Test kit in ... let the SLAMing begin!

I don't know about the UV index, but that makes sense alright.

Fresh water tends to float on top because salty water is heavier. But if the pump is running, the overflow would be a mixture of fresh and pool water. It will make a small difference but I don't think you'll find it's very noticeable. Theoretically, to save your treated water, turn off the pump during rain, or if you want to get rid of something, keep the pump on, but the difference will probably be marginal.

I wondered about it too, so I tested overflow water vs. pool water (pump not running, raining)

21-Jul-16PoolOverflow
TA7060
CH275225
CYA5040
 
I have to add CYA through out the year here in FL due to the rain. The rain adds new water and causes me to drain some water. Mix it all in and add what I need to add. The heavy rain does a number on my PH as well. I know I will need to add muratic acid so keep some on hand at all times.

Kim:kim:
 
Doing an OCLT tonight. FC at 11 CC was at 1 but that is quite normal with my water.

Put 1325mL chlorine to get FC to 10...SWG was at 80% since last nights test (24 hours) so by the manual I should have gotten a gain of 23 ppm FC minus consumption. That has got to be a crock...

Water is clearer for sure and with CC at 1, the SWG mustnt be capable of what it says it can produce in the manual. It would be good to know the FC gain with other peoples SWG at the same sort of % and time run if you can?

Salt was last tested 7/2 and was at 5000ppm so should be producing chlorine.

I will know for sure in the morning.
 
Make sure to turn the SWG off when you are doing a OCLT.

You know what?? Put that question "how much FC does your SWG generate?" asking for size, pool size, % set at , etc. to get an idea. I would put it in the SWG section. That would be an interesting read.

Kim:kim:
 
I've had a nagging suspicion in my mind about your SWC, but I ignored it because it's fairly new.

You know those disposable plastic pipettes that come with the CCL kit? Use one to collect a sample for FC testing from the return jet nearest the pump. Squeeze it, then slide it into the return jet, and suck some water. I think you'll get around 3 mls; add to test vial. Keep doing it to get a good-sized sample and dump out the excess to get down to 10 mls. Collect while bubbles are coming out of your return.

Also do a regular pool water sample and let me know your results. My SWC is similar size, and I get a rise of about 4 ppm FC for low speed on my pump. (around 2.5 ppm rise on high speed). If there's a rise then the SWC is working. If there's no rise, the SWC isn't doing its job.
 
Thanks Kimkats/Needsajet.
Well just finished the OCLT:
FC went from 11 to 10
CC was fine at 0.5 to 1
Water was clear

So that is a pass to me unless you think otherwise.

Im going to test and add CYA this afternoon.

Needs in relation to your post, the SWG must be working as the chlorine I added the day before was enough to get it to 10ish, the pool was open all day and sun was out and when tested if not 10 it may have been slightly higher. The water clouds over the cell, so I think it is not whether it is working but what pool attributes impact it production. The manual nominates its ideal range but it is only a range and if not spot on a specific number my assumption is it impacts the efficiciency and production of the SWG.

The manual states:
pH. 7.2 – 7.8 Suggested 7.2 – 7.6
Total alkalinity 60 – 200ppm Suggested 80 – 150ppm
Calcium hardness 100 – 500ppm Suggested 60 – 250ppm
Stabilizer (Sun screen) 30 – 60ppm

The stated range in the first column is when salt is between 5500 and 6500 the suggested range is when salt is at 6000. My salt is at 5000 for the heater (which btw says salt shouldnt be more than 3500). I wonder if running salt at 5000 can impact it by that much. I might get another bag and see if there is a difference in production. Especially in hotter months where I use the pool more it could be worth having salt at 6000 and winter keep it lower so I can run the heater.

The other problem I suppose I need to work on is circulation...the skimmer doesnt seem to skim that well due to a breeze I get down the side of the house. Lucky I dont have trees around me so skimming leaves is really a non issue. I have tried the ping pong ball test and I cant get them going there no matter what I try. SO unsure if this could be a mittigating factor.
 
Glad to hear the OCLT is looking good :)

In your signature, you have Electrochlor 30 SC with Electrochlor 25 SC LCD. Does that mean you have a 30 SC electrolytic cell and a 25 SC power supply? If so, it might be worth a call to Waterco to see if that's OK. Are the plates clean in the SWG? You can shine a torch down into it to get a really good look. I'd ruled out any chance that the cell has done its time, but just in case, is there any chance the cell has run for anything up near 7,000 hours?

The numbers sound like high bather load, with the CC arising from neutralizing bather waste (sweat and wee). Only mentioning this because if you can maintain the FC level you want, maybe there's not a problem worth worrying about. I'll have the odd time my FC gets a bit low, I top up with chlorinating liquid, and then the SWG takes over and keeps it in range. This is common after high bather load. Many people add a cup or two before a party and another cup or two after for just this reason.

You'll get better skimming without drawing water from the drain in the cover pit, but then you may run the risk of algae being worse in the cover slats.

The heater is more likely to be damaged by pH being out of range (low) than a bit more salt, so yep, that's probably not harmful to try, but the SWC should be fine as long as the salt is within the range. As far as the rest of the chemistry, TFP levels and traditional ranges are both fine. A high CSI can lead to SWC scaling, but otherwise it will keep churning out FC.
 

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Thanks pabeader..will check this arvo as i was out prior to sunrise

Sent from my SM-G928I using Tapatalk


Pool is clear

- - - Updated - - -

Glad to hear the OCLT is looking good :)

In your signature, you have Electrochlor 30 SC with Electrochlor 25 SC LCD. Does that mean you have a 30 SC electrolytic cell and a 25 SC power supply? If so, it might be worth a call to Waterco to see if that's OK. Are the plates clean in the SWG? You can shine a torch down into it to get a really good look. I'd ruled out any chance that the cell has done its time, but just in case, is there any chance the cell has run for anything up near 7,000 hours?

The numbers sound like high bather load, with the CC arising from neutralizing bather waste (sweat and wee). Only mentioning this because if you can maintain the FC level you want, maybe there's not a problem worth worrying about. I'll have the odd time my FC gets a bit low, I top up with chlorinating liquid, and then the SWG takes over and keeps it in range. This is common after high bather load. Many people add a cup or two before a party and another cup or two after for just this reason.

You'll get better skimming without drawing water from the drain in the cover pit, but then you may run the risk of algae being worse in the cover slats.

The heater is more likely to be damaged by pH being out of range (low) than a bit more salt, so yep, that's probably not harmful to try, but the SWC should be fine as long as the salt is within the range. As far as the rest of the chemistry, TFP levels and traditional ranges are both fine. A high CSI can lead to SWC scaling, but otherwise it will keep churning out FC.

The cell is 30SC and the power is 25SC. Ihave been told before they are compatible when I raised the query. In terms of how clean my cell is I thought it would be best to provide a little vid...maybe you can spot issued with the way the cell is operating and whether it needs anything:

http://vid1349.photobucket.com/albums/p749/buballo1/2017-02-22%2008.41.09_zpsv5plp1a2.mp4


Thanks for the advice.
 
I think the issue is that my computer is not showing the image very good. needsajet is the one to listen to for sure. I've never actually seen the system with clear sleeve like that so my frame of reference is a little off. :)
 
Yeh mate, the clouds are tiny bubbles of chlorine and hydrogen gas. It's mostly hydrogen gas because the chlorine changes to it's sanitising constituents and ties up with CYA quite quickly. I think I could see a bit of cloudiness in the video at one end of your plates which suggests the salt water chlorinator is working. It's easiest to see the clouds starting when the power supply cycles on.

If it's a reasonable ask, I'm really interested in seeing results going back two weeks, including pump run time and SWC %, the time of day you sample, your FC number, and how much swimming there was leading up to the reading.
 
Did you ever do the "test" needs talked about with taking a sample of water OUT of the running return to test if it had extra FC in it compare to the rest of mixed pool.

Kim:kim:
Hey Kim,
No not yet...havent had the chance. Will do it eventually. The wife is away for the weekend and I have the 3 kids so about to get a taste of reality :)

- - - Updated - - -

Yeh mate, the clouds are tiny bubbles of chlorine and hydrogen gas. It's mostly hydrogen gas because the chlorine changes to it's sanitising constituents and ties up with CYA quite quickly. I think I could see a bit of cloudiness in the video at one end of your plates which suggests the salt water chlorinator is working. It's easiest to see the clouds starting when the power supply cycles on.

If it's a reasonable ask, I'm really interested in seeing results going back two weeks, including pump run time and SWC %, the time of day you sample, your FC number, and how much swimming there was leading up to the reading.

Test results for the last 2 weeks below. Where I went from FC 2 to 11 is when I added 1325mL chlorine. Im trying to recally if the drop was from the really hot weather and heaps of usage or rain to be honest? The right columns is the SWG setting and hours run.

10/02/2017 17:0714.0-0.29Keep monitoring SWG and chlorine leves50%8
13/02/2017 19:159.57.5-0.29Put SWG at 60% to se if it balance out. Note we have used the pool 3 or 4 times since last test so unsure if FC drop is from use or hot weather.60%8
16/02/2017 17:068.01.0-0.29I upped the SWG by 10% to test70%8
20/02/2017 20:142.07.4-0.39Was going to do an OCLT but FC was at 2 Added chlorine and will OCLT tomorrow night. Put SWG at 80%70%8
21/02/2017 20:0911.01.0-0.39This is an OCLT so SWG off until morning test80%8
22/02/2017 5:4010.00.5-0.39This is the result of OCLT. OCLT is fin only 1ppm drop FC. CC<1 and water clear.. SWG back up on timer for 6AM start0%0
 

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