Wiring a SWG with VS pump
- Thread starter markayash
- Start date
I think we are being seriously paranoid here about swg exploding. Can it happen? Yes, but how often does it? I think you have a better chance of winning the power Ball.
I have googled explosions and not found a lot, in fact most came from folks here. But seems technology should have improved and able to stop a lot of them. They call this one a 4th generation cell. Again just my opinion but of they are that dangerous i don't want one.
MY engineering brain is still debating converting and have a question..If there is no water in the cell will it make gasses ? The way mine would be installed if the pump shut off that line would be dry in a few seconds.
But I am tired of dealing with chlorine and CYA
But I am tired of dealing with chlorine and CYA
rowiac
0
- Apr 20, 2018
- 82
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool Core-55
MY engineering brain is still debating converting and have a question..If there is no water in the cell will it make gasses ? The way mine would be installed if the pump shut off that line would be dry in a few seconds.
But I am tired of dealing with chlorine and CYA
If there is no water in the cell, there is nothing to make gases. The cell creates hydrogen gas as a byproduct of chlorine generation, and if no water is there to provide the hydrogen ions, then no gas should be produced. The SWCG has sensors in addition to the flow sensor, such as the "low salt" sensor, so that might also be tripped by low water level in the cell. That would need to be tested to see if it really works that way.
If you are really worried about an SWCG explosion, the simplest way is to wire both the pump and the SWCG into a timer so that you know when they are both powered up. Set up the VS pump's timer to be at a speed fast enough to run the SWCG all the time and let the timer switch it on.
In my case, the VS pump runs 24/7, but at a very low speed for most of the day, a speed that is too low to trip the SWCG flow switch. I figure that in the extremely remote case of the flow switch getting stuck ON, the small amount of flow from the pump should keep gases from building up. I am still considering a current sensing relay, however, so I won't feel the need to run the pump all the time.
Thats was my question, is the cell is above water level should be little risk?? My pump and filter are a good 2’ above water level and the return seems to drain.
- Jun 7, 2017
- 8,975
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
? The only way your plumbing would drain of all water is if you had a leak somewhere that allowed air in. Under normal operation, simply turning off your pump should not cause your pipes to go dry.
what would keep the water after the filter from draining back into the pool? Filter out is probably 3" above pool level and out of that its level to the heater and out and down? It will keep water between the pump and the filter
- Feb 6, 2015
- 6,014
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Physics and hydraulics.... same principals that keep water from draining back into the pool from the suction side when the pump is off. As long as the system is air tight, water will remain throughout the system.
Additionally, VS pumps need continuous power - and should not be controlled by a separate timer switch. The SWG should be wired thru a timer. That timer should be set to run within the confines of the VS pump schedule. Maybe have the SWG turn on 15-30 minutes after the VS pump and turn off 15-30 minutes before VS pump shuts off. If you have automation and the automation, pump and SWG are the same brand, the automation will control it all.
With an external timer for the SWG, check the timer weekly and after any power outage to be sure the time is in sync with the VS pump.
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I'm not sure how to share a link to another post so apologize for the cut and paste.
I also have a recently installed Superflow VS and SWCG and wrestled with the same concern over both timers going out of synch. The solution I came up with is simple, cheap and for the couple of months since I installed it, it has worked flawlessly.
I also have my pump and SWCG on separate circuits, as they should be, which ruled out sharing an external timer and I really wanted to keep the pump on its internal timer anyway. If you look at the diagram for automation in the Pentair manual, it shows a red 5V trigger wire and an input wire for each of the programmable modes/speeds. I bought a 2 channel 5v relay on Amazon for $7 and wired the 2 hot legs for the SWCG (I'm running on 240v) to the relay so all it needed to turn on was a 5v signal.
I tried to use the red 5v wire from the pump automation cable but it turns out that wire not switched so is hot all the time if the pump has power. Plan B was to use a 6v power supply that I had laying around but you can buy 1 for under $10. I plugged this power supply in to your basic household lamp timer...the kind where you push and pull the little buttons to tell it when to turn on and off... and wired it to actuate the SWGC relay. I then tapped the positive side of the 6v power supply, attached it to the pump automation wire for "speed 1" (green wire in my case) and set the pump to "external control only". If you use more than 1 speed you can join the different speed wires all together and the pump will manage the speed priorities according to its external control protocol.
This setup allows the pump to run according to how I programmed speed 1 and guaranteed that the pump and SWCG would always run together since they both were triggered by the $10 power supply which was in turned managed by the $10 timer. I put the relay in a water proof project box inside my old Intermatic water resistant housing and used automotive pigtails so I could disconnect everything if I had to.
Until I read this thread I forgot I had all this since its been 100% trouble free, so I figured Id share.
I also have a recently installed Superflow VS and SWCG and wrestled with the same concern over both timers going out of synch. The solution I came up with is simple, cheap and for the couple of months since I installed it, it has worked flawlessly.
I also have my pump and SWCG on separate circuits, as they should be, which ruled out sharing an external timer and I really wanted to keep the pump on its internal timer anyway. If you look at the diagram for automation in the Pentair manual, it shows a red 5V trigger wire and an input wire for each of the programmable modes/speeds. I bought a 2 channel 5v relay on Amazon for $7 and wired the 2 hot legs for the SWCG (I'm running on 240v) to the relay so all it needed to turn on was a 5v signal.
I tried to use the red 5v wire from the pump automation cable but it turns out that wire not switched so is hot all the time if the pump has power. Plan B was to use a 6v power supply that I had laying around but you can buy 1 for under $10. I plugged this power supply in to your basic household lamp timer...the kind where you push and pull the little buttons to tell it when to turn on and off... and wired it to actuate the SWGC relay. I then tapped the positive side of the 6v power supply, attached it to the pump automation wire for "speed 1" (green wire in my case) and set the pump to "external control only". If you use more than 1 speed you can join the different speed wires all together and the pump will manage the speed priorities according to its external control protocol.
This setup allows the pump to run according to how I programmed speed 1 and guaranteed that the pump and SWCG would always run together since they both were triggered by the $10 power supply which was in turned managed by the $10 timer. I put the relay in a water proof project box inside my old Intermatic water resistant housing and used automotive pigtails so I could disconnect everything if I had to.
Until I read this thread I forgot I had all this since its been 100% trouble free, so I figured Id share.