Wiring a Salt System

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Seadweller

Well-known member
Aug 21, 2009
232
Tampa Bay Area
Greetings!

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a salt system for my 25K gallon pool. Thinking of going with the AQR15, but has anyone heard of, or have experience with Blueworks?

I have a Pentair Superflo VS pump that has its own timer.

Will I have to wire a separate timer for the Hayward unit, or can it somehow be tapped into the Pentair pump? I run my pump around 16 hours a day, much of it at low speed, so I'm sure I don't need the salt system to run the entire time.

Would there be an issue putting the salt system on its own, dedicated timer?

Thanks!
 
Sea,

I notice that your signature says your pool is 18K, but in your post you said 25K... I only ask because we always recommend that your salt system be rated for at least 2 x the volume of your pool.. So for an 18K pool your choice of a 40K cell works out fine, but that same 40K cell is a little small for a 25K pool. It will work, but you will have to run your pump longer and your cell at a higher output in the middle of the summer to keep up with your chlorine demand.

I don't believe that the SuperFlo (or the IntelliFlo) has any ability to tell the cell that the pump is running, so most people just use a separate timer to control the cell.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Sea,

I notice that your signature says your pool is 18K, but in your post you said 25K... I only ask because we always recommend that your salt system be rated for at least 2 x the volume of your pool.. So for an 18K pool your choice of a 40K cell works out fine, but that same 40K cell is a little small for a 25K pool. It will work, but you will have to run your pump longer and your cell at a higher output in the middle of the summer to keep up with your chlorine demand.

I don't believe that the SuperFlo (or the IntelliFlo) has any ability to tell the cell that the pump is running, so most people just use a separate timer to control the cell.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.
Click to expand...

Isn't that what the Flow switch is for? Presuming of course that the "Blueworks SWG system has a flow switch incorporated into its design.
 
JoeGolan said:
Isn't that what the Flow switch is for? Presuming of course that the "Blueworks SWG system has a flow switch incorporated into its design.
Click to expand...

In "theory" the flow switch is the backup or secondary safety device. The Primary safety device is the removal of power from the saltwater controller. Most installation manuals have specific instructions about not powering the cell when the pump is off..

For my Pentair system, it not only states this in the manual, but also has a sticker on the side of the cell's power supply transformer with explicit instructions to wire the power to the transformer through the Pump/Filter relay. This relay does not power the VS pump directly, but is only closed when the pump is being told to run.

While the likelihood of the flow switch failing in the closed position is remote, it is possible. It is far more likely that someone could hot wire the flow switch on, with the intention of fixing it later and then just not ever finishing the job.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
I agree with Jim, you shouldn't rely on the flow switch as your ON/OFF switch for the SWCG. The SWCG should only be powered when the circulation pump is running, the another risk is the H2 generated as part of the chemical reaction within the cell. As long as water is flowing, there isn't much of an accumulation of H2. By H2, I mean Hydrogen gas not a SUV formerly made by the General Motors corporation. From what I understand, the flow switch is just a fail-safe incase water level goes too low and the pump runs dry, or a plumbing failure on the equipment pad.
 
Thanks everyone! I need to update my signature with an accurate volume. My new pool is a bit tough to calculate, as it's a free-form design that lays out similar to a distorted figure-8. I'm probably overstating the size, as I simply used the widest part of the pool, and the longest part of the pool in my calculations, instead of measuring the width at multiple locations. I also probably erred on the side of caution with the average depth.

I clearly understand the concept of up-sizing the system. If the volume were closer to 25K gallons, would a 40K be OK, would you go to a 50K or even 60K? Unlike over-sizing a pump, which can be bad, I would assume there's no way to oversize an SWG.

EDIT: I went out and officially measured the pool and water depths, and used the proper calculation for a free-form pool, and did indeed come up with just over 25K gallons.
 
You are correct in that you cannot oversize a SWG. In fact it is much better and recommended you do just that. General recommendations is 2x pool volume so the 40K is not meeting that. Spend a little time reviewing the Chlorine generation of each Manufacturer before believing 40K for brand X, Y, and Z are the same.

I went almost 4x as I have a Single Speed pump.
 
Thanks...The difference between a $800 system and a $1,200 system isn't that bad if amortized over the life of the system, and I certainly don't want to under-size it as that'll be a waste of money entirely. I'm putting a lot of chlorine (bleach) in the pool on a weekly basis, so most definitely need to oversize the system.
 
Gang, after some research, I have another question...I've looked at the chlorine output of several systems, and have seen some 40K gallon systems that put out the same or more chlorine than 60K gallon systems. Should I size the system based on the number of gallons, or the chlorine output?
 

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Sea,

I would go by the amount of chlorine the cell generates per day.... for any well known company.. I would be wary of any clams by unknown companies.

I believe that you also need to make sure you are comparing apples to apples... Most readings are in lbs of chlorine gas... some others use some kind of equivalent of powered chlorine rating.. Not at all sure how that works...

I would only buy cells made under the Hayward, Pentair, and Jandy brands, or the CircuPool brand cells.. I have not seen much positive feedback from other cells makers..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Thanks....With a 25,000 gallon pool, it seems the options thin out quite a bit, particularly if I'm going to go with a 50,000 or 60,000 gallon unit to effectively double the sizing. Most major brands go only to 40,000 gallons which leaves the following options:

1. The Autopilot Digital PPC3 is made for 50,000 gallon pools, has a fairly high entry price, but the replacement cells seem reasonable. They're made 15 minutes from my house.
2. The Circupool RJ-60 has a lower initial cost, but the cells are higher priced, and I'm not sure about the long-term reliability. Interestingly, the Circupool RJ-45, which is made for up to a 45,000 gallon pool, has the same chlorine output as the Autopilot.
3. The Pentair IC-60 has both the highest initial cost, and highest cell replacement cost.

I don't want to save $300 and under-size the system, that's for sure.

Any suggestions, or other options, would be greatly appreciated.
 
Sea,

CircuPool claims that the RJ-60 generates 3 lbs of chlorine.. which is more than any other cell. But, I have not looked into how they determined that number.

The Pentair IC-60 only generates 2 lbs of chlorine.

Jim R.
 
AutoPilot is a top of the line SWG system and is one of the few that I would recommend if you can afford it.

There are only three brands that I suggest for your pool size; AutoPilot RC-52, CircuPool RJ-60 or RJ-60+, or the Pentair IC-60.

If you are installing it yourself I would not get the Pentair due to you only getting a 60 day warranty.
 
Seadweller said:
One thing I don't know how to do is calculate the chlorine demand of my pool. Given the record heat we've had, I have to imagine it's quite high.
Click to expand...

How much chlorine do you add to the pool each day? You should be able to determine FC loss by how much you need to add to maintain your FC at target.

Take care.
 
Thanks....I'll be installing it myself, and the Pentair IC-60 is out of consideration due to the high cost of entry, and the high cost of replacement cells, so that relegates me to AutoPilot and Circupool I guess.

I have a question related to the two systems before I take the plunge. I see that the AutoPilot RC-52 produces 2lbs per day, yet it's rated for a 60,000 gallon pool. The Circupool RJ-45 also produces 2lbs per day, but is rated for a smaller 45,000 gallon pool.

Does this mean that the Circupool RJ-45 is the equivalent of the AutoPilot RC-52? The RJ-60+ is $600 less than the RC-52, and produces 3lbs, which is substantially more output. If the RJ-45 does indeed offer the same output as the RC-52, it does so at half the price. Even the Circupool Universal 40 claims 2lbs at an even greater savings.

I don't want to cheap out on this, as I want to buy it once and avoid issues, but I wonder if the output is conservative on the AutoPilot, and perhaps overstated on the Circupool? Clearly, if both brands are equivalent quality-wise, the Circupool RJ-60+ would be the best choice, however the replacement cells from AutoPilot seem pretty reasonable, so I guess you pay now or later in a sense. I simply want a unit that will last and be bullet-proof reliable.

- - - Updated - - -

mknauss said:
How much chlorine do you add to the pool each day? You should be able to determine FC loss by how much you need to add to maintain your FC at target.

Take care.
Click to expand...

I've been adding 2 gallons of 8.25% bleach per day with the heat we've been having.
 
By using PoolMath -- I show you have been adding 6.4 ppm FC per day to your pool.

Definitely on the high side.

FYI - you show having a Pentair VS pump. If it is the Intelliflo - you do know that the IC60 will plug and play with that pump so that the pump controls the on/off cycle of the SWCG? I know the warranty stinks --

Take care.
 
mknauss said:
By using PoolMath -- I show you have been adding 6.4 ppm FC per day to your pool.

Definitely on the high side.

FYI - you show having a Pentair VS pump. If it is the Intelliflo - you do know that the IC60 will plug and play with that pump so that the pump controls the on/off cycle of the SWCG? I know the warranty stinks --

Take care.
Click to expand...

Thanks....It's the SuperFlo VS unfortunately, not the Intelliflo....
 
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