Thinking of making the switch - Installation questions

[jlamb5990]

J,

You do not need a check valve between the SWCG and the heater. That check valve is only required if you have a tab feeder.

I have three saltwater pools and do not have a by-pass or dummy cell. I can't think of any reason to have them.

In the winter you just set the output to zero. In my case I have separate circuit breaker for the SWCG power supply, so I just shut it off in the winter. This is not the same as the small grey breaker that you never want to try to turn off.

I would not add any salt until the water temp gets about 55 degrees on constant basis.

Your pool most likely has a lot of salt in it right now. I recommend you get a Taylor K-1766 salt test kit. You need to have the ability to measure the "actual" salt level vs. what the cell reports, which can be way off.

Pool math will tell you how much salt to add. You enter what your pool currently has, and pool volume, what your salt target is, and it will tell you how much more you need.

CYA of 60 is fine in the winter. I would not worry about getting it up to 70 until the summertime.

You might want to post a couple of pics of your install wiring before firing it up..

Edit.. You will need to tell ScreenLogic you have a SWCG so that it shows the following page..


View media item 1963

Thanks,

Jim R.

Perfect! Is it safe to wire up the transformer, but not the Salt Cell or do i need to leave the relay and surge board wires disconnected until its fully go time and the cell is plumbed in?

 

[Jimrahbe]

J,

If you are confident in what you are doing, then wire it all and fire it up.

If you want to double check, then wire everything up except the two wires going to the pump/filter relay and show me some pics.

Up to you..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[jlamb5990]

J,

If you are confident in what you are doing, then wire it all and fire it up.

If you want to double check, then wire everything up except the two wires going to the pump/filter relay and show me some pics.

Up to you..

Thanks,

Jim R

Jim

Well I got a wild hair and just went for it this afternoon. Knock on wood but it seems to be a success. Was able to fully take out the UV and Chlorinator and plumb kn the ic40 as well as wire into the pump relays.

pictures attached but everything seems to be in working order. Intellichlor only turns on when the pump is on and the there are no leaks in my plumbing upon startup. Obviously it says very low salt on my cell but I configured into my screenlogic and it’s showing 350ppm.

Please let me know if you see anything suspect in these pictures. I never would have dreamed of attempting something like this if not for you and the members here so thanks again for all the advice and encouragement.

 

[jlamb5990]

Forgot to post this in my original. My Taylor salt test kit comes in Thursday so i wont be able to add any salt at a reliable level until then. Do i need to unplug the cell or turn the chlorination down to 0% for Pool and Spa until then? Is there any danger in the cell being powered on if the salt level is too low? Basically having more or less fresh water running through it?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Do i need to unplug the cell or turn the chlorination down to 0% for Pool and Spa until then?

Either will work. The plumbing looks good!

 

[jlamb5990]

Either will work. The plumbing looks good!

Thanks! Glad i was able to fully remove the UV and its internal wiring too. Now i just need to find something to do with it. I know no one here wants it!

 

[Turbo1Ton]

I know no one here wants it!

Hmmm... I can send you mine so it has a friend.

It's been lonely sitting in my garage since Oct '20.

--Jeff

 

[Newdude]

Lots of folks would want it on CL / FB / offerup. It would probably fetch a pretty penny and quick. No need to feel bad about selling it, the buyer is gonna buy it elsewhere anyway, with or without you. Give them a 25% discount over new and you both win.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

I never would have dreamed of attempting something like this if not for you and the members here so thanks again for all the advice and encouragement.

Good job! Looks good! You will really enjoy the SWCG. It makes pool ownership, during the warm months almost boring. If I didn't have to swim, it would be super boring.

--Jeff

 

[jlamb5990]

Just went out to test it again and make sure the cell is showing 0% production and noticed a sound I hadn’t heard before coming front my heater output pipe. Sounds like rain drops almost or like water trickling but inside the pipe? Is this something normal possibly connected to emptying the lines before installing the swg? Could there be air in the lines? or should I be concerned? I didn’t mess with any of the couplings or lines related to the heater intake or output. Flow shows green on the cell too so I no it’s making it’s way through the whole system. I Just removed the UV and Chlorinator from that line.

Edit: after going back out listening more. I drained the air from the filter and refilled it letting water run consumption the top before closing the valve. I think that fixed the heater issue but I feel like I can hear water running through all the lines now more than I ever used to. Could that be from the straight shot of the SWG line now as opposed to running up through the UV before then the tab feeder then the returns? It doesn’t sound bad, just more audible

 

[Jimrahbe]

J,

Outstanding job!!!

I don't see anything you could have done better.

Show me this ScreenLogic page..


View media item 1962

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[jlamb5990]

J,

Outstanding job!!!

I don't see anything you could have done better.

Show me this ScreenLogic page..


View media item 1962

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks! I bugged you enough with questions so I should have gotten it right!

Here is the pump page and the intellichlor page. Salt ppm is showing 0 I guess because I don’t have the cell in and sort of production mode?

 

[Jimrahbe]

J,

Speed looks good.

When you adjust the output % in ScreenLogic, does the output lights on the SWCG change accordingly?

I would not worry about what salt level the cell reports unless the water temp is above 55 degrees.

Please confirm that when you turn off the pump or put the system into the Service mode (pump not running) there are no lights on the cell.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[jlamb5990]

J,

Speed looks good.

When you adjust the output % in ScreenLogic, does the output lights on the SWCG change accordingly?

I would not worry about what salt level the cell reports unless the water temp is above 55 degrees.

Please confirm that when you turn off the pump or put the system into the Service mode (pump not running) there are no lights on the cell.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Jim

So yes the lights on the cell change with the percentage I set on my screenlogic app. Also the cell lights are completely off when the pump is off. They only turn on when the pump starts. (Thanks to the relays right?)

Right now though the only lights that show when the cell powers on are
Low Salt (red)
Flow (green)

The % lights are all off which I’m assuming correlates to the fact that I have the outputs set to %0

First picture is pump off. Second picture is once I go into pool mode (pump on)…disregard the 20% on the cell, that was taken before I adjusted on my app.

 

[proavia]

Nice job!
Are the elbows you used DWV? It looks like the sockets aren't as deep as the fully pressure rated ones.

Looks like you decided not to add the heater bypass - at least not yet.

Great that you removed the UV, in addition to the inline chlorinator - you won't regret removing either of them.

 

[jlamb5990]

Nice job!
Are the elbows you used DWV? It looks like the sockets aren't as deep as the fully pressure rated ones.

Looks like you decided not to add the heater bypass - at least not yet.

Great that you removed the UV, in addition to the inline chlorinator - you won't regret removing either of them.

The elbows were not super deep. About an inch in each was the max. Didn’t realize there were deeper ones? Is this a recipe for failure or could it hold up? I haven’t spotted any leaks so far.

Ya daylight was limited this afternoon so the heater bypass has to wait.

 

[Jimrahbe]

J,

DWV fittings will work just fine. The pressure in those pipes will never be high enough to cause any issues.

It makes sense to use the correct fittings to begin with, but I'd never suggest that they be replaced just because they are DWV.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[proavia]

DWV pipe and fittings aren't pressure rated. That being said, they will probably be fine until you replace them when you add the heater bypass - as long as that isn't months/years in the future. They possibly could last years, but I personally wouldn't take that chance.

Here in the AZ sun, they will weaken if not painted. Sched 40 PVC will also deteriorate, but not as fast.

 

[jlamb5990]

J,

DWV fittings will work just fine. The pressure in those pipes will never be high enough to cause any issues.

It makes sense to use the correct fittings to begin with, but I'd never suggest that they be replaced just because they are DWV.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Phew, thanks for the reassurance. Really would not thrilled cutting any of that out. A couple posts up I mentioned a trickling sound I could hear from the heater output as well as just a more audible sound of water running through the return valves in general. Any insight on that? Or could that just be from creating more of a straight shot of flow with the UV and tab feeder removed?

 

[jlamb5990]

DWV pipe and fittings aren't pressure rated. That being said, they will probably be fine until you replace them when you add the heater bypass - as long as that isn't months/years in the future. They possibly could last years, but I personally wouldn't take that chance.

Here in the AZ sun, they will weaken if not painted. Sched 40 PVC will also deteriorate, but not as fast.

Good to know! I’ll definitely keep an eye on them. For the time being I’m celebrating how smooth this all went and hoping it wasn’t a fluke ha!