Thinking about going Salt - have a few questions

[jeffchap]

You need to also consider a plumbing failure that would allow your pump to run dry. It happens.

 

[randytsuch]

So if the pump either breaks or runs dry, its no different from an old school installation with the SWG connected to the pump timer. SWG would still get power even though the pump wasn't pumping water.
I suspect if you have automation controlling things, it still wouldn't detect this condition, other than the SWG flow switch. Unless the automation has another flow detector?

I have to admit to letting the water level get too low sometimes. Have to be more careful about that now, which I should have been anyway.

But you guys did make me think about it. In my case, I could add another flow switch and connect to my smart home system. Then I could add logic to turn off the SWG if it doesn't see flow through the 2nd flow sensor.
Overkill?
But I don't want to derail this thread, just thinking out loud.

 

[HermanTX]

So if the pump either breaks or runs dry, its no different from an old school installation with the SWG connected to the pump timer. SWG would still get power even though the pump wasn't pumping water.
I suspect if you have automation controlling things, it still wouldn't detect this condition, other than the SWG flow switch. Unless the automation has another flow detector?

I have to admit to letting the water level get too low sometimes. Have to be more careful about that now, which I should have been anyway.

But you guys did make me think about it. In my case, I could add another flow switch and connect to my smart home system. Then I could add logic to turn off the SWG if it doesn't see flow through the 2nd flow sensor.
Overkill?
But I don't want to derail this thread, just thinking out loud.

The second flow switch is good idea. It should power down the whole system because some failure has occurred which needs attention. It is an overkill - probably - but I like it and I do worry about my pump not functioning or some unforeseen plumbing issue that needs the total system shutdown to prevent further damage to pool, pool equipment or to house. That's probably a discussion for another thread, but I like the concept. I think under current automation designs the only "hope" would be that a CB is thrown off or a GFCI activates to cut power to the malfunctioning electrical issue.

In another recent thread, the plumbing failed after the pump. So flow switch would not have activated SWCG. However, water was still being pumped and issue found before major damage. What could have happened was pool drained, pump cavitated and burned up. Lucky none of that happened.

 

[randytsuch]

Forgot to take pics last night, but here are slightly older ones.
After I took these pics, I rotated the cell as much as I could so it faces down instead of up.

Randy

 

[bbillingsley1985]

Update:. I got it installed! The process was actually a lot simpler than I thought and I feel good about the overall process. So I bought the w3aqr15 that has the salt cell, as well as the daughter board (hlaqrpcb) to allow it to hook up to the Omni hub for automation. Daughter board couldn't of been simpler. Snapped in to the aqua rite and manual was very clear on where the 2 cables went. Used some heavy duty tapcon screws to mount the aquarite box to my brick (box was heavier than I thought it would be) and I was able to very easily wire the red black and green cords to the same red white and green cords that my pump was connected to (240v). All works and all seems well.

I added the salt about 22 hours ago. Stirred it up with the brush and then put the bigger filter thing on my Hayward aquavac (mine came with a very fine filter that will get the dirt and then a filter with bigger openings that basically will shoot the dirt in the air for pool filter to grab rather than it getting it). So I put the bigger filter on to encourage it to shoot the salt straight up and mix it. Didn't take long and salt looks fully dissolved. I finally powered on the aquarite for the first time a few minutes ago and it already had the remote control option. I verified from my app that I can turn it off/on and change percentages down to the nearest whole number (such as 68%). When I click diagnostic on the app it only shows me the average salt level and the % as well as the t15 configuration. Kind of wish it'd show me the other options that I can see on diagnostics on the actual panel but no big deal.

I do have a few questions:

1. I turned it on and set it to 100%. My pump is currently at 2500 rpm (does it from 2-7 pm daily) so no issues with flow. I did notice in the first return some bubbles rising to the top. I panicked for a minute afraid I broke a return pipe somehow or had a leak because I've never had bubbles before. Do not see any leak so I googled some posts here and it appears to me that that is normal with a swg....the bubbles being hydrogen. Is that correct? I'll attach a pic. Only doing it in the first return and maybe slightly in 2nd return. Nothing on returns 3 and 4. Bubbles stop when I turn off swg.

2. Instructions say wait 24-72 hours for salt to fully dissolve but I was impatient and had to jump the gun just to test it lol. It shows my average salt is 2800 and when I go through diagnostics to get a snapshot of current salt it varies betwren 2400-2800. My target was 3200 but my k-1766 will not arrive until Monday according to tracking. So on the way to buy salt yesterday I figured I'd run by the pool store and I could at least get a ballpark on where I was at, and err on the lower side of what I wanted. He stuck a digital thing in the water and it said 600. So I figured up the math and added enough to do 3000 knowing I could add more later after I get my test kit in Monday and check it. My question is, is 2600-2800 range unsafe to run the swg? Will it damage anything? I did notice maybe 30 minutes after it's been running the low salt light came on and inspect cell light was flashing.... assuming this is all due to low salt. In short, will it hurt anything if I continue to run swg or should I just kill it until Monday when I can do a real test and maybe add a few more bags. Just wanted to err on the low side so I wouldn't overfill. I still have plenty of pucks.

3. I've attached some pics of my setup. Does anyone see anything wrong with my overall setup? Ideally, I wanted the salt generator to be upside down because I hear that's best practice with a vsp. Because that pipe sits on concrete it just wasn't really possible in my current setup...I couldn't raise the pipes high enough without fear of breaking it. I could raise it on the heater side but that last elbow really doesn't budge enough to raise that up enough for the bottom of the generator to work on that side. Is it ok to leave it like that or should I buy another elbow to raise the pipe up on that side and flip the swg over? Decided to just take the tab chlorinator out. I didn't have enough space and the thing has been acting up lately anyway.

4. I left my check valve on there from the tab chlorinator but obviously now I don't really need it. Will it hurt anything leaving that there? My flow switch is after my salt cell...does that check valve being there at all handicap the flow? At 2500 rpms, no flow issues at all. However it does appear that around 1500-1750 rpms is when the no flow light comes on for my setup. I am due to clean my cartridge filters so that will help. My pump is never below 1750 rpms but I do want to make sure the flow valve will never detect that 1750 is too low.

That's the main questions I have. Figured I'd ask those that are familiar with this some of those questions. This board has been amazingly helpful.

 

[bbillingsley1985]

I think I have this all figured out but I wanted to run this by people smarter than me to make sure this will work out. I installed a Hayward Aquarite SWG 40k gallon yesterday. My levels using the kit from TF Test Kits are:

FC 3
PH 7.2
Alk 80
CH 125
CYA 60 (was between 50-60)
Salt ~3000 (shooting for 3200 but waiting until k-1766 comes on Monday to verify salt level before adding)

My pool gallons are 22,000 and the FC/CYA chart says minimum 3, target 4

My understanding is I will expect my pH to go up as the SWG is being used....when it creeps up to 7.8-8.0 range, add muriatic acid to lower it. My assumption is that will also lower the alkalinity as it rises. Is that about what others with swgs do?

As for how long to run it, the Hayward produces 1.47 lbs per day according to the internet, so using the excel sheet I found from this site I figured up this:

To replace 2 FC per day, I'd need to run it 5.8 hours per day at 100%. My pump currently runs 24/7 and runs at 1750 rpm at all times except from 2 pm to 7pm I run it at 2500 rpm just to move things towards skimmer. It skims really well so I thought about reducing that some to save power to say 2200 and run that from 1-7 pm. I would then set my swg to run daily at 100% from 1-7 to match it. I believe the SWG should still run even at 1750 so the timing is irrelevant but I guess my question is, is the default expectation of 2 FC per day reasonable or should I up that to 3 FC per day running it for closer to 9 hours per day? Is it best to run it during the day to replace as it's losing it in the sun or at night? Or would it be better to run it 24/7 at X percentage needed or go 100% at the required time frame, then shut off the remaining time? I do have automation so I can change time and percentage at 1% increment levels on my phone. From a power consumption standpoint, is it a wash or does it use the same amps rather it's running at 100% or 20%?

As for cell life, if it's rated for 10,000 hours I believe. If I ran it for say 8 hours per day for about 180 days I'm gonna get a shade under 7 years. And my understanding is if I run it for 8 hours at 100% or 24 hours at 33%, I'd still get the exact same 7ish years, so you don't save anything cell life wise by thinking 8 hrs at 100% uses less life, since it's based on 100%. Is that correct?

1 more question on cya. The chart says 60 is basically the lowest end. I do have probably 20 lbs or so of trichlor tablets and probably 15 1 lb packs of dichlor shock. Poolmath says the tricolor/dichlor adds ~3 cya per bag or per 2 tablets so I could throw that in the pool over time to raise it to 70 if it's necessary. Would it be ok to do that or would it be better to just buy the stabilizer (30 bucks or so). Just figured since I had the bags/tablets I could still use them to raise if necessary....but will 60 work out just fine in your experience? Would prefer to save materials unless necessary.

Guess Im just wondering what other people do and what would make the most sense to do. Is my math/thinking above correct?

 

[Texas Splash]

My understanding is I will expect my pH to go up as the SWG is being used....when it creeps up to 7.8-8.0 range, add muriatic acid to lower it. My assumption is that will also lower the alkalinity as it rises. Is that about what others with swgs do?

Pretty much. The effect on the TA depends on how much acid you use at one time. If you only lower the pH from 8.0 to 7.6, maybe not so much TA drop. But if you use more acid then the TA could fall more. You have room. The TA can drop as low as 60, maybe even 50 and still be okay, but no lower.

As for your calculations, I can sum it up wit one word - experiment. SWGs are advertised for X-amount of FC production and we have lots of tools and calculators designed to tell us what to expect, but sometimes it varies. The important thing is you have a cell 2X the size of your pool, so that's good. I like to us e a little liquid chlorine to get my pool to a starting FC I like (i.e. 6 ppm). Then turn on the cell for a desired time and output. Evaluate it the next day and make adjustments based on if the FC increased too much or fell too low. Every pool and scenario is different.

For cell life, whether you run a short pump time at 100% output or at a lower output for 24 hrs a day, it all comes out about the same. Set it for whatever works best for you. My pump is on 24/7, so my output is set much lower.

You certainly can use the tabs or bags to increase the CYA. Not a problem.

 

[PoolStored]

I think I have this all figured out but I wanted to run this by people smarter than me to make sure this will work out. I installed a Hayward Aquarite SWG 40k gallon yesterday. My levels using the kit from TF Test Kits are:

FC 3
Alk 80
CYA 60 (was between 50-60)
My pool gallons are 22,000 and the FC/CYA chart says minimum 3, target 4

Target is 4, but I would target 6-7 for now...until you learn what your pool consumes in FC daily. In the southern tier you can easily lose 4-5 a day. At a target of 4, when FC usage is during the day (sun, swimmers) you could easily get to 0. Many of us keep our pools at the higher end of target to avoid getting anywhere near minimums. If I get close (+/- .5 of minimums) my pool starts to cloud up.

My understanding is I will expect my pH to go up as the SWG is being used....when it creeps up to 7.8-8.0 range, add muriatic acid to lower it. My assumption is that will also lower the alkalinity as it rises. Is that about what others with swgs do?

Yes. However, with a TA of 80, you may not see that much rise. pH rise happens WAAAY more due to high TA than SWCG, which is pH neutral. I have SWCG, TA of 70 and my pH hasn't changed all year. 1 addition to get it in range and it sits at 7.4.

As for how long to run it, the Hayward produces 1.47 lbs per day according to the internet, so using the excel sheet I found from this site I figured up this:

To replace 2 FC per day, I'd need to run it 5.8 hours per day at 100%. My pump currently runs 24/7 and runs at 1750 rpm at all times except from 2 pm to 7pm I run it at 2500 rpm just to move things towards skimmer. It skims really well so I thought about reducing that some to save power to say 2200 and run that from 1-7 pm. I would then set my swg to run daily at 100% from 1-7 to match it. I believe the SWG should still run even at 1750 so the timing is irrelevant but I guess my question is, is the default expectation of 2 FC per day reasonable or should I up that to 3 FC per day running it for closer to 9 hours per day? Is it best to run it during the day to replace as it's losing it in the sun or at night? Or would it be better to run it 24/7 at X percentage needed or go 100% at the required time frame, then shut off the remaining time? I do have automation so I can change time and percentage at 1% increment levels on my phone. From a power consumption standpoint, is it a wash or does it use the same amps rather it's running at 100% or 20%?

Many here run their VSPs 24/7. I run mine 24x7 at 1400rpm or about 150Watts power consumption...about 20$ a month and run my SWCG at 15-20%. Just works. I would start with a 24 hour pump run, 100-200 above your SWCG switch turning on and experiment.

As for cell life, if it's rated for 10,000 hours I believe. If I ran it for say 8 hours per day for about 180 days I'm gonna get a shade under 7 years. And my understanding is if I run it for 8 hours at 100% or 24 hours at 33%, I'd still get the exact same 7ish years, so you don't save anything cell life wise by thinking 8 hrs at 100% uses less life, since it's based on 100%. Is that correct?

20% for 5 days is same as 100% for one day. Only counts when it is running.

1 more question on cya. The chart says 60 is basically the lowest end. I do have probably 20 lbs or so of trichlor tablets and probably 15 1 lb packs of dichlor shock. Poolmath says the tricolor/dichlor adds ~3 cya per bag or per 2 tablets so I could throw that in the pool over time to raise it to 70 if it's necessary. Would it be ok to do that or would it be better to just buy the stabilizer (30 bucks or so). Just figured since I had the bags/tablets I could still use them to raise if necessary....but will 60 work out just fine in your experience? Would prefer to save materials unless necessary.

Save the pucks for vacation! Get some conditioner and use that. Either way is ok.

Guess Im just wondering what other people do and what would make the most sense to do. Is my math/thinking above correct?

Your thinking is good, refined with our experience you will get there.

*NOTE* Marty'd by Texas Splash.

 

[randytsuch]

FWIW, one of my daughters is sensitive to salt, so I'm planning to run my SWG on the low end. I was around 2600 and the low salt light came on so I added 1/2 a bag and am now at 2800. Everything seems to be fine so I'm leaving it there for now.
I never ran it without measuring salt with the taylor kit, so I knew how much salt I had. Probably won't hurt it, but I'd wait for the kit just to be sure.

I'd check the voltage and current numbers from the SWG and see what they are.

I also get little bubbles at the return. Didn't notice before because I have a solar cover on the pool. The SWG generates Cl gas, so it makes sense.

 

[mknauss]

The SWG generates Cl gas, so it makes sense.

You are seeing hydrogen gas as the bubbles. The chlorine gas instantaneously goes into solution with the water at the SWCG.

 

[bbillingsley1985]

Little issue this morning. When I went to bed it was showing the salt as 2900 and individual checks in that area. I had kept my pump running faster at 2500 rpm during that duration. Before I went to bed, just for the night I decided to leave the salt generation at 100% and see how it would do. I lowered my pump to about medium at 1750 rpm. When I put it on medium, the flow switch flashed red for maybe 30 seconds then went away (indicating to me it was checking to make sure it was still going to have adequate flow and it did), so everything seemed fine. I checked it maybe 1 hour later before I went to bed and everything looked good as far as it was generating at 100% and the low flow switch wasn't on. The overall salt showed 2800 but the only troubling thing was the individual salt reading that you can check through diagnostics showed something ridiculous like 1300.

I went ahead and just left it on and when I woke up this morning I went outside to check. It now showed the salt as 2300 and thus the low salt light was on, inspect cell light on and the red no flow was on. What are my issues? Even if my salt was 0 to begin with, it was impossible for salt to be as low as 2300 overall with the bags I added. Off the top of my head, it sounds like 1750 rpm may not be adequate to run it which means I need to elevate my pump speed when running it or 2 would it make a major difference if I did invert my salt cell upside down? Is it worth it to elevate the plumbing to do that? Trying to figure out what I should do next and what might be wrong.

 

[bbillingsley1985]

I'll add that for the last half hour I've had the pump at 2500 rpm. Now the instant salt reading from diagnostics is showing 2800 again and the overall has bumped back up to 2600. Voltages are 27.2 and amp is 6.3. I'll need to Google what proper voltages and amps should be.

Again my k-1766 comes in Monday so I'll know for sure but I suspect that it should be between 2800-3000 so when pump is running fast the aquarite seems to agree. However at slow speeds, it shows it way low. So it's basically deciding if I must increase my speed anytime I run the generator or if inverting it could make a difference.

 

[randytsuch]

Hayward SWCG Wiki
Not sure if you found this page yet, lots of good info there on your SWG.
They say between 6 and 7 amps max is fine. I think I'm running at 6.5

 

[bbillingsley1985]

Hayward SWCG Wiki
Not sure if you found this page yet, lots of good info there on your SWG.
They say between 6 and 7 amps max is fine. I think I'm running at 6.5

Thank you for that link. Well this listed here pretty much addresses my problem. Guess I should of done a vertical install. Would of been nice if that had been on the manual:

"When using a variable speed pump it is recommended that the cell be plumbed in vertical position. By doing this the cell will fill even when the pump is running in a lower speed. If the cell is plumbed horizontally, and the pump is running in low speed, the cell will not fill completely with water, and cause it to read a false low reading."

 

[bbillingsley1985]

Another update. For those that have SWG, if you do horizontal inverted instead of doing a vertical install, is that sufficient? I was able to get the pipe raised just enough to get it locked in inverted so now I have the swg installed upside down horizontally. My pump has been on medium at 1750 for the last hour and the salt level on the diagnostics is still holding at 2800 compared to the 1300-1800 it was showing last night so I think I might be in the clear without having to do a vertical install.

So for those that may ever read this in the future, it seems to me that it's very important to invert your install if you have a vsp. I looked at the aquarite manual and though it doesn't say the word invert in the instructions, the picture they show does it show it inverted so they are basically saying no matter what invert it.

One other somewhat unrelated note I found interesting. I got a little nervous earlier that the swg wasn't producing because I have the TF Pro test kit but also had a phin system in the pool from Hayward. It's since been discontinued but I've been using a third party app called IOPOOOL that can still read it, so I can still sort of bootleg the data through that app until it finally does. It monitors orp level for sanitation purposes to give me an idea of my chlorine level so though it's nowhere near an exact science, I generally could know that if my orp was in the 700 range that would usually translate to around a 4-5 FC level, and could pull it right up from my phone without having to test....so gave me a very convenient ballpark idea. Anyway, I pulled it up this afternoon and it showed a 580 orp level which would normally indicate low while using liquid chlorine. It would usually translate to 1 FC or less. To my surprise, when testing with my test kit to confirm a low FC it was actually at 5, which is where I expected it to be with how I was running my swg. I haven't googled or researched but I'm betting the fact that salt is added to the water may lower how that orp level is figured so I'll need to adjust to account for that. There's a setting to change your pool in the app from chlorine to salt so I'm betting they adjust orp based on that. App won't let me switch it to salt though because their actual real one that they want to sell you (that isn't phin) doesn't support salt.

Anyway, just thought that was interesting. I feel like I'm on my way to becoming an expert with all this DIY work I've done and this boards info lol.

 

[generessler]

I have a different cell (Jandy AquaPure). The manual is extremely clear about installing with sensor down so an air pocket can't expose it. In fact horizontal with sensor down is the preferred installation. Cheers. Glad it's working out.

 

[bbillingsley1985]

Appreciate the info from everyone. I think I may have ironed out my issues with the swg. Assuming I have that fixed I like the idea of 24/7 at a reduced percent since my pump runs 24/7 anyway. Think I'll start with 33% for 24 hours and work from there.

One more quick question. Am I dumb to even run my pump at 2500 rpm for the 6 hours per day. Do others do a low speed for 24 hours and just leave it there? You indicated 1400 24 hours a day. Do you ever increase it on a daily basis (other than specific circumstances such as adding chemicals etc). Thought about just trying the 24/7 1725 rpm.and 33% swg and seeing how that works. As I look right now 1725 rpms is 168 watts. 2500 is about 280 watts. I just assumed I might of needed a faster run time at some point during the day but maybe I don't.

 

[HermanTX]

Appreciate the info from everyone. I think I may have ironed out my issues with the swg. Assuming I have that fixed I like the idea of 24/7 at a reduced percent since my pump runs 24/7 anyway. Think I'll start with 33% for 24 hours and work from there.

One more quick question. Am I dumb to even run my pump at 2500 rpm for the 6 hours per day. Do others do a low speed for 24 hours and just leave it there? You indicated 1400 24 hours a day. Do you ever increase it on a daily basis (other than specific circumstances such as adding chemicals etc). Thought about just trying the 24/7 1725 rpm.and 33% swg and seeing how that works. As I look right now 1725 rpms is 168 watts. 2500 is about 280 watts. I just assumed I might of needed a faster run time at some point during the day but maybe I don't.

You run at higher speeds for specific requirements. You may wish to have high rpms for skimming or you need higher rpms for heater to function. There is no set rule. If you can produce FC at 1725rpm for 24 hrs then that is fine. Then only ramp up for certain activities such as skimming. As you noted, the longer you can stay at lower rpm the lower your energy costs.

 

[TexEdmond]

Great job on the install! Glad you found a solution that's gonna work for you.

Would it be ok to do that or would it be better to just buy the stabilizer (30 bucks or so). Just figured since I had the bags/tablets I could still use them to raise if necessary....but will 60 work out just fine in your experience?

It might be better to get a feel for SWG % and runtime numbers for a few weeks first. CYA is easy to add, difficult to subtract. If it was my chems and pool and I still needed more CYA I'd probably keep the tabs and use the dichlor to bring up CYA levels, but that's just because it's already paid for. Use PoolMath, it'll tell you how much CYA is added by the different chems. CYA and FC levels are a variable, subjective thing. If your pool gets a lot of sunlight and you don't want to run your SWG too hard, you can increase CYA 10ppm and see how that feels over time. Then, add some more. Remember it's better to sneak up on a number than blowing past it.

Do you ever increase it on a daily basis (other than specific circumstances such as adding chemicals etc). Thought about just trying the 24/7 1725 rpm.and 33% swg and seeing how that works. As I look right now 1725 rpms is 168 watts. 2500 is about 280 watts. I just assumed I might of needed a faster run time at some point during the day but maybe I don't.

This is exactly correct. If you're happy with your skimming you can likely reduce the higher pump speed significantly. Again, find the balance point. What most folks here do is slowly lower the pump RPM until the SWG flow light turns off, then setting the pump 2-300 RPM higher than that to compensate for filter backpressure. It'd be catastrophic to run it at the lowest RPM possible and have a blockage or some other issue that left you without FC generation.

Guess Im just wondering what other people do and what would make the most sense to do.

Regarding day-to-day FC levels, I think of it this way: Why in the world would I want to just keep to the minimum FC / CYA amount in my pool? Any small fluctuation downward in FC (bather load, rain event, yard guy with a careless leaf blower, loss of power, critter drowned in skimmer basket) could rapidly put me in an unsafe water situation. FC above 10ppm affects the pH drop test, and it's safe to swim up to SLAM levels, which are quite high for CYA 60-90. I personally leave my settings alone and only make changes when FC drifts up to 9 or drops below 7. The pump's running 24/7 anyway, and the SWG power draw is negligible, so the chlorine is automated and effectively free. My blood pressure is much more subdued knowing there's plenty of wiggle room.

"When using a variable speed pump it is recommended that the cell be plumbed in vertical position. By doing this the cell will fill even when the pump is running in a lower speed. If the cell is plumbed horizontally, and the pump is running in low speed, the cell will not fill completely with water, and cause it to read a false low reading."

Yeah, that's a bummer. I knew the vertical plumbing recommendation was primarily a safety issue; if the SWG runs in a low-flow situation it is possible to have an accumulation of hydrogen gas, which can (and has) caused the rare detonation of pool plumbing. It looks like you've still got the ability to change it if you wanted, or it might even be able to install some kind of air bleed valve after the heater to clean up the flow. Now that you're more familiar with the plumbing (it's a whole lot easier than it seems), you might consider a true bypass for your heater. That'll allow you to run even lower RPMs on the pump, as the heater is almost always the most restrictive component for flow rates.

 

[bbillingsley1985]

Great job on the install! Glad you found a solution that's gonna work for you.


It might be better to get a feel for SWG % and runtime numbers for a few weeks first. CYA is easy to add, difficult to subtract. If it was my chems and pool and I still needed more CYA I'd probably keep the tabs and use the dichlor to bring up CYA levels, but that's just because it's already paid for. Use PoolMath, it'll tell you how much CYA is added by the different chems. CYA and FC levels are a variable, subjective thing. If your pool gets a lot of sunlight and you don't want to run your SWG too hard, you can increase CYA 10ppm and see how that feels over time. Then, add some more. Remember it's better to sneak up on a number than blowing past it.

This is exactly correct. If you're happy with your skimming you can likely reduce the higher pump speed significantly. Again, find the balance point. What most folks here do is slowly lower the pump RPM until the SWG flow light turns off, then setting the pump 2-300 RPM higher than that to compensate for filter backpressure. It'd be catastrophic to run it at the lowest RPM possible and have a blockage or some other issue that left you without FC generation.


Regarding day-to-day FC levels, I think of it this way: Why in the world would I want to just keep to the minimum FC / CYA amount in my pool? Any small fluctuation downward in FC (bather load, rain event, yard guy with a careless leaf blower, loss of power, critter drowned in skimmer basket) could rapidly put me in an unsafe water situation. FC above 10ppm affects the pH drop test, and it's safe to swim up to SLAM levels, which are quite high for CYA 60-90. I personally leave my settings alone and only make changes when FC drifts up to 9 or drops below 7. The pump's running 24/7 anyway, and the SWG power draw is negligible, so the chlorine is automated and effectively free. My blood pressure is much more subdued knowing there's plenty of wiggle room.


Yeah, that's a bummer. I knew the vertical plumbing recommendation was primarily a safety issue; if the SWG runs in a low-flow situation it is possible to have an accumulation of hydrogen gas, which can (and has) caused the rare detonation of pool plumbing. It looks like you've still got the ability to change it if you wanted, or it might even be able to install some kind of air bleed valve after the heater to clean up the flow. Now that you're more familiar with the plumbing (it's a whole lot easier than it seems), you might consider a true bypass for your heater. That'll allow you to run even lower RPMs on the pump, as the heater is almost always the most restrictive component for flow rates.

Good points on the heater. I'm finding that I have to usually put the pump speed rpm to about 2500+ in order to activate the flow switch on the heater. Kind of a bummer I have to run it that high. I only use the heater in May for maybe 3-4 weeks total so from June on its just a yard decoration. So doesn't really matter too much after that but I guess I could consider making up some pvc pipe to use as a bypass to essentially disconnect heater from June through September. That said, the swg seems to be fine at 1750 rpm which is always the lowest that I've ran my pump anyway so I don't guess its a big deal. As long as flow switch isn't activated (thus shutting it off), is it producing the exact same chlorine rather I'm running my pump on full blast vs a lower speed, making the pump speed irrelevant for swg purposes as long as flow is more than flow switch?

Another question is power. So at 1750 rpm my watts from the app tells me usually the 160's watts range. I might up it to like 1850 to give a little more wiggle room for the swg and run the swg at XX % 24/7 along with the pump. From a power perspective, lets just say my vsp averages 200 watts. Google says that amp x volts = wattage so if we just ballpark it and say my volts is 25 and amps is 6 for the swg (it tells me that in diagnostics but not watts), that means 25 x 6 = 150 watts. That 150 watts is on top of my vsp watts right? So that's 350 total watts? In Arkansas a quick google says 8.32 cents per kwh but thanks to gas/inflation/etc. lets just say its 10 cents per kwh, math comes to $25 per month. Ballpark, that's about $15 per month on my vsp and $10 per month for the swg. Can I assume it will use less power based on the percentage I run the pump at? Meaning if it's 150 watts running at 100%, would it be 75 watts running at 50%? If that's the case and I ran it 24 hours at 50%, it's more like $5 per month to run it. If it's not a direct correlation and its still running at around 150 watts regardless of %, then you do come out a little ahead from an energy perspective if you figure out exactly how long you need to run the swg for at max 100%. All that said, we're talking about a few bucks a month.... I dumped $60 last night on a spontaneous mexican restaurant trip, so the money is really neglibile from any energy perspective.... if my math is right. Just thinking out loud, but find this stuff interesting.