SWG and FC

[Kev1027]

I am fairly new to TFP. I am wondering if my SWG is functioning properly...My pool is almost full sun and we have been getting fair amount of rain lately in South FL. Each week my FC level is around 1.5 to 2.5 I am running my pump 12 hours a day and the SWG has been set to 80% last week, then increased to 90% this week. I am having to add liquid chlorine each week.
Is this typical?
I was hoping the point of the SWG was to not have to purchase liquid chlorine!

Last weeks test results:
FC: 2.5
CC:0.5
pH:7.4
TA:70
CH:275
CYA:60
Salt:3400
Temp: 87

Todays results:
FC: 1.5
CC:0
pH:7.7
TA:70
CH:250
CYA:50
Salt:3400
Temp:87

 

[jblizzle]

What test kit are you using? (Nevermind, just looked at your signature) You need to be testing the FC more often and keeping it higher. See the FC/CYA Levels.

Given that you have let the chlorine level stay low for so long, you may have algae in pool consuming all your chlorine. You could do the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to confirm and may need to follow the SLAM Process process.

Need a clean pool to verify the SWG is working. Can also get the cell tested at a pool store.

 

[Kev1027]

What test kit are you using? (Nevermind, just looked at your signature) You need to be testing the FC more often and keeping it higher. See the FC/CYA Levels.

Given that you have let the chlorine level stay low for so long, you may have algae in pool consuming all your chlorine. You could do the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to confirm and may need to follow the SLAM Process process.

Need a clean pool to verify the SWG is working. Can also get the cell tested at a pool store.

OK, I will do the overnight chlorine loss test tonight. If it rains does this effect the test results?

 

[jblizzle]

Could have a minor impact to the OCLT, but rain generally does not affect the general chemistry very much ... unless you are talking about massive amounts of rain and run-off into the pool.

 

[Kev1027]

OK, thanks for the info!

 

[Kev1027]

I did an OCLT and lost 0.5 overnight. Saturday morning the FC was 2.5 so I used bleach to raise it to 6. Sunday morning I checked and its already down to 3.5 The pump ran 12 hours and SWG set to 90%. I was hoping my SWG would be able to maintain the proper chlorine levels. So is my next step to check with pool tech who installed the SWG? Any other options?

 

[mknauss]

In your climate a CYA of 60 may be contributing to your high FC loss. If you add the loss you saw plus what the SWCG created it was 5 ppm FC in 24 hours. High, but not crazy considering your climate and lower CYA.

As long as you are very sure you have no algae issues, I would suggest raising your CYA to 80 ppm and increasing your SWCG to create 4 ppm FC per day and see if that stabilizes things.

 

[Kev1027]

OK, does anyone have any experience setting up iAqualink program times?
My pool builder set it to run @3450 rpms 8 hours a day. I would like to maybe run it at 3450 rpms maybe 8 hours then overnight have it run at a low rpm to have the SWG make chlorine.

 

[mknauss]

Why would you want to run your pump at max rpm? Really no need. I can see higher rpm for the spa when in use but normal operations run it as low as you can to close the flow switch on the SWCG and get sufficient skimming. I would suggest starting at 1500 rpm.

I do not know about the iAqualink. Do you have or can you download the user manual?

 

[Kev1027]

The pump runs at max rpm to have the water spillover from spa to pool and also have the returns in the pool working at same time...well this is how the pool builder set it up...should I be considering another option? If the pump runs at 1500 rpm, the water will barely spillover.

 

[mknauss]

You should consider setting up a Spillover function in your automation so the spa gets water a couple times per day to keep it chlorinated. Then switch to pool mode only for the bulk of the day. This will reduce your pH rise.

VS pumps are not designed to be run at full rpm all the time. Be wary of that. You may have pump issues prematurely with your current setup.

 

[Kev1027]

OK, I will look into changing my current setup. Thanks for the tips mknauss!