Struggling maintaining Chlorine levels after adding solar heater

Jump to latest Follow Reply
N

nefloridaswg

Member
Oct 20, 2021
10
ST AUG BEACH, FL
I have a 10k Gallon gunnite pool (Pebbletec). The build was finished in April of this year. It has a Hayward T9 cell (rated for 25k) gallons.
After some newlywed time, i settled at a salt cell generation of 38%. Which constantly kept my Chlorine levels between 2-4ppm. The PH required a cup of acid everyday or so. It's been like that for 6 months or so.

I recently added a solar heater. Since doing so I've struggled maintaining chlorine. I increased the salt cell to 50% and barely can keep 0-1. I need to super chlorinate all day to keep levels.

PH is 7.4
Phosphate 0 ppb
Average temp 80 night-85 day
Alkalinity 100 ppm
Calcium 325 ppm
Stabalizer 70-80 ppm
Salt 3300 PPM

I've tested with multiple kits, Taylor 2005/2006 and even tried strips and let the pool store test. All come back within range, but my chlorine is fleeting.

Salt cell has been cleaned and tested and is producing chlorine. Water is clear, no visible buildup/algea.

Any thoughts?
 
You didn't say if you have any automation (you should consider adding your pool details to your signature), but if you do, did the solar heater installer change the schedule on your automation so that the filter pump doesn't run as long as it used to?
 
Just a shot but
  • Is this solar heater the kind that you pump the water to the panels, raised up and maybe on the roof?
  • Is the SWG before or after the heater in the lines?
If the SWG is not the last thing before the returns then maybe your chlorine is staying in the solar heater?
 
nobody291 said:
You didn't say if you have any automation (you should consider adding your pool details to your signature), but if you do, did the solar heater installer change the schedule on your automation so that the filter pump doesn't run as long as it used to?
Click to expand...
Ahh thank you I'll get my signature updated! I have a hayward omnilogic, the schedule has been 8AM to 5PM at 65% pump speed (Variable). When the heater kicks on, it ramps up to 100% for three minutes.

I do have it set to heater extend, meaning if it's capable of producing heat beyond 5PM it will keep the pump running.
 
TexasEd said:
Just a shot but
  • Is this solar heater the kind that you pump the water to the panels, raised up and maybe on the roof?
  • Is the SWG before or after the heater in the lines?
If the SWG is not the last thing before the returns then maybe your chlorine is staying in the solar heater?
Click to expand...
Thank you!
This is the kind where you pump water to the panels. The flow when the heater is on goes from
Heat ON: PUMP > FILTER > PANELS > SWG > POOL.
Heat Off: PUMP > FILTER> SWG > POOL
 
nobody291 said:
I would still guess that something has changed with your settings, so I would double check everything. I'm not sure that running the pump 9 hours a day with your SWG at 38% would generate enough chlorine.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I double checked everything last night. It's been enough for 6 months, but suddenly doesn't seem to be. It's running at 60% right now and chlorine was good this morning.

I cleaned the filter and the filter tank last night, thought maybe something could be growing in the bottom? Hopefully it works.
 
So, anytime you suspect anything chemistry wise, Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. Get the FC up to 8-10, bypass the solar and turn off the SWG. If the pool holds FC overnight without the solar then we know it’s solar related. If the pool loses nighttime FC with no sun, then there was an underlying algae issue that’s coincidentally appearing now making you look at the solar and possibly wasting precious time.

If we prove the pool water to be healthy, it buys us all the time in the world to fiddle with everything else. You will keep extra tabs on the FC in the meantime, just in case, and dose manually to never get close to minimum. (y)

But if you fail the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test, it’s SLAM Process time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zollan23 and TexasEd
Personally, I prefer to see pump speed on the OmniLogic system, rather than percent of max pump speed. The max pump speed can easily be configured to whatever you want in the OmniLogic system - even well below actual max pump speed, which is probably 3450RPM on your pump. So 60% pump speed could mean anything, really. You might check the actual speed, and also take a peek at the flow restriction curves for your solar panels vs the flow chart for the pump - seems there’s a chance that your flow rate dropped enough due to the panels that the SWG flow switch isn’t activated.

To confirm that, can you manually switch the valve to route the water straight to the SWG after the filter? If chlorine levels come back up to where you’d expect, then it could be a flow/restriction issue when the panels are part of the circuit.
 
Danimal92Sport said:
Personally, I prefer to see pump speed on the OmniLogic system, rather than percent of max pump speed. The max pump speed can easily be configured to whatever you want in the OmniLogic system - even well below actual max pump speed, which is probably 3450RPM on your pump. So 60% pump speed could mean anything, really. You might check the actual speed, and also take a peek at the flow restriction curves for your solar panels vs the flow chart for the pump - seems there’s a chance that your flow rate dropped enough due to the panels that the SWG flow switch isn’t activated.

To confirm that, can you manually switch the valve to route the water straight to the SWG after the filter? If chlorine levels come back up to where you’d expect, then it could be a flow/restriction issue when the panels are part of the circuit.
Click to expand...
Thank you!

I checked the speed and it seems that 100% is actually full speed, but I do see the setting you refer to that lets you set a new 100%. I thought it might be something due to flow and the routing of the solar, i disabled the solar all day yesterday and checked it this morning and it was at a 0 :(.

I spoke to hayward and they suggested orienting my Salt Cell so the HUMP was down. It was currently in the HUMP up position. They requested I try this before warrantying the cell itself. I just changed it and will let ya know!
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
nefloridaswg said:
But I'll for sure fail the overnight test.
Click to expand...
You have no idea until you pass/fail the OCLT. It could be something in the solar and the pool is fine. If you fail then Slam away. If the pool is healthy, then it buys us time to fiddle with the rest of it.
 
Danimal92Sport said:
2 gal of bleach in a 10k gal pool and zero chlorine 2 hours later? Could this be a testing issue?
Click to expand...
It could be but I think the chances are less likely. I have the taylor kit, and went and bought new reagents for r001 and r002. Just to be sure. I also have a clear pools dropper kit, it's harder to read since it's shades of yellow as the chlorine gets higher. It showed clear water, with no yellow. I also have some test strips, that I know are not reliable but they're usually not too far off, also showed 0.

Anyway. It failed the OCLT. So, I started the slam process a few days ago. I think I'm going to let the FC taper down now, I've been holding it steady at 20PPM per the slam chart Chlorine / CYA Chart

And held it there over the weekend. Pump has been running 24/7. Water looks great. Last night it didn't seem to lose any or at least very little so I might let it come back down starting tomorrow.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Danimal92Sport
nefloridaswg said:
Last night it didn't seem to lose any or at least very little so I might let it come back down starting tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Abort mission !!! Pass the OCLT that tests what the eyes can’t see.

Far too many folks quit early and the timer resets immediately for the next Slam in a week or 3. Finish the Slam to completion.

Clear water. (Check)
Pass OCLT. (Getting there)
CCs of .5 or less.
 
  • Like
Reactions: borjis

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply