pool pilot digital newbie

[raydimarcello]

hi

As per my builder's instructions I waited 30 days for my new plaster to cure then started adding salt. 30,000 gallon pool. I am both testing the salt level as well as monitoring the pool pilot display that registers the salt level and tells you how much to add. both are indicating ~2900 ppm at this point.

I understand there are two settings on this SWG - power level and purifier %. power level was set to 2 as initial setting which is what the manual says. The manual also says to start the % out at 50 which I did after adding salt. Now after a few days it is adjusting itself downward into the 20% range, and as I test the chlorine it is trending low in the 1 to 2 range. For the life of me I cannot find anywhere in the manual where it says that it will adjust the % on it's own. And since I can't find that, I also have no idea what it is basing that decision on. I am pretty sure it does not check chlorine level directly.

So is this thing supposed to self adjust the % level? What data is it using to determine when and how much to do that? Where is this documented?

thanks in advance

Ray

 

[Jimrahbe]

Ray,

Welcome to TFP... A Great resource for all your "Salty" questions...

Autopilot's calling card is that their cell's adjust themselves based upon the water temperature. In theory, as the days gets hotter or colder the cell's output automatically increase or decreases.

They have a number of different systems. Please let us know the actual system you have, including what size pool the cell is rated for.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[raydimarcello]

Ray,

Welcome to TFP... A Great resource for all your "Salty" questions...

Autopilot's calling card is that their cell's adjust themselves based upon the water temperature. In theory, as the days gets hotter or colder the cell's output automatically increase or decreases.

They have a number of different systems. Please let us know the actual system you have, including what size pool the cell is rated for.

Thanks,

Jim R.

thanks

Autopilot model #75003

cell = SC-36. Not sure what that means for pool size.

And I was wrong, power level is 1, not 2. Installer must have changed it if default is 2.

I would think the % would go up a bit when hotter out, not down. Pool temp reading is 85 F.

 

[ping]

Switch it to 2 or 3 for summer time use. How long is the pump running and what is the CYA level?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Ray,

Your manual says...

Chlorine Output
SuperCell Type Maximum Chlorine Output (# 75003 Control unit set on Cell Power 3 @100% output, 24 hrs/day)
SC-36 1.28 lbs/day (0.58 kg/day)
SC-48 1.56 lbs/day (0.71 kg/day)
SC-60 1.92 lbs/day (0.88 kg/day)

Are you sure you have the SC-36? If so, that cell is way too small for a 30K pool... You might want to check with your pool builder..

We always recommend a cell that is at least 2 x the volume of your pool.. so in your case that would be the SC-60.

Assuming you do have the SC-36 your cell will increase the FC level in your pool by .21 ppm per hour when running in Power Level 3 and at 100%.

Most pools use 2 to 4 ppm of FC per day.. so let's say your pool used 3 ppm of FC per day... That means you will need to run your pump for about 14 hours a day.

Cells do a great job of maintain an FC level, but not a great job of increasing the FC by a large amount. I suggest that you add Liquid Chlorine to get you FC where you want it an then let the Cell take over.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[raydimarcello]

Switch it to 2 or 3 for summer time use. How long is the pump running and what is the CYA level?

CYA = 60.

Pump runs 6am to 9pm so 15 hrs.

Pretty sure the cell is this one.. AutoPilot OEM Replacement Salt Cell | SC-36 RC-35/22 PPC1

The only #'s visible on it are PPC1 and a serial #. The unit's config menu says cell type = SC-36...RC-35/22.

 

[ping]

Your original settings of 50% and 15 hours of run time would only add 1.6ppm of FC a day if it were set on power level 3.

Make sure your program is set in the menu and I would change it to power level 3 and 100% output for 15 hours or add more pump run time to reduce the output%. Talk to the installer if they can bump up the cell to the RC-52 for a couple hundred dollars.

I'm not sure why the controller would reduce the outputs with the water temp at 85 degrees so you might want to give your installer or AutoPilot a call on that one.