Pump Speed / SWCG Question

[kthoms]

Hi,

Been reading these forums religiously for the past week and went to register and found out I did in 2016 somehow, that was weird.

In any case I'm a newbie and I got my pool late last year and never had much issue, we only used it a couple of months before I closed it, I have Pentair pump and a IC20 SWCG

This year I've been struggling to have much of any chlorine and have had to shock it regularly. So I cleaned the filter, got some more chlorine, pool is clear for about 48 hours and algae comes back and is cloudy. Then I took apart the SWCG to clean with acid but there was absolutely nothing in there. Last year the guy who installed my pool said "always keep it at the 1st program" which was running at 2350RPM / 24-7. My research here makes me think that should be plenty to keep the flow light green. After awhile I noticed the flow switch was red (I have no idea how long it was red to be honest). Sure enough I bump it up to 2400RPM and the flow switch turns green, this lasted a few hours and now it's red again. Bump it up to 2500 and it turns green again. There is no way I should have to run it that high for the SWCG to be working, would you agree? Thanks for any help

 

[Jimrahbe]

K,

If you have algae, then there is just no sense in even running the SWCG... No salt cell can make chlorine faster than algae can consume it.

The reason you have to keep bumping up the pump speed to make the flow switch close, is that algae is quickly clogging your filter.

You have to kill the algae first and then work on getting the SWCG to run.

How big is your pool in gallons. An IC20 is only good for a 10K pool or less.

If you can actually see the algae, you need to perform what we call a SLAM.. See this video.



Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[kthoms]

Thanks for the reply

Everywhere I read is the IC20 is good for 20K gallons, mine is about 22K I figure.

Yes I've been reading about SLAM all week, started yesterday, I'll see how it goes

 

[jgofnj]

Thanks for the reply

Everywhere I read is the IC20 is good for 20K gallons, mine is about 22K I figure.

Yes I've been reading about SLAM all week, started yesterday, I'll see how it goes

I am going to assume you read that everywhere but on this site. You would never see anyone recommend a IC20 for a 22K pool on this site for sure. You would be much better served with at least the IC40.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

The manufacturer ratings are generally based on running the system 24/7 at 100%. Below is a screenshot from Pool Math using a 22,000 gallon pool. The IC20 generates 0.7 lb of chlorine per day. If run 24/7 at 100%, that would raise FC by 3.8 ppm. During swim season, most pools use between 2-4 ppm daily.

 

[kthoms]

I am going to assume you read that everywhere but on this site. You would never see anyone recommend a IC20 for a 22K pool on this site for sure. You would be much better served with at least the IC40.

I have no doubt as this seems like the best pool forum on the internet. However, I only went with what the pool company gave me as part of their package

 

[kthoms]

The manufacturer ratings are generally based on running the system 24/7 at 100%. Below is a screenshot from Pool Math using a 22,000 gallon pool. The IC20 generates 7 lb of chlorine per day. If run 24/7 at 100%, that would raise FC by 3.8 ppm. During swim season, most pools use between 2-4 ppm daily.

View attachment 515054

Ah that's how they justify the recommendation. Makes sense, I doubt they could make a false claim as bad as a 10,000 gallon difference and get away with it

 

[Jimrahbe]

k,

All companies rate their cells the same way.. Running 24/7 at 100% output.

Your location makes it not quite as bad as someone that lives in Arizona or Texas..

Running 24/7 is not an issue since you have a VS pump. I run 24/7, mostly at 1200 RPM, and it costs me less than $20 USD per month.

I like making a little chlorine all the time and skimming all the time. I also like to see some movement in my pool water, so it does not look dead.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[kthoms]

k,

All companies rate their cells the same way.. Running 24/7 at 100% output.

Your location makes it not quite as bad as someone that lives in Arizona or Texas..

Running 24/7 is not an issue since you have a VS pump. I run 24/7, mostly at 1200 RPM, and it costs me less than $20 USD per month.

I like making a little chlorine all the time and skimming all the time. I also like to see some movement in my pool water, so it does not look dead.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks Jim. Here in Canada our pool season is basically May-September. Once I finish the SLAM I'll see if I can get the SWG with a good flow going at a decent RPM