SWG Flow

[Cayman]

I noticed today that the lights on my SWG were flashing showing no flow. I figured since the pool is just over a year old, that I would go ahead and clean the SWG because I’m sure the previous home owners never did. When I removed the sell, this flow sensor (I think that’s what it’s called) just fell out. Looking at the end, it appears that it rusted.

First question, is this required for the cell to produce chlorine?

Second question, as the pool is just over a year old, is this possibly a warranty item?

Thank you as always.

 

[mknauss]

Yes, the flow switch is necessary for the IC40 to operate. It is under warranty so contact your builder or Pentair.

From the looks of it, someone ran some very acidic water through it, for quite some time. Does the pool have a trichlor feeder? Did someone put trichlor pucks in a skimmer during the pool operation?

 

[Cayman]

Yes, the flow switch is necessary for the IC40 to operate. It is under warranty so contact your builder or Pentair.

From the looks of it, someone ran some very acidic water through it, for quite some time. Does the pool have a trichlor feeder? Did someone put trichlor pucks in a skimmer during the pool operation?

There is no tricolor feeder. I haven’t used any pucks since we have owned the house, but I can’t say what the original owner did prior to us buying the house. Lol

 

[Cayman]

Pentair is trying to tell me that the warranty is only good for the original owner. Does this sound right?

 

[JamesW]

https://www.pentair.com/content/dam/extranet/nam/pentair-pool/residential/documents/warranty-registration%20card.pdf

 

[JamesW]

Looks like damage from a tab feeder or maybe an acid feeder.

 

[Cayman]

So I’m going to be stuck buying one? Or can this tab be replaced?

 

[JamesW]

The flow switch is replaceable.

 

[JamesW]

 

[Cayman]

The flow switch is replaceable.

Thank you for the information and video! Very helpful and that eases the pain some. Lol

 

[Cayman]

Ordered! Way better than spending a grand! I owe you a beer or two.

 

[reggiehammond]

Just to chime in: cleaning with acid on a SWCG should be a last resort. It’s not something to do with any regularity, schedule, etc.
The acid wash does a good job of removing scale, but also removes rare earth metal, too.

If you were in need of a cleaning, water hose, popsicle sticks, etc all do a good job of busting up scale.

Make sure you’re tracking CSI, in pool math, to keep the CSI slightly negative.

 

[Cayman]

Any chance that whatever caused this, might have done damage elsewhere? My gas heater is probably the first thing that may concern me.

 

[reggiehammond]

If there was no tab feeder installed, then likely I wouldn't expect the previous owner to have cooked the heater core. You could always test the pool water for copper - high levels could indicate core damage.

 

[JamesW]

Can you show pictures of the whole system?