Switching from Frog to SWCG

[P00LNerd]

I've been the only one to notice the taste at 3400, but we haven't had a wide variety of users, either. I joke about it, but it really is significant how much better I can float! Literally no air mattress needed! It's become one of the favorite things to do - just be a dead body, lying face up on the surface of the water, watching planes and clouds go by overhead.

I was wondering about this. I know all the stories of floating in the Dead Sea, but the salinity there is a mind-boggling 330,000 ppm, it must be almost like slurry. I had thought that maybe 3500 ppm was so low, that I'd not even notice the difference.

We are very used to swimming in the Atlantic ocean, and I've read that holds around 30,000 ppm. My pool salinity prior to adding salt was 600 ppm, so there was always some salt there, I only increased it from 0.06% to 0.33%.

Like Turbo said, I'm hoping it's just the shock of the abrupt change, and that they'll soon forget about it.

 

[Newdude]

. I am hoping what they’re responding to is just the change, and that they’ll soon get over it.

Probably. We tend to taste it over 3k. Nothing like the ocean, as you know, but just a little. It quickly just becomes normal.

I like to roll on the lower side, starting at 3200 and letting rain overflow lower it to 2800. There's some room for ever in my plan because if I overshoot a little at dose time, it's 3400 or 3600 and while a little saltier, still nothing crazy. If I don't catch the cell complaining at 2800, it works down to 2600.

I'm about there having not added salt since opening in the spring. I've been watching it slooooooowly fall and just yesterday the Mrs commented how she couldn't taste it at all. I lol'd that I was just waiting for a little more drop but thanked her for the observation.

 

[P00LNerd]

I cut the Frog and valves out, and re-plumbed today for the RJ-45+. All is good, except the flow switch leaks, where the switch is screwed into the tee at the factory. I'll try removing and adding tape, tomorrow. No other leaks, despite mating to off-plumb ports at each end of this circuit.



I'll hook up the electrical tomorrow, as I need to move a few things around to make that happen.

 

[PoolStored]

Congrats!

 

[P00LNerd]

That flow switch wire is so tiny and delicate, I'm almost afraid leaving it exposed out there for one night. If a squirrel doesn't strip it, I fear my puppy will. It's tucked under a bucket, right now.

Has anyone engineered up a good solution for protecting this wire? I have some ideas of my own, but figure some of you have probably already come up with smart solutions.

This is where an equipment shed would be nice, but alas...

 

[PoolStored]

Amazon.com

 

[P00LNerd]

The RJ30 would be great for 15k gallons in PA, but discount salt pools upgrades from there for $10 ish so it's almost foolish to not get the crazy overkill RJ45.

So, I may have discovered the down side of going big. Just over one day on the RJ-45+, set down at 35% and even turning it off for awhile yesterday afternoon, my FC has jumped from 5.5 ppm up to 10.0 ppm.

Not a huge problem, I still have range to dial down farther, but it means my control resolution will be relatively poor. Put otherwise, a 15% power setting is a 50% jump over 10%, whereas those of you dithering around 70% have more like 7% relative jumps at 5% increments.

Since our climate sort of favors shutting down the pump overnight anyway, this may be our ultimate solution. I suspect it's easier to fine-tune FC production from an oversized SWG with the added variable of runtime, rather than by 5% power steps alone. I can run the thing just 10 hours per day, which someone had already suggested awhile back.

This has been compounded by the effect that our temperature has dropped, and so I have the solar cover on the pool today, and our cover is of the dark blue UV-blocking variety. I suspect that with the cover off, my increase in FC would be half or less of what I'm seeing today, but running with the cover on is our reality for most of the year.

 

[Newdude]

I suspect it's easier to fine-tune FC production from an oversized SWG with the added variable of runtime

2 hours at 100% would be a little over 1 FC and probably be about right for a covered PA pool.

Then expand that out for 10 hours at 20% or 20 hours at 10%.

If you get a heat wave maybe you'll need 4 hours at 100% or any equivs math. Figuring out what works best for you is part of the fun. But once you do, it's BORING. Oh my lucky stars it's boring, which I wouldn't trade for anything.

But also learn your uncovered losses and keep current with it because last month may be off from this month. You effectively have 2 pools and need to know how they both behave.

 

[P00LNerd]

2 hours at 100% would be a little over 1 FC and probably be about right for a covered PA pool.

Interesting. I suspect you're about right. I lose about 3 ppm per day uncovered, and would suspect that 1 ppm per day covered is probably close, at present levels.

But from where did you get the 2 hours at 100% = 1 ppm? If you hadn't noticed, I like math.

Then expand that out for 10 hours at 20% or 20 hours at 10%.

You effectively have 2 pools and need to know how they both behave.

Yep, that's exactly how I've always conceptualized it, in my own mind. I have one pool for most of the year, losing maybe less than 1 ppm with a solar cover installed most of the day. Then for 4-5 weeks, late June into early July, I have an uncovered pool consuming 3x more chlorine.

Combined chlorine is a bit of a problem on days when it's too cool to use the pool at all. I foresee myself removing the cover just to vent off some CC on days when no one is swimming, but I'm honestly just learning to watch that now.

 

[PoolStored]

But from where did you get the 2 hours at 100% = 1 ppm? If you hadn't noticed, I like math.

Pssst...Effects of adding.

 

[Newdude]

*he beat me

 

[Newdude]

Combined chlorine is a bit of a problem on days when it's too cool to use the pool at all. I foresee myself removing the cover just to vent off some CC on days when no one is swimming, but I'm honestly just learning to watch that now.

Once or twice a week is fine. You'll know right away if you went too long because it'll finally smell like a pool. It was always gone by the time I had the cover on the reel, it doesn't take long to burn off, maybe even less than a minute.

And if you did go a little too long, no harm was done.

 

[P00LNerd]

So, I went a little beyond the usual wire loom, for protecting the flow switch wire, since I just saw too much potential for an animal to grab, chew, or tug on it:



The wiring runs in conduit underground and up to a small box mounted behind SWCG controller, and then short pigtails into the controller, as can be seen in the background. And no, I don't usually use plumbing elbows and bushings with PVC conduit, but this isn't a real NEC-governed application, just some control wiring. Those two white elbows are just slip fit on top of the tee box, they simply lift off if I want to remove the flow switch for winter.

I will probably stick a little loom over the wire to the cell, and figure out a cord grip solution, but this is all really just temporary for the remainder of this year. I'll have an opportunity to improve when the panel gets replaced after this season ends.

 

[PoolStored]

Use plumbers putty to seal the cell wire.

 

[P00LNerd]

Use plumbers putty to seal the cell wire.

Nice! I was thinking of splitting one of those rubber stoppers folks use for winterizing their returns, but plumbers putty could definitely do the job.

 

[P00LNerd]

First pool party on the SWG. Just keep FC at my target? No shock?

I could easily turn up the SWG to compensate higher than average FC loss, as I’m typically running it at just 5% - 20% to stay on target.

 

[sande005]

The response time isn't very fast. If you are running at the top of the target FC, you should be just fine. If concerned, test after the party, and give the pool a slug of liquid to build it back up to the target level if needed. Then you won't need to chase the settings if otherwise it has been maintaining just fine. Now if that pool party goes on for days...you may want to bump it up....

(If not running at the top of the target range, sure - give it a slug of Cl to get there before the party too, just to make sure....)

 

[Newdude]

Up to you. For a small get together I use boost mode the day before to bump the FC some. (Which was already 'hot').

For a blowout party I'll use LC and SLAM it.

 

[PoolStored]

I could easily turn up the SWG to compensate higher than average FC loss, as I’m typically running it at just 5% - 20% to stay on target.

This is what I do. I turn mine up to 50/60/70 when the cover comes off. Seems to work fine.

 

[P00LNerd]

Since this thing has the ability to keep pool chlorinated at a setting of just 5% to 15%, bumping it to just 20% represents a full doubling of my average rate.

So, I did that while mowing this morning, about 4 hours pre-party. I'll recheck it late tonight, and add LC for any net loss greater than that, but I won't be surprised if I come out on-target or even a bit high on FC. Expecting about 10 bodies in the pool, but two are infants or toddlers, and probably just an hour per person on average. I'm sure our dog (13 lb. Boston Terrier) will be in and out, she's a regular water rat, not so sure about the other dog (obese mini poodle mix) that's coming.