Trouble with Intellichlor IC20

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hyperchord24

0
Jul 4, 2009
79
Upstate New York
Let's see. Our pool was installed 2.5 years ago. SWG wasn't calibrated properly. So I followed the instructions to field calibrate. Everything looked okay. It was set (and continues to be set) at 60%. Right now, we have no chlorine production. The only chlorine I have is because I shock it. If I let it go for more than a week and a half, my pool turns green. All the lights are on on the cell. Salt level reads "Good." Here are the numbers:

Size: 25,000 gal (16 x 36 oval; 3.5' shallow, 8.5' deep end)
Salt: 3590 ppm
FC: 0
pH: 7.4
TA: 80-90
CYA: 30-40 (this is part of strip, not it's own test. The color differences are hard to see)

I inspected the cell's insides and there doesn't seem to be any scale build-up (you can see that stuff, right?), nor any debris blocking anything. I try to increase the setting to a higher percentage, but nothing happens when I press the "more" button (or the "less" button for that matter. I also tried the "boost" mode, but nothing seems to register. When I press and hold down one button or the other, the lights start flashing and then go back to normal. I am sick of spending money on shock and would like the stupid thing to start working. Is weekly shocking just a part of life?
 
The first thing that I am wondering about is who put a 20,000 gallon cell on a 25,00 gallon pool :shock:

Salt looks a bit high, and CYA looks low for a salt pool. 60% on a small cell with warm weather and bather load is not going to keep up chlorine demand. How long are you running the pump?

Shock should not be needed in a properly maintained pool. I think someone sold you that story somewhere, but you just need to keep your chemical levels correct. I'd go to the Pool Calculator and insert your numbers, which will tell you how much bleach (chlorine) to add. That would be the first step, and then go to 100% on your cell, if you are having high usage. When that cell goes out, I'd get the IC40 cell.
 
A 20K cell is not going to handle a 25K pool. Whoever sized that initially goofed up.

The cells have an hour life rating. IIRC, the IC40 has 10,000 hours (I've never been involved with a smaller one); yours may be the same, and, depending on how long you run your system, you may be near the end of its service life. Whenever you need to get a new cell, I would suggest you get the 40. Bigger is better in this case!
 
So, should I complain to my PB (like that'll work)? And how do I know if the cell is dead? All the lights are green.

And if I want to up the percentage, I can't just press "more." It doesn't work. What should I do?

EDIT: I forgot I control that part of the SWG through the Intellitouch. I set it to super chlorinate. FYI, the reading on thge intellitouch says 3650 ppm salt. How reliable are they?
 
It's too late to have the PB do anything about it, unfortunately. I just don't understand his reasoning.

I'd still suggest that you pour some chlorine in the pool before you get algae. Even on super chlorinate you are not going to get enough in there from zero. The salt readings are pretty close, but not exact.
 
I had the same problem a month ago.... chlorine would go to 0 and all lights are green. Pool store shock, and some chlorine, then next week, no chlorine. My problem wasn't the chlorinator, but chlorine demand. It was so high the chlorinator couldn't keep up. Do the overnight chlorine loss test, then check out "How to Shock Your Pool" in the Pool School.... the key is getting to shock level and maintaining until whatever is eating your chlorine gets taken care of. Worked for me.... FC at 4+ now with IC20.
 
The most important thing here is that CYA should be between 70 and 80. There is no way an undersized SWG could possibly keep up with CYA around 40.

It should be possible to get the IC20 working better than it is now, even if you do need to supplement with a little bleach on the hottest days or days with lots of swimming.

You should follow oldogface's advice first, and then once you can maintain an FC level overnight, raise the CYA level. That should take care of things in the short run. Longer term, you can think about the pros/cons of manually adding a little chlorine now and then vs getting a larger SWG.
 
If I can sell my IC20 SWG that would be great. I think the IC40 sells for what, $600 USD? I think I've spent around $100 USD in shock alone this season (so far). It's something to think about. What I can't understand is why my PB sold me an inferior model. I've done a quick check and the IC20 isn't all that less expensive. What is the cut off (in gallons) for the two models?
 

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Heh, I've been reading some of my old posts from last pool season, and I was so sure that I had an IC40. I tend to not notice things that are right in front of me.

I have a few more questions. I do have blackish/green spots in my pool. Should I brush them towards the drain, or continue the shock treatment? I only ask because I'm not sure it's algae (can algae be brushed away as easily as I have?) and I don't have a test kit. Just strips of the paper. Furthermore, according to the BBB method, bleach sold at grocery stores is cheaper. My pool place sells 12.5% 2.5 gal jugs for $7.00. Am I just lucky?

On the subject of FC, I have my IC20 set for 100%. I've been shocking for the past couple nights and in the morning, the FC is 5 or so (again, no test kit). How long should I wait until the FC is okay without shocking it? Am I overtaxing the machine? This brings me to my next problem.

So for the life of me I can't understand why my PB gave me the IC20 when the IC40 is olnly $100-200 more. After spending thousands of dollars on the pool, is that small profit from the inferior machine worth it? Now, the next question is, should I bring it up to him? First of all, he's hard to get a hold of (surprise, surprise!) and he has no reason to help me out. I don't suppose he'd be willing to take my IC20 that's a year old and give me a break on an ic40. He may not even believe that the ic20 is inferior. I'm really nervous about getting up to and maintaining the proper FC level with the IC20 I have now. So if I decide to buy an IC40, where should I buy it from? Google shopping doesn't really give me any stores I've heard of. Plus what do I do with the old ic20 that works just fine?
 
You should brush the entire pool every day while you are shocking.

The power supply is the same on the IC20 and IC40, so all you need to get to upgrade is a replacement cell. That will still be over $500, but not as bad as getting the power supply also.

The IC20 might well actually work on your pool if you get your CYA level up where it should be. You have had it for a while and it has been working for you, so you might as well keep using it until you need to replace the cell anyway.

Also, it is much simpler for us to keep track of what you are asking if you keep things together in one place, rather than starting conversations on inter-related topic in separate topics.
 
Sorry. I replied to the topic and someone replied to me asking how things were (I thought he meant he had read my topic over here). I didn't want to be jerky and tell him to read the thread himself.

My CYA has been low ever since I got the pool. I just added enough yesterday to get it to 80 (If I trust my test strips before I added). Hopefully in a week, I'll be able to see what the IC20 can do at a higher setting with my CYA normal and no algae.
 
hyperchord24 said:
So for the life of me I can't understand why my PB gave me the IC20 when the IC40 is olnly $100-200 more. After spending thousands of dollars on the pool, is that small profit from the inferior machine worth it?
Click to expand...

This comment holds true for a lot of things in pool building, and I hear it all the time :evil: Here's a couple of other examples:

Should I buy the 265K heater or the 400K Heater? "Oh, the 265K will heat up just a little slower, and you'll be fine". It's about $175.00 more for a 400K, which heats faster and maintains heat easier.

Should I buy a 60 SF DE filter? "DE filters are very efficient, and hold an awful lot of dirt. They've been around forever, and don't need to have expensive cartridges every couple of years like cartridge filters do". Filters all cost pretty close to the same amount, and I have a hard time believing that a 60 SF DE filter is going to hold as much as a 420 SF Cartridge filter. I also have seen cartridge filters last many, many years (my current ones are 8+ years old, and are in great shape. I clean them every 6 months, if my pressure dictates or not.), and can't remember the last time someone asked me for replacements. Why would anyone use a small filter when big ones are available?

Do I really need an 8 function controller? "Most people won't use the four buttons on most controllers, let alone 8! Why would you need that many?". The cost difference to go to an 8 function controller over a 4 is a couple hundred bucks. Even if I never used the additional 4 (which I do), why wouldn't I get more function ability to do more things?

"We use 1 1/2" plumbing all the time, and it works just fine". Yup, it sure does; on small pumps. A couple cents more per stick for bigger pipe makes for a way more efficient system. Other variations on this is "We use flex pipe all the time and it is great", or "We do use 2 1/2" plumbing on the suction side, but we go to 1 1/2" on the return. The systems run just the same".

Some of it is laziness, some of it is ignorance, and some of it is trying to make a bigger profit. Do it right the first time; charge a little more if you have to, but do it right. Unfortunately, you are seeing a perfect example of either builder ignorance or trying to make a couple hundred extra bucks off of you. Now you have to live with it and he doesn't return your calls. If you're gonna spend the time doing something, I don't understand why you don't do it the best you can. That applies to labor AND materials!
 
I thought I'd post an update to my situation. Now is the time when I'd have to superchlorinate my pool. It's been just over a week and a half and my water chemistry is great. Now that I have the Taylor k-2006 kit, I feel so much better about my numbers.

FC: 7.5
pH: 7.2
TA: 100
CYA: 65

I bumped up my SWG to 100% for 4 days, then backed to 80% for 2 days, and just put it to 70% today. 60% may not have been cutting it, but my CYA level was no where near where it should have been. I just added borates. I'm at 50 ppm according to the Lamotte test strips. My salt is 4050 ppm according to my Easytouch panel, but the water is about an inch lower than it should be. Rain water should lower it over time. Besides, don't these SWG work better at higher concentrations? Anyway, It's been 2.5 years and now, just now, I feel confident in my pool caretaking abilities and it feels great. No more cal-hypo, no more clarifier, nothing, but B, B and B for me. Thanks guys.
 
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