SWCG Tuning

[buddyleex]

Hey all so I've owned my pool for 5 months now and there's definitely been learning curves especially with SWCG tuning and run-time but I think I've got it dialed in pretty well. It's incredibly surprising how easy things have gone I was so overwhelmed at first. But to my question....

The Pool School guide says for variable speed pumps I can/should run my pump for 8 hours a day. Right now I'm running it at 16 hours a day @ 15%-20% on the SWCG. My pool stats should be good down below to review. It's been a remarkably hot summer and maybe it's been good I've been running 16 hours vs. 8 hours? But I found this setup has been extremely stable on the FC so long as my other chemicals are balanced including salt, skimmers are cleaned frequently, and filters are clean.

My worry is that I am killing the life of my SWCG by running it 16 hours vs. 8 hours. My question is it run-time or power% worse wear and tear on SWCG? Should I instead tune my SWCG to 8 hours a day and up the power% on the SWCG as soon as I can to save the life on it?

Thanks!

 

[mknauss]

You can run the SWCG for 1 hour a day or 24 hours a day, it does not really care either way.
Run the pump for a reason. First is to create and distribute your chlorine with the SWCG. Next is to skim the surface. Beyond that, you do what you like. Many here run their VS pump and SWCG 24 hours per day. Others, limit the run time to the hours required to meet the needs I presented.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Buddy,

Running your SWCG for 1 hour at 100% is just the same as running it for 10 hours at 10%

Your idea that running longer will use up the cell faster is just not correct.

I personally like running 24/7, as I like making a little chlorine all the time and I like skimming all the time. I also find that I like the look of my pool when there is a little motion in the water.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Mdragger88]

To clarify- 50% for 24 hours and 100% for 12 hours uses the same amount of “life” of the cell.
The 8-10k hr lifespan is calculated at 100%
So that means 16-20k hours @ 50%
if that makes sense.

 

[buddyleex]

Buddy,

Running your SWCG for 1 hour at 100% is just the same as running it for 10 hours at 10%

Your idea that running longer will use up the cell faster is just not correct.

I personally like running 24/7, as I like making a little chlorine all the time and I like skimming all the time. I also find that I like the look of my pool when there is a little motion in the water.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks Jim. I wasn't necessarily saying that was my idea I was asking if the wear and tear is the same. And it appears it's a combination of the two factors? Your example makes perfect sense, thanks!

To clarify- 50% for 24 hours and 100% for 12 hours uses the same amount of “life” of the cell.
The 8-10k hr lifespan is calculated at 100%
So that means 16-20k hours @ 50%
if that makes sense.

Thanks Mrdragger. Do vendors usually post typical lifespan as you mentioned? I'd be curious to check on my FSOFT1400.

 

[BDY]

The cells are usually rated for a lifespan of “in production” hours by each vendor. Hence the bigger cells tend to last longer timewise all things considered as they run less production hours to get the same amount of chlorine. Each vendor has different ratings - take each with a grain of salt as much depends on the water chemistry, cleaning (which reduces life), etc etc

 

[Mdragger88]

Thanks Jim. I wasn't necessarily saying that was my idea I was asking if the wear and tear is the same. And it appears it's a combination of the two factors? Your example makes perfect sense, thanks!



Thanks Mrdragger. Do vendors usually post typical lifespan as you mentioned? I'd be curious to check on my FSOFT1400.

Some do- Jandy doesn’t (that I have found directly) discount salt pool lists it as having an 8k hour lifespan

 

[markayash]

Even if it shortens the life some I finally came to realize it still a lot cheaper then adding liquid Chlorine. Or worse it turns green and then our buying a lot of it
Plus if you calculate the power draw it cost you around 25 cents a day

 

[Newdude]

I estimate I over dose about 20%. At the current prices I waste $268 of cell life. With a short season, it's about $45 a year. If I told anyone they could be on easy street and their pool would not only sparkle, but laugh at any unplanned events for $45 more a season, they'd have it dug out of their pocket before I finished my sentence.

With a large pool, It would only have to save me one or two slams in 6 years to break even. Pinching pennies on cell life is simply not worth it. At any moment I could lose power for 2 full days and still be above minimum. It gives me plenty of time to catch any issues so I don't have to pay close attention to it.

Once a day I bleed the air valve on the filter, for something to do. It takes 2 minutes, round trip. I check to see the cell lights are still on and will probably skip that days test.