New to Salt Water Pools

[y2k600f4]

I just moved and have successfully maintained a chlorine pool for 12 years but salt water pools are new to me. I opened the pool at the new house yesterday (was surprised on how clear the water was, my chlorine pool was always green like a farm pond despite proper closing) which uses an AquaRite SWG T-9 cell. Checked PH, TA, CH and salt levels (All looked good) prior to start up. Not sure if the Salt water test strips are bad but the salt level appears to be ~3200 ppm however the AquaRite is reading 400 ppm. This is the 4th swimming season and I expect the cell has been used for 3 years; however due to the pump not having a timer I am guessing it was ran 24/7 for 3 years for 5 or so months. Also the serial # is #3E15125-..... that I believe is a 3 year warranty manufactured on the 125th day of 2015; so warranty is over.

Before I start dumping salt into the pool I plan on getting new salt water test strips, however my feeling is the salt water level is probably close. Is the 400 ppm reading telling me the cell went bad over the winter? I checked the plates and they look clean. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome! Take a look at this page: Individual Tests (K-1000, borates, CYA, FAS-DPD, salt, pH meters) . You'll see an option for both strips and the K-1766 drops. Many like the drops for their accuracy. While your salt level may indeed be low, salt wouldn't disappear unless water was changed before. I agree it would be best to validate with new test products. It's not uncommon for the SWG salt level to be off as well, hence better to test on your own. Here are some other pages that should be helpful to you:
Salt Water Chlorine Generators - Trouble Free Pool
Water Balance for SWGs - Trouble Free Pool
ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
FC/CYA Levels
Test Kits Compared
PoolMath

Have a nice weekend!

 

[y2k600f4]

Welcome! Take a look at this page: Individual Tests (K-1000, borates, CYA, FAS-DPD, salt, pH meters) . You'll see an option for both strips and the K-1766 drops. Many like the drops for their accuracy. While your salt level may indeed be low, salt wouldn't disappear unless water was changed before. I agree it would be best to validate with new test products. It's not uncommon for the SWG salt level to be off as well, hence better to test on your own. Here are some other pages that should be helpful to you:
Salt Water Chlorine Generators - Trouble Free Pool
Water Balance for SWGs - Trouble Free Pool
ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
FC/CYA Levels
Test Kits Compared
PoolMath

Have a nice weekend!

Thanks Texas Splash for the replay and info. I went ahead and ordered a K-1766 test kit and I am preparing for the reality that I probably need a new cell since the SWG will not activate due to the "check salt" and "inspect cell" indicators along with the 400ppm salt level is low but should not be that low!!

If anything I probably have too much salt in the pool (added 80 lbs) trying to see if the SWG salt levels would change (which they didn't)...will confirm with the K-1766. thanks.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

It might be too late for this warning but...
Remember to always turn the cell off when adding salt to the pool. A blast of salt going thru the cell can mess with the device's "brain" so to speak.
And give the pool some good brushing for a day to make sure all the salt is dissolved.

Maddie

 

[vkingbb]

Couple things... Hayward and AquaRite are the same Company. That msg MIGHT be a simple "check salt" and "inspect cell" warning. Try this... Inspect Cell LED will flash alone when the 500 operational hour timer has expired. To manually reset the Inspect Cell LED, press and hold the Diagnostics button until the LED turns off (about 3-5 seconds). [Both mine flashed and I knew my salt was at 3000ppm at startup] The reset worked. Btw, this was on a T-Cell-9, I've since upgraded to a T-Cell-15, why? I run my pool 24/7 from early May until the Fall winds blow in late Sept, more than the 500 operational hours.

 

[y2k600f4]

Couple things... Hayward and AquaRite are the same Company. That msg MIGHT be a simple "check salt" and "inspect cell" warning. Try this... Inspect Cell LED will flash alone when the 500 operational hour timer has expired. To manually reset the Inspect Cell LED, press and hold the Diagnostics button until the LED turns off (about 3-5 seconds). [Both mine flashed and I knew my salt was at 3000ppm at startup] The reset worked. Btw, this was on a T-Cell-9, I've since upgraded to a T-Cell-15, why? I run my pool 24/7 from early May until the Fall winds blow in late Sept, more than the 500 operational hours.

Thanks for the tip but unfortunately the LEDs are not flashing (constant) - can't be reset.

 

[vkingbb]

Ratts! SWG pools are really easy to maintain, A Love/Hate relation about SWG for us pool owners .. Any ways, can you get the Cell tested - before you rebuy a T-Cell? Might be a controller problem, not a T-Cell. I looked, on the Hayward/AquaRite site and there seems to be no way to test if the controller - might be the problem, don't that figure. I'd be in the same boat as you asking questions - hoping for an answer.

 

[ping]

Go through all of the diagnostic numbers and post them. Make sure the controller is showing a T-9 cell and not something else as that can cause those symptoms.

See if any of your local pool stores have a tester for AquaRite cells.

 

[y2k600f4]

Go through all of the diagnostic numbers and post them. Make sure the controller is showing a T-9 cell and not something else as that can cause those symptoms.

See if any of your local pool stores have a tester for AquaRite cells.

Thanks. Cell has been set up to T-9 (during startup it was set to T-4 but was corrected)

The #s I wrote down this morning while following the diagnostic section in the manual are as follows:

67
32.5
0.00
50p
-0
AL-1
r 1.59
t.-9

The display reads 400 (400 ppm and attempted to recalibrate it). When I get home I will verify the above #s.

 

[LFrankow]

My SWG was giving me funky numbers and flashing lights this spring, I turned off the power, unplugged the cell waited a minute plugged cell back in, then powered on SWG, things have worked fine since.

 

[y2k600f4]

My SWG was giving me funky numbers and flashing lights this spring, I turned off the power, unplugged the cell waited a minute plugged cell back in, then powered on SWG, things have worked fine since.

I need to verify the wiring. When I shut of the pump at the subpanel the SWG display stays lit (do these have a battery backup?). I will try shutting off at the breaker....I need to look into this anyway since I need to install a timer. Not sure why the company who installed the pool did not put in a timer.....the SWG effectively has ran for 9 years vs 3 years of use (8 hrs day vs 24 hrs).

 

[LFrankow]

When powered down the SWG display stays lit for a short time
I do have a long runtime on my SWG with a lower % of actual on time.
So if you run at say 10%, your SWG will run about 6 minutes per hour.

 

[kefjens]

While waiting for your test kit you could take water to the pool store to see what they are reading for salt.....

 

[y2k600f4]

While waiting for your test kit you could take water to the pool store to see what they are reading for salt.....

Good point.....going after work today. Thanks

 

[y2k600f4]

Well it looks like I should not of added those 2 bags (80 lbs) of salt. SWG was reading 400 ppm before and after adding the salt and now the salt levels according to the pool store are off the chart ~5000 ppm....recommend draining ~12 inches from the pool. I guess it is time for a new cell. Going to take a while to drain and add a foot of water.

 

[spatel95]

Try to recalibrate your salt cell for salt reading. You can look up instructions for aquarite online. I think you have to move it to off and then back to auto and then check the instant salt reading (one with '-').

 

[kefjens]

If you haven't already started, wait until you get your salt test kit before you drain and fill. That will make sure you have the most accurate readings.