Pentiar IC 20 dead?

[rmclain73]

Last week I decided it was time to get the SWG up and running for the season. Did the Taylor salt drop test and I was at 2200ppm. PoolMath said I needed to add 93lbs of salt to get to 3400ppm. Water temp was 82 degrees when I did the test. I added 80lbs of salt. Running the Taylor test again I went up to 3600ppm. That was 200ppm higher than what the manual of the IC 20 says is ideal. Turned on the cell and all lights were working and looked to be functioning properly. Checked FC levels the next day and I lost 2ppm. Added liquid chlorine to get up to proper levels. Next day same thing happened.. However this time I noticed that all lights on the SWG stayed on even when there was no flow. It looked as if it was stuck. I unplugged it and turned it back on. All lights came back, but this time I was getting the flashing green light saying salt too high. Last night I added some water as the pool level was low in the hopes the flashing green would go away. Today when I got home from work there seems to be no power getting to the SWG. All lights are off. I unplugged and plugged back in several times. This unit is going on year 3. Our winter here in New England was very very cold. Had my car battery changed a few months back and AAA told me any car left outside needed a new battery this spring. Did the cold kill it? Cell just old? Did too much salt ruin it?

UPDATE: after further reading of the manual, Pentair says salt levels between 2800-4500 are acceptable. It was my quick start guide that recommended 3400 for ideal level. My 3600 level should be fine.

 

[mknauss]

Does not sound good.

Your signature shows a IC40. Is that the size you have?

Do you have automation? A separate timer for the SWCG?

 

[rmclain73]

No automation or separate timer. Yes I need to update sig. I thought it was the IC 40, but my paperwork shows IC 20 which makes sense for my pool size.

 

[mknauss]

So how is your the power to your SWCG disconnected when the pump is not running? That is a safety issue for another time.

I would suspect the cell is dead. Warranty? If this is the original cell and you had all the Pentair equipment you show installed by a professional at the same time you should have a 3 year warranty.

 

[rmclain73]

So after spending some time on the phone Pentiar, and going through a series of test, they believe I have a dead cell. They are sending out a service company this week with a new cell. It is still under warranty which is great!

In doing the test for pentiar I noticed my flow switch inside the cell looked rusty. There was a brown reddish matter all over it. I could get some of it off with a q-tip, but it was not coming off that easily. If it is rust my question is, is that normal? I am pretty anal about checking the levels in pool every day if not every other. My ph generally hovers around 7.2-7.4 range. That is just where it wants to be. All levels are usually in check. The only thing I can think of was some wate left on the flow switch over the winter that may have caused this?

Current levels:

FC. 7.5
CC. 0
PH. 7.2
TA. 80
CH. 150
CYA. 60
Temp 82

I am basing my FC on a non salt pool until I get my new cell. I will raise the CYA a bit too once everything is working.