Inspect Cell AquaTrol

[bradatkins]

Hey -

I have a new AquaTrol Return Jet Mount SWG.



For some reason, the Inspect Cell Light comes on and the unit never seems to generate chlorine.

Here's a photo of the unit and my setup:





One thing that I find odd, is that the instructions reference plugging in the pump into the SWG unit itself, yet this is the bottom:



The phone jack is for the flow switch, which is not installed with the Return Jet setup. Currently I'm just running my pump/filter all the time until I get this up and running.

The diagnostic numbers are as follows:

1) Pool Temp: 77
2) Cell Voltage: 32.9 (22-26 is when chlorine is generating, 30-35V is when it's not)
3) Cell Current: 0.00 (2.5-4 is when chlorine is generating, 0 is when it's not)
4) Desired Output %: 100
5) Instant Salinity: 0 ppm
6) Product Name: AL - 7 (AL-7 Means AquaTrol Return Jet)
7) Software Revision: r.145

A few nights ago I added 5 21 KG bags of salt to my 15x30 AGP and disolved it.

The vendor is closed (long weekend) so I was hoping to get some ideas before Tuesday.

Thanks!
Brad

[bradatkins]

Well, I took a simple salt test strip to give me a ballpark of salt level, it said I was around 1100PPM instead of the required ~2700ppm.

Now I knew these strips weren't always 100% accurate, but there's no way it could be that off. So I went to Walmart and bought a few bags of salt. Put in 2, let it run for 24 hours then tried the Aquatrol again and everything was perfect.

Guess I shoulda paid more attention to the Aquatrol, because both the inspect cell and low salt lights were on. I panicked a little bit when I saw the inspect cell, when all it was was low salt

[waterbear]

Run the salt at 3200 ppm. 2700 is the low end it will operate. If the level drops below that it will shut off again. Also remember to make sure the Stabilizer (CYA) is at 80 ppm and adjust the cell output to maintain the FC at no lower than 4 ppm (5 ppm is good). IF your TA is higher than about 80 ppm (70 pp is better) you will probably have problems with the pH drifting high very quickly. When you lower the pH don't drop it below 7.6 (since the lower the pH the faster it rises) and don't worry about dropping it unti it climbs up to 7.8. All these tips are designed to minimize the outgassing of CO2, which is the main cause of pH rise in a salt pool (or any pool that does not have new, curing plaster for that matter).

As far as salt test strips, they are one of the few strips that are actually useful. It is normal for any chemical test for chloride (strips or a dorp based titration test) to differ from a meter, which is only measuring conductivity, by as much as 800 ppm! If you are using the Aquachek brand strips be sure to let it set in the sample for 10 minutes before reading it.

As far as not having a receptacle for the pump on the bottom of the unit...I have never seen this on a US unit but I believe yours is Canadian because of the double set of boning lugs on the bottom. Perhaps that is the reason.

[waterbear]

I am correct about the Canadian units not having the recepticle for the pump. Here is a Canadian manual and it shows that there is no pump receptacle on the unit on page 10.
http://www.poolsuppliescanada.ca/pro...trolmanual.pdf

It seems that the Canadian unit does not use a flow switch and uses the 'in return' installation. My concern is the unit being on with the pump not operating but the way the unit is installed is is supposed to allow the hydrogen gas to vent out the return. It would seem that the unit is always supplying power to the cell and that would be a waste of electricity, IMHO. I would also be concerned about a local buildup of high chlorine levels if the unit is generating and the pump is off. I cannot see how the unit can determine if the pump is on or off with out a flow switch or without the pump being controlled by the unit istelf as in the US models. I guess you will need to run the pump 24/7.

[bradatkins]

Seems odd to have to run the pump 24 hours a day.

I was thinking of putting the pump on a timer anyways...perhaps I will put the salt system on a timer as well...