Should I add liquid chlorine or do a 100% boost on my Jandy swg

[moore887]

I've been away for a week and I came back to the sunshine in Florida to this:

FC 2
pH 7.2 (looks like the pH down from Clorox did something. I had being buying MA but did an impulse buy in Walmart)
TA 140
Ch 200
Cya 90

I have a jug of chlorine that I bought in Leslie's a couple of weeks ago so I can use.whats in that or I can do a boost on the swg. What do you think?

 

[Jimrahbe]

887,

I would always use Liquid Chlorine/Bleach to rapidly increase your FC over the SWCG itself. SWCGs are slow and it does not make sense to use up the SWCG hours...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[moore887]

Thanks Jim. Do you think I should have the swg running 24 hours at a lower rate (the pump and heater are currently set on 24 hours) or have it going on it's pool builder set 8 hour cycle?

 

[Jimrahbe]

887,

My system runs 24/7... This is not a requirement, it is just something I personally like to do.. I like the idea that I'm generating a little chlorine all the time. I also like the idea that I'm constantly skimming. My pump runs at 1200 RPM, most of the time, so the cost to run 24/7 is less than $20 bucks a month.. This also allows me to keep my cell's output as low as possible.

A number of our members like to take the opposite point of view.. they like to run their pumps for as few hours as possible. Of course this means that they set their cells at 100% and run their pumps just long enough to generate the chlorine they need..

Either way, or anything in between , works just fine.. Just do whatever works best for you.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[moore887]

Thanks again Jim. I run my vari speed ac the same way. I think I will do the same with the swg. I never understood the reason for the separate mechanical timer on the swg when it could be triggered by the Jandy pump. I'm hoping 1200 rpm will be enough for the heater and skimmer. I will go out now and pour half a gallon of chlorine into the skimmer as the sun is going down.

Dave

 

[mknauss]

Never pour chemicals directly in the skimmer. The high concentration can damage pump seals, filter parts, etc.

Just pour your chlorine in a pencil stream at the return water jet.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Dave,

The SWCG is supposed to have the power removed when the pump is off... In most cases VS pumps have no output saying the pump is off. Since VS pumps have constant power you can't use their input power to control the SWCG like you could with the old single speed pumps. One of the common ways to control the SWCG is by using a mechanical timer.. You set a run schedule in the pump and then you set the mechanical timer to operate inside the pump's schedule. This is not perfect, but works well enough.

I am not sure if your specific Jandy pump has an external output saying the pump is running or not, but I suspect it does not.

As a general rule we always recommend that liquid chemicals be added in front of an operating return eyeball rather than the skimmer..

If you have a heater, you most likly will have to run at 1500 or above. But try it at several speeds and see which one works best for you..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[moore887]

Thanks for the advice. I don't know where I got the idea of always adding chemicals via the skimmer. I think my father in law was doing it that way for years. That might explain a few failed pumps. In any case, she's dosed up there now with half a gallon of chlorine which should keep her in the green for a few days until I get the swg set where it's keeping the FC on the level.