newbie IC40 SWG question about behavior when pump is off

[JameyG]

Pool is about 45 days old and I just put in 13 bags of salt to get to 3600. I'm dead on according to my test kit. IC40 SWG lights are all green when pump is running. I have no automation or anything, so when my pump stops according to its schedule, the SWG flow light turns red (duh) and I get the green and red flashing from the high/low salt lights. When the pump starts, everything goes back to normal.

Is this a normal occurrence and hooked up correctly? I mean, I get it's not producing chlorine when no water is running through it, but wasn't sure if the IC40 is supposed to go into some sort of "off mode" ever. My pump is a pentair intelliflo. It never really shuts off (like power down), just the schedule doesn't have it running overnight, but the IC40 stays on. There is a old school manual timer thingy in my breaker box, no clue what that is used for when the pump itself has a digital schedule.

Just want to make sure i'm not messing up my SWG having it on with no water running through it for 16 hours a day (pump runs for 8). Thanks for any insights.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Jamey,

When your pump is off the SWCG should be wired so that it is also off. This was pretty easy when you had a single speed pump, because the pump and SWCG were both wired to the same power...

With a VS pump, you are still required to have some way to turn off the power to the cell when the pump is off. Most people use their old mechanical timer to power the cell's power supply. You just have to set the mechanical timer to only turn on the cell when the pump is scheduled to be running...

The mechanical timer is the Primary safety device and the cell's flow switch is the Secondary safety device. The way your system is currently wired you are relying on the Flow Switch as the only safety device.

It is possible that the cell could explode if the flow switched failed in the closed position.. The chance is remote, but has happened before...

It is kind of like driving with your Air bags disconnected... Not really a problem until you need them...

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[JameyG]

yikes, I had no idea what the old school dial timer was for. I will adjust it tomorrow! Thanks for the response!

 

[Jimrahbe]

yikes, I had no idea what the old school dial timer was for. I will adjust it tomorrow! Thanks for the response!

Depending on who wired it and when, it might not even be controlling the SWCG's power supply..

Before adjusting it you might want to make sure it is still controlling the SWCG..

I recommend adjusting it to be "inside" the pump hours.. For example.. if you run your pump from 6 am until 6 pm, then I would set the timer to come on at 6:30 am and turn off at 5:30 pm. This allows for a little slop between the pump's internal clock and the mechanical timer...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JameyG]

Thanks! Yep, it's wired to the SWG. When I flip that switch connected to the mechanical timer, the SWG is off. Something funky I noticed was that the mechanical timer is NOT controlling the pump though. As a test, I had the pump to come on at noon, and the mechanical time to come on a 1pm, just to see what would happen. Sure enough, the pump fired up at noon, but the SWG was off. I guess I should have realized this because the pump was still on (not actively running, but digital display still showing and showing the schedule) even with the mechanical timer power off.

Is this a normal electrical setup? Seems odd.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Thanks! Yep, it's wired to the SWG. When I flip that switch connected to the mechanical timer, the SWG is off. Something funky I noticed was that the mechanical timer is NOT controlling the pump though. As a test, I had the pump to come on at noon, and the mechanical time to come on a 1pm, just to see what would happen. Sure enough, the pump fired up at noon, but the SWG was off. I guess I should have realized this because the pump was still on (not actively running, but digital display still showing and showing the schedule) even with the mechanical timer power off.

Is this a normal electrical setup? Seems odd.

Jamey,

Yes it is... the VS pump should get constant AC power... this is because it has its own internal controller that will lose its memory if off for more than a day or two...

The mechanical timer should only be controlling the SWCG's power supply...

Thanks,

Jim R.