Pentair IC40 chlorine production down

[mknauss]

If you clean the cell all those times with acid, that is reducing the life of the cell substantially.

Yes, our water is high in CH. I drain/exchange our pool water to fresh every 16 months or so.

Have never tested phosphates. They are not of consequence. If you are getting that test results at a pool store, it is likely very incorrect.

If you are at a FC of 3 ppm, that is too low. See FC/CYA Levels

 

[tpribors]

If you clean the cell all those times with acid, that is reducing the life of the cell substantially.

Yes, our water is high in CH. I drain/exchange our pool water to fresh every 16 months or so.

Have never tested phosphates. They are not of consequence. If you are getting that test results at a pool store, it is likely very incorrect.

If you are at a FC of 3 ppm, that is too low. See FC/CYA Levels

So as I mentioned elsewhere I used to test my own water. All the bottles of drops and everything. Pool store got the same results. The last test I so doubted the new automated disc test that I went to another store that used the drops and everything right across the line was the same (and salt meter). This place has a culture against pool store tests. That's OK. I'm a believer in "trust but verify" which I do if things seem wacky. I have used this particular store for 7 years trust their results.

3 is all I'm able to eek out of the salt cell right now. Pentair says that's right... I prefer to keep it at about 4-6 (target 5 with a little under- and over-shoot) I pulled the cell yesterday and went to tabs (which is also what I use over the winter.)

Re: Phosphates. I've read pretty much everything here on the topic. I'd always ignored it as well, until the recent "bloom". Now I believe what I was looking for as a chemical deficiency in CYA and phosphate level is in all likelihood the cell itself. Meanwhile, everything points to the fact that while phosphates themselves may be ignored if in the lower range, if it gets to be too much you can increase chlorination or reduce phosphates. With 90+ water temps the salt cell has enough to keep up with so I'll just make its job a little easier. I can spend the money on phosphate remover or electricity to increase pump/generation time. Meanwhile, I'll change the water this spring for a reason I'll discuss in another topic.

PS. At the November closing I replace the salt cell with a shunt. Also, in the spring I drain a foot or more of water off and re-center the salt and CYA.