SWG Pentair IC40 was not generating chlorine and Pool company says high phosphates are the problem

[WSTyng]

Started end of October. Chlorine level (FC) was <1. Even setting the cell to Super Chlorinate would not raise the chlorine level. Pentair says salt cell is 4 days out of warranty so they will not make a warranty call on the cell. I shocked the pool every few days to maintain chlorine/ The pool water was a little cloudy (first time this has happened in 2 years).
Called company who built the pool and their service tech said high phosphates might be the problem as phosphates are something the salt cell cannot overcome.
Checked the pool water several times at the pool store. Every test showed the phosphates at zero.
Continued shocking pool very few days and checking water measures and especially Chlorine.
Ran OCLT with no loss of chlorine
SWG appeared to start generating chlorine around 1/4/2023
Service tech says to add phosphate reducer. I don't want to do this.
I've attached spreadsheet with water analysis results and notes

Pool is inground, 15,000 gal
Salt Water Generator
Venice, FL used year round
Just two of us use the pool

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

You are leaving out a piece of data. What was your water temperature during this time?

 

[Jimrahbe]

WS,

Phosphates will not keep your SWCG from making chlorine.

I have never heard of a F/W update to the IntelliChlor.. Are you sure that happened?

Tell us about how your cell is working now.

When you power it on does it go through a sequence of flashing lights like at a railroad crossing?

When it finishes flashing what lights are on?

Do you have a green Flow light?

Do you have a green Salt level light?

If you set the cell for 50% output, does the Cell light come on for about 2.5 minutes and then off for 2.5 minutes and this keeps repeating?

How many hours a day do you run your pump?

Please let me know the results for the above questions...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JamesW]

How old is the pool and cell?

Do you have automation?

If the system is less than 3 years old, file a warranty claim.

What is the date on the sticker on the bottom of the cell?

 

[JamesW]

Did you register the products for your system?

Is the cell giving any indication of errors?

Low chlorine levels are not a good way to determine if the cell is working.

Did you check the cell for scale?

Pool Product Warranty Information

Whether you are planning a pool party for friends and family or prefer the serene sensation of a calm pool, Pentair has the pool and spa solutions just for you.

www.pentair.com

Product Registration

Whether you are planning a pool party for friends and family or prefer the serene sensation of a calm pool, Pentair has the pool and spa solutions just for you.

www.pentair.com

 

[WSTyng]

Welcome to TFP!

You are leaving out a piece of data. What was your water temperature during this time?

Water temp running about 65 to 75

 

[WSTyng]

WS,

Phosphates will not keep your SWCG from making chlorine.

I have never heard of a F/W update to the IntelliChlor.. Are you sure that happened?

Tell us about how your cell is working now.

When you power it on does it go through a sequence of flashing lights like at a railroad crossing?

When it finishes flashing what lights are on?

Do you have a green Flow light?

Do you have a green Salt level light?

If you set the cell for 50% output, does the Cell light come on for about 2.5 minutes and then off for 2.5 minutes and this keeps repeating?

How many hours a day do you run your pump?

Please let me know the results for the above questions...

Thanks,

Jim R.

The software update was on the control box and after it updated super chlorinate functionality was gone
Cell appears to be working now. Cl level is steady. Cell set to 10%
Yes the lights sequence on power up
Flow light is green salt level is green. System says salt level was at 3800 and I tested it with tester that showed level was 3860.
Haven't tried the 50% test yet
pool runs 8 AM to 11 PM

 

[WSTyng]

How old is the pool and cell?

Do you have automation?

If the system is less than 3 years old, file a warranty claim.

What is the date on the sticker on the bottom of the cell?

Pool and cell are just over 3 years old
Tried to get this covered by warranty and Pentair says its out of warranty (warranty expired 11/14/2022 and I reported the problem to the pool company 11/18/2022). Pentair refused to send technician for a warranty service call.

How old is the pool and cell?

Do you have automation?

If the system is less than 3 years old, file a warranty claim.

What is the date on the sticker on the bottom of the cell?

 

[Jimrahbe]

WS,

Sounds like everything is back to normal...

Did it just start working or did you do something that caused it to start working?

I assume you did nothing about your phosphates, is that correct?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[WSTyng]

Thanks to all for responding.
I did nothing about the phosphates. The only thing different was switching to a different brand of shock several weeks ago. Tried HTH but is didn't fully dissolve (undissolved granules on bottom of pool). Cleaned up the pool and then used Clorox shock which raised the chlorine level significantly. I am thinking there was some type of algae in the water that the SWG couldn't keep ahead of, but nothing specific. Pool is all good now and have the SWG running at 10% and CL level is steady.
I did find out Pentair said there is a bug in the Pentair software update that disabled super chlorinate.

 

[WSTyng]

WS,

Sounds like everything is back to normal...

Did it just start working or did you do something that caused it to start working?

I assume you did nothing about your phosphates, is that correct?

Thanks,

Jim R.

Things are "normal" but with a catch. I checked the Cl level Monday and it was 7.2. So I reduced the SWG to 7 % expecting the CL to decrease. I just tested the water (Thursday) and CL has increased to 8. I don't get it, I've done nothing but reduce the SWG percentage and there has been no use of the pool. Temp has been in the 70's water temp about 65

Test readings are below:
CL 8.0
Ph 8.0 (I just added 1/3 gal acid)
Alkalinity 80
Ca Hardness 200
Salt level 3650
Stabilizer at 70

 

[WSTyng]

Stabilizer at 70

 

[Jimrahbe]

WS,

The cell just makes the amount of FC (Chlorine) that you tell it to make.

The cell has no clue how much FC is being used, which depends on the weather and how much sun the pool gets each day.

You will never get to the point where everything is perfect each day. Your goal is to stay at or above your Target FC per the Saltwater tab in this chart. FC/CYA Levels

It really only matters if you go too low. Running a little on the high side is never an issue,

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[bradgray]

Things are "normal" but with a catch. I checked the Cl level Monday and it was 7.2. So I reduced the SWG to 7 % expecting the CL to decrease. I just tested the water (Thursday) and CL has increased to 8. I don't get it, I've done nothing but reduce the SWG percentage and there has been no use of the pool. Temp has been in the 70's water temp about 65

Test readings are below:
CL 8.0
Ph 8.0 (I just added 1/3 gal acid)
Alkalinity 80
Ca Hardness 200
Salt level 3650
Stabilizer at 70

Refer to James response as well.

Let's use an anology:

If you have a nonspecific measuring cup/tub with a hose in it and it's filled to 5, and you want it to stay at 5, but all you do is turn down the flow a little bit... it's going to keep adding and increase the level. Assuming no leaks.

If you have a small leak (this would be akin to the "use" James referenced) you then would want to adjust your flow to match the leak.

I.E. you're balancing FC production with FC loss.

The salt cell doesn't measure your FC readings for you. It simply runs for whatever percentage of its "on time" you set it to.

The only caveat to this is if you have the Intellichem system which does use an ORP probe to determine when the cell should and should not run in order to *try* and maintain a specific chlorine target based on real-time analysis. But I'm assuming this is not your setup because it's thousands more to add and isn't necessarily better.

 

[WSTyng]

Thanks guys. Still learn something new every day. This site is great.

 

[PoolStored]

Stabilizer at 70

Any result above 5 is fine. I run my 70CYA pool between 7-9FC. This gives me buffer for high FC demand days (sun and swimmers). MINIMUM IS LAVA. Sunny June day and swimmers, I can lose 5.5ppm. 9-5.5=3.5...still keeps me above minimum!

I just test, between 7-9, good to go. Drops below 7, maybe CYA has degraded or FC demand is up, turn it up a bit. Above 9, turn it down a bit.

You will learn your pool. In Ohio, I run 15% April, 25% May, 35% June/July, 25% August into Sept, 15% Sep/Oct. (I run my pump 24/7 for skimming and filtering).

 

[WSTyng]

Any result above 5 is fine. I run my 70CYA pool between 7-9FC. This gives me buffer for high FC demand days (sun and swimmers). MINIMUM IS LAVA. Sunny June day and swimmers, I can lose 5.5ppm. 9-5.5=3.5...still keeps me above minimum!

I just test, between 7-9, good to go. Drops below 7, maybe CYA has degraded or FC demand is up, turn it up a bit. Above 9, turn it down a bit.

You will learn your pool. In Ohio, I run 15% April, 25% May, 35% June/July, 25% August into Sept, 15% Sep/Oct. (I run my pump 24/7 for skimming and filtering).

Thanks for the info