wonder if he was even checking the SWG. When you say the indicator lights are "on", are they steady or flashing? The same indicator light means different whether they are flashing or not.

I have same SWG equipment as you (only difference is I have a T-9 cell). I would first turn off the unit, ensure that your pump is running. Then turn the SWG back on and let it run for a few minutes and recheck the indicator lights.
 
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