SWG not working after open

[Ps6fsu]

Opened the pool on Monday and have been battling low chlorine levels. Last year was the first year having the pool and after some trial and error, I found that running my SWG at 40% production for the 16 hour pump cycle (@1800 rpm) kept me around 5-6 ppm. Since opening, I have had my SWG running at 100% and can't get chlorine level above 4 ppm. Not sure if it means anything but I also noticed the typical tiny bubbles I usually see coming out of the returns were not present. I had a local pool service close my pool last year and open this year since it was my first close/open. They take the electrolytic cell to the shop for cleaning and then return at open. I figured I would try cleaning again to see if that would help. Upon removing the cell, i found what looks like white melted plastic. I tried using the recommended 10:1 water:muriatic acid solution soak for 5 minutes but this stuff didn't budge. Anyone ever see this? Is this calcium deposits? I chipped off a piece and put it in a cup with straight acid and nothing happened. I'm lost.

 

[Texas Splash]

Kind of an odd pattern for scale as mine s usually more in chunk forms. When I clean my cell I generally use a 4-1 ration of water-to-muriatic acid. 10-1 seems a bit weak. As a test, you can also (carefully) use a wooden stick to help break-off any chunks. If you get enough off, you can test on the ground by placing in a pile and pouring a tiny bit of full strength acid on it. It should fizzle right away confirming scale.

Once you get the cell clean, try to maintain a slightly negative CSI as noted in the PoolMath APP to help prevent the build-up of scale in the future. Also remember that if your water is still chilly (about 60 or below) the cell may not produce chlorine.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Here is a post from yesterday that shows the same material on a member's SWG. Unfortunately, no resolution...

Possible PVC glue in salt cell

My salt cell stopped working this week so I removed it and noticed what I first thought was calcium buildup. Two acid baths did nothing so I posted to Reddit and a user said it was probably PVC glue. It's been less than a year since it was installed and I haven't had any other work done on the...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[mknauss]

Do you use something other than DE in your filter?

 

[Ps6fsu]

Negative, just 5 lbs of DE. Just recently backwashed and didn't see any of this crud coming out. I was able to scrape almost all of it off with a knife. Doesn't seem to be in the plates so not sure what is going on. Does the water temp really reduce production? The water temp is now 66. It ran at 100% from 8am to 10pm yesterday. FC went from 4.5 to 5.5. Something has to be off.