So I googled a bit and searched briefly on the site for threads about SWG life and didn’t see this question answered. Will it affect the SWG life to run at a higher rate for less time compared to running at a lower setting for more time? I have both my pump and SWG on timers so I can run it as needed, but of course would like to extend the life, if possible.
SWG Life
- Thread starter Rumbleehockey03
- Start date
They are either on or off. 12 hrs at 100% and 24 hours at 50% are the same thing witn 12 hours off the expected lifespan. Most manufacturers adjusted their overly high expectations for cell life from 10k to ~8k hours
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
Yeah.. if a cell is rated for 10K hours that usually means 10k hours at 100%.. if you run at 50% that wold mean 20k hours... but there is more at play than just runtime and % output. A cells life is affected by the water temp, the amount of acid washing, and Salinity levels. I'm sure there is more but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.
I wondered about that also, the Circupool Edge runs different and actually changes the output vs cycling on and off like the RJ..I run mine around 20% 24 hours a day
This reply might go against most opinions that I've seen on this site but, I've heard that running at high output % vs a lower output % is not good for the cell. The electronics get hot while running and don't have time to cool down if the system is set to a high output %. Heat and electronics don't do well together. CircuPool knows this as they now incorporate a fan in the box to help get rid of excess heat.
I've been running SWG's for 10 years now and have always run a high output % during the summer months and I've never had a cell last past its warranty, and they have all been either Jandy or Hayward cells. There is a reason why most of the manufacturers are switching to one year warranties, the cells these days don't last for very long in places that have open pools most of the year.
I've been running SWG's for 10 years now and have always run a high output % during the summer months and I've never had a cell last past its warranty, and they have all been either Jandy or Hayward cells. There is a reason why most of the manufacturers are switching to one year warranties, the cells these days don't last for very long in places that have open pools most of the year.
At least for my Pentair, the % output has nothing to do with how we would normally think of a % of power. It is either on or off. When it is set to 50%, that means it will run for the first 30m of each hour.
That makes sense, I hope to keep mine at a lower power and let it run all the time. I also mounted my controller inside a pool room that stays cool all the time
I work in IT and have seen a lot routers stay up for 10 years but as soon as you kill power and plug back they go belly up so I don't like killing power every night
- May 3, 2014
- 62,687
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Pentair IC SWCG's have a 300 second cycle. At 100%, they generate for 285 seconds then off for 15 seconds. At 50%, they are on for 150 seconds, then off for 150 seconds.
Thanks for the clarification. In the end, it is still a time-cycle rather than a power variation. I think the % setting throws people off including me initially.
The circupool Edge is based on power. I have a smart plug that monitors watts and the more power the more watts. Starts around 35 and hits 210 at full power and never goes on and off.
I think somebody said they that act way in Europe, not sure if it's better or worse but different then the SJ/RJ stuff.
For example:
If you ran a cell 24/7 @100% for a year = 8760 hours per year.
24/7 @ 50% = 4380 hours per year
8 hours , 7 days a week @ 100% for a year = 2920 hours per year
8 hours , 7 days a week @ 50% for a year = 1460 hours per year
In my experience, most (but not all) customers in California, Arizona, Florida run their systems between 8-12 hours per day at 50-80%. I've never been to an installation where it has been less than that (except right on the ocean in California). Of course on this board you will see some members running their systems at a much lower duty cycle)
8 hours, 7 days per week @ 50% for year = 1460 hours per year
8 hours, 7 days per week @ 80% for year = 2336 hours per year
12 hours , 7 days per week @ 50% for a year = 2184 hours per year
12 hours, 7 days per week @ 80% for a year = 3494 hours per year
It's easy to understand why some customer's cells last 2-3 years and other customers cells last 4-6 years (or why Hayward's 3000 hour warranty replacement cell will last a year and a half) And as was pointed out above this is under OPTIMAL water chemistry conditions. Cell life will only decrease when there is less than optimal conditions.
If you ran a cell 24/7 @100% for a year = 8760 hours per year.
24/7 @ 50% = 4380 hours per year
8 hours , 7 days a week @ 100% for a year = 2920 hours per year
8 hours , 7 days a week @ 50% for a year = 1460 hours per year
In my experience, most (but not all) customers in California, Arizona, Florida run their systems between 8-12 hours per day at 50-80%. I've never been to an installation where it has been less than that (except right on the ocean in California). Of course on this board you will see some members running their systems at a much lower duty cycle)
8 hours, 7 days per week @ 50% for year = 1460 hours per year
8 hours, 7 days per week @ 80% for year = 2336 hours per year
12 hours , 7 days per week @ 50% for a year = 2184 hours per year
12 hours, 7 days per week @ 80% for a year = 3494 hours per year
It's easy to understand why some customer's cells last 2-3 years and other customers cells last 4-6 years (or why Hayward's 3000 hour warranty replacement cell will last a year and a half) And as was pointed out above this is under OPTIMAL water chemistry conditions. Cell life will only decrease when there is less than optimal conditions.