SWG Generator Question

[JamesW]

Ok, I suspect that you need a new display board and a new flow switch.

You should also have a timer that shuts off power to the SWG when the pump is scheduled to be off.

The cell might still be good, but it is probably beginning to underproduce and you should monitor the percentage efficiency and replace the cell when the production efficiency gets to 75% or lower.

 

[Mdragger88]

I did a complete test on the water with these results.

Total Chlorine 1-2
FC 1.5
CCH 0
Cal 250
Alk 110
PH 8.2 +
CYA < 20
Salt 3500

If you don’t have algae yet you will soon if you don’t increase your fc & bump up your cya a little.
For now aim for 30-40ppm cya
& target fc of 7ppm with liquid chlorine ASAP.
Maintain your ph in the 7’s
Use PoolMath to calculate amounts.
Use the liquid chlorine FC/CYA Levels recommendations.

 

[Ron55]

Yes I plan to use chlorine until I can get this repaired as well as CYA.

 

[Ron55]

So I have recalibrated the Aquarite to 3400 ppm for the salt and upped the percentage to 100%. It is generating chlorine but not much. I got a FC reading of 3.5 this morning and then 2.0 in the afternoon.

I added muriatic acid to get the PH lower and then an hour later added some liquid chlorine.
Now I have a stocking filled with stabilizer sitting in the skimmer to get the CYA up to range.

I'm going to attempt to remove the panel an see if there is any corrosion going on inside.

I spoke to the guy who use to service the pool.

He said this is the second salt cell for the pool so the panel is about 10 years old. He said that is about a normal lifespan for the panel as well as the salt cell.
He said he could come out and try and diagnose what is going on with he panel. Would cost $125 for that plus I guess whatever parts and labor if he can determine what is wrong.
He said a new unit including a cell would cost $2200 installed. I checked prices and they run about $1,700.

Wondering if it might be wise to just replace the whole thing? Thoughts?

Another interesting thing he added. He said he personally cleaned out the cell 3 months ago right before we bought the house. He was surprised there was so much calcium build up in the cell in such a short time. Especially since the calcium level in the pool was only 250.

 

[Mdragger88]

Ron,
if I were in your position I’d remove the cell & take it somewhere to be tested.
Be prepared for it to need replacement.
This is simple to replace. It’s no different than taking it out to clean it.

I would also order a new flow switch as that’s an easy diy replacement. It sounds like yours is a bit sporadic.

About the potentiometer (% dial) they do get a little funky as they get older, if cleaning it doesn’t help
Replacing the display board is also quite easy as James posted it’s plug & play pretty much.

Until you get it repaired & even afterwards I suggest always reading whats on the display not the knob to ensure you’re set where you want to be.

I don’t think there’s any need to replace the entire system at this point unless you just really want to.
You should be able to replace all of the above (cell, display board,& flow switch) with oem parts for around $900 or less if you do them yourself.

 

[Ron55]

Thanks. I'm not usually very good at mechanical repairs. It looks simple enough but then it seems whenever I try something like this, it never goes right.

Anyway.

Today's chemistry is baffling. I added the amount of muriatic acid according to pool math calculator and yesterday the PH was down to 7.8 from 8+. Today it is back where it was at 8+
I had added 1/2 gallon of liquid chlorine which is what pool math said it would take to bring the FC from 2.0 to 7.
When I check last night and this morning it was 15. I'm not sure if the SWG started producing a lot of chlorine as it wasn't in the morning. I turned it back down to 25% until I get the chlorine level down to 7.
Is it possible the PH reading is inaccurate due to the very high chlorine level?
I am hoping the bright sun today will burn some of it off.
And thank you for the sock method for the stabilizer. I was able to dissolve 2 lbs in one of my wife's knee highs in the skimmer since yesterday. Since it all dissolved would the CYA reading be accurate, or do I still have to wait a week for it to go through the system? I should need to add another 2 lbs as it was originally below 20 but I don't want to overshoot like I did with the chlorine.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Is it possible the PH reading is inaccurate due to the very high chlorine level?

With FC levels higher than 10 ppm, the pH test is invalid and will produce a false high reading. I would retest FC to be sure. The high level sounds suspect. No reason to worry about high FC. You can still swim up to SLAM level.

Since it all dissolved would the CYA reading be accurate, or do I still have to wait a week for it to go through the system?

Once dissolved, wait at least 48 hours for the most accurate result.

 

[Ron55]

With FC levels higher than 10 ppm, the pH test is invalid and will produce a false high reading. I would retest FC to be sure. The high level sounds suspect. No reason to worry about high FC. You can still swim up to SLAM level.

Once dissolved, wait at least 48 hours for the most accurate result.

Thanks

 

[Ron55]

So I was rereading James' post and watching the youtube videos you guys provided.
It does in fact look pretty simple to replace the flow switch and the display board. Even if I had to replace the main pub board that doesn't look much harder.
I do in fact have a timer but the way they had it set up was that the on and off pins were removed and the timer is always on. The pump on and off is controlled by the timer on the pump. Should it be set up differently?

 

[Mdragger88]

So I was rereading James' post and watching the youtube videos you guys provided.
It does in fact look pretty simple to replace the flow switch and the display board. Even if I had to replace the main pub board that doesn't look much harder.
I do in fact have a timer but the way they had it set up was that the on and off pins were removed and the timer is always on. The pump on and off is controlled by the timer on the pump. Should it be set up differently?

Yes the swcg should only be powered on when the pump has power. Ideally the cell should be set to come on at least 30min after the pump & off at least 30 minutes before the pump.
What you’re describing is relying on the flow switch to turn the swcg off & on. This can cause problems (an explosion) if the flow switch goes bad (gets stuck on) & the pump is off. The flow switch should be a secondary safety not the primary.
Show us your timer & wires.

 

[Ron55]

Yes the swcg should only be powered on when the pump has power. Ideally the cell should be set to come on at least 30min after the pump & off at least 30 minutes before the pump.
What you’re describing is relying on the flow switch to turn the swcg off & on. This can cause problems (an explosion) if the flow switch goes bad (gets stuck on) & the pump is off. The flow switch should be a secondary safety not the primary.
Show us your timer & wires.

Well the pump always has power. Did you mean to say the SWCG should only be powered when the pump is running?
Because the way it is the pump always has power (power light is always lit) but it runs between 8AM and shuts off at 9PM. I looked at it this morning before the pump came on. The panel shows it has power and is generating but the no flow light is NOT illuminated. The inspect cell and check salt lights were both flashing although it showed the salt cell at 2700 but the no flow light is not illuminated.
It's been running this way for at least 3 months that I have owned the house and years according to the pool guy.

I would think that if the no flow isn't working and the panel is always on it should have exploded already, no? Or am I misunderstanding something?

I turned down the dial to 1%, the panel shows 5p as that is as low as I can get until I have this figured out.

Thanks for the help.

Ron

 

[wireform]

You have a off position on the controller and that will turn it off from producing but the right way is to have it off via a timer just before the pump shuts down and turn on after the time the pumps starts for the day.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Ron,

If your cell has power when the pump is not running then it is wired wrong..

The main problem is that even when wired wrong, cells do not explode very often, but they can.. so it makes sense to get the problem corrected.

A good analogy is your car's air bags.. You can drive your car for thousands and thousands of miles with the air bags shut off. The car will work and everything appears just fine... Right up to the point of the crash.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JamesW]

 

[Ron55]

You have a off position on the controller and that will turn it off from producing but the right way is to have it off via a timer just before the pump shuts down and turn on after the time the pumps starts for the day.

Yes but that is a manual switch. I would have to turn it off manually and then turn it back on every day?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Can't you use the dial timer in the load box. Your pump should be wired to the line-in side of the timer so it receives constant power. The SWG should be wired to the load (switched) side.

 

[Ron55]

You have a off position on the controller and that will turn it off from producing but the right way is to have it off via a timer just before the pump shuts down and turn on after the time the pumps starts for the day.

Ron,

If your cell has power when the pump is not running then it is wired wrong..

The main problem is that even when wired wrong, cells do not explode very often, but they can.. so it makes sense to get the problem corrected.

A good analogy is your car's air bags.. You can drive your car for thousands and thousands of miles with the air bags shut off. The car will work and everything appears just fine... Right up to the point of the crash.

Thanks,

Jim R.

I understand. For pump have power before the cell would require two separate timers would it not?

 

[Ron55]

Can't you use the dial timer in the load box. Your pump should be wired to the line-in side of the timer so it receives constant power. The SWG should be wired to the load (switched) side.

I will take a look right now.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Show photos of the wire connections at the bottom of the timer. For 240 volt, the Line side terminals are 1 and 3. Load side are 2 and 4.

 

[Ron55]

Can't you use the dial timer in the load box. Your pump should be wired to the line-in side of the timer so it receives constant power. The SWG should be wired to the load (switched) side.

I flipped the dial switch and the power went off to both the pump and to the SWG. All the lights on the SWG went off, except the NO flow switch which flashed red which I don't understand since I've turned off the pump wth the SWG and the NO flow light didn't illuminate.