SWG only putting out 1.5 to 2 ppm direct from the return

[Silver_2000]

Hello
My SWG is at least 3 or 4 years old maybe older, ive only owned the house since Dec 2015 and it didnt look brand new then.
Our pool has a fountain that makes it easy to capture water as it comes off the SWG plumbing
In tests today the ppm is low, 1.5 to 2 ppm, basically the same as the pool. Its running at 85%.

The Jandy control has no errors. The salt is 2900 ppm
Just checked the cell for buildup and its clean no white at all, rinsed it w hose anyway.

Im grasping at straws to avoid another $600 expense. Any ideas what else to check ?

We had the flow meter, and wire replaced last year. So All I really need is the cell but I dont see much of a discount for cell only

Thanks in advance

 

[JamesW]

If the production is too low, it will give an error.

If no errors, it's probably ok.

 

[Richard320]

Two things to check
1) CYA level.
2) Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

 

[Dodger]

How many hours per day are you running it at 85%?

Is it an Aquapure 1400 or 700? Hopefully the 1400 for your size pool.

 

[Silver_2000]

its a Aquapure 1400
CYA is about 50-60
Ive used a couple pucks in the last 2 weeks
Im not worried about the run time.
Im worried about the fact that drawing water right from a return shows no appreciable chlorine when the cell is at 85%
Right now the filter is running about 11 hours a day - I had turned up the cleaner time to get the spring leaves
Last year it ran about 6 hours a day
Chlorine loss test would help if I was concerned about the chlorine level in the pool but this is about the chlorine level coming out of a fountain right down stream from the cell

 

[Philo]

I'd consider:

Put a gallon of Chlorine in the pool ASAP.

Clean the SWG cell with MA

Run the pump and SWG @ 100% 24/7.

Record the FC the next morning.

Continue running the SWG @ 100% and pump 24/7.

Record your FC at the same time daily.

Post the daily FC results in a week.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Doug,

One of two things is happening..

1. The Cell is not producing enough chlorine..

2. The Chlorine it is producing is being eaten as fast as it gets produced..

You can flip a coin to decide which, or you can run a couple of tests... The first test you need to run is the OCLT... This will confirm that nothing unseen is in the water eating the Chlorine. Obviously, you run this test with the SWCG off.

Then, assuming you passed the OCLT, you can run the same OCLT the next night with the Cell on.. If the cell is working you should have more FC in the morning than you had the night before and the actual amount of increase can be compared to the theoretical amount the cell should have produced...

Your cell at 100% will increase your FC by .3 ppm per hour. At 85% this is about .26 ppm per hour.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Dodger]

its a Aquapure 1400
CYA is about 50-60
Ive used a couple pucks in the last 2 weeks
Im not worried about the run time.
Im worried about the fact that drawing water right from a return shows no appreciable chlorine when the cell is at 85%
Right now the filter is running about 11 hours a day - I had turned up the cleaner time to get the spring leaves
Last year it ran about 6 hours a day
Chlorine loss test would help if I was concerned about the chlorine level in the pool but this is about the chlorine level coming out of a fountain right down stream from the cell

Correct me if I'm wrong, but here's what I am getting:

You are not concerned about your overall FC level, but the amount coming directly out of the SWG.

To measure this, you are sampling the water a few feet after the SWG, possibly before it is mixed with any pool water (unclear about your reference to the fountain.)

I assume this is being done during the Cell On cycle and not the Cell Resting or Cell Reversing cycles.

I think one data point we may be missing is what this sampling method used to produce for you. 3ppm? 4ppm?

 

[JamesW]

If it's not giving an error, it's probably ok.

If you want, check the volts and amps to see how much power it's using. The power usage is directly proportional to the amount of chlorine generated.

 

[Dirk]

I assume this is being done during the Cell On cycle and not the Cell Resting or Cell Reversing cycles.

Just for giggles...

Dodger makes a good point. At 85%, that means for 15% of the time your SWG is not adding any chlorine to the water, so the output would, in fact, match the pool if you sampled during the 15% portion of the cycle.

I see you have a few pumps. Are you certain the fountain stream, from which you are sampling, is water that is coming off the SWG? Some water features take their water directly from the pool, and not from the filter system. So again, that FC would match the pool's...

 

[Silver_2000]

all good questions
The main pump runs all the pool the others are for features NOT including the fountain
The fish fountain as we call it is simply a pool return routed to a small basin with a fish that has water coming from its mouth
that water should be and in the past has had a higher PPM of chlorine than the rest of the pool - it should be straight from the pump and SWG

It is possible that the 3 times i tested it today it was in the 15% off time
Ill crank it to 100 tomorrow and retest

"You are not concerned about your overall FC level, but the amount coming directly out of the SWG"
yes just concerned about SWG production, pool is mostly clear and I have bleach and other options to boost FC once this troubleshooting is done

 

[Silver_2000]

Thanks for the input. This morning I did some more tests . I confirmed the cell on light was illuminated. The pool FC is less than 1 and the salt generator is outputting at least 2. Here are some images of the plumbing so you know how I'm measuring.

The leftmost valve of the returns shown was labeled fish fountain but the label has faded. Ive directed more of the water to it for now to make sure the flow is good.
The image also shows the 1400 SWG inline.

I capture water from fishes mouth .. there is a return under him that shoots both up his butt and generally into the pond around him so a small amount of dilution could be happening due to venturi but it's likely small.

So it appears the pool is eating chlorine for sure but its only down 1ppm from yesterday and the kids were swimming some last night. I added some chlorine today and will keep an eye on it. I still have some pucks left from the previous owner 2 years ago and I added a couple to the solar duck. The pool loses salt over time due to leakage or the autofill running too much, so I wont have a HIGH CYA problem from a few pucks.

 

[Silver_2000]

Update now I'm getting a general fault and a code of 121, which indicates low voltage when cell is reversing, I checked the DC cable and it's tight it appears in good shape so the troubleshooting guide suggests that the next step is to replace the cell.

 

[Dirk]

Well, that's an easy trouble-shooting task. Replace the cell. If that solves the problem, then you're good-to-go. If not, you have your next cell when the existing one poops out. The downside: you'll be giving up some amount of your warranty, while the new cell sits around waiting to go online...

 

[JamesW]

What is the serial number?

 

[Dodger]

Your original post stated salt was at 2900ppm. Is that the readout on the AP (which may not be calibrated), or from an independent test?

 

[JamesW]

Try raising the salinity to 3,500 ppm.

Look inside of the cell to see if the center plate is damaged.

 

[Silver_2000]

The salinity is now 3400 according to the sensor - every time Ive checked with test kit its been really close

I checked the cell last week - the plates looked clean and undamaged

its been running at 100% for 5 or 6 days
I get an error 121 when the cell is reversing
The FC is only at 3

 

[Silver_2000]

What is the serial number?

of the cell ? f13gf1239
can you tell the age ?

 

[JamesW]

Made in 2013.

Probably time for a new cell.