What is safe chlorine level for pool vac?

[JimK]

I opened my pool early this week and shocked at the suggested level (20ppm) given my stabilizer level (80 ppm).

At what chlorine level can I safely put my Polaris 280 pool vac?

I tested chlorine today and its down to 11 ppm. I'll start up the SWCG once it gets down to my target maintenance level of 5 ppm.

Do I need to wait until I get to the target level before I start using the Polaris?

[CarlD]

Personally, I've never worried about that. I think they are more temperature sensitive than anything.

[JimK]

Personally, I've never worried about that. I think they are more temperature sensitive than anything.

I didn't think about temperature. Is there a minimum temp you would recommend? Right now the water is running around 60 degrees.

[kelemvor]

I always run my vac when shocking. If the chlorine kills any algae, you want to get it out of the water as quickly as possible.

[CarlD]

Differently manufacturers have different low temps. I think the robotics say "60" but I've run mine in colder water with no problem.

[JimK]

Differently manufacturers have different low temps. I think the robotics say "60" but I've run mine in colder water with no problem.

Thanks. I'll contact Polaris and see what they say.

[JimK]

Differently manufacturers have different low temps. I think the robotics say "60" but I've run mine in colder water with no problem.

Thanks. I'll contact Polaris and see what they say.

Here's the response from Polaris:

It's recommended for the cleaner to run in water no cooler than 65 degrees F. This is because the hoses can become firm with cold water and will dictate the path of the cleaner....

I put in in the pool yesterday while the water was 66 and it ran fine (well, except I discovered the booster pump had seized over the winter so I had to fix that first).

[CarlD]

Here's the response from Polaris:



I put in in the pool yesterday while the water was 66 and it ran fine (well, except I discovered the booster pump had seized over the winter so I had to fix that first).

It's just been that kind of spring...nuthin's been easy!

[JimK]

It's just been that kind of spring...nuthin's been easy!

Ain't that the truth. Turned on the SWCG today and got flashing "low salt" and "check cell" lights. It's reporting 2600ppm. I tested for salt using AquaCheck strips and got 2970ppm. Last year the strips and the SWCG read about the same. I'm afraid this might mean my cell needs to be replaced. I went ahead and shut off the SWCG and added 50# of salt (that should raise it to 3200 based on the strip test). I'll try again tomorrow and see what happens.

[JimK]

Ain't that the truth. Turned on the SWCG today and got flashing "low salt" and "check cell" lights. It's reporting 2600ppm. I tested for salt using AquaCheck strips and got 2970ppm. Last year the strips and the SWCG read about the same. I'm afraid this might mean my cell needs to be replaced. I went ahead and shut off the SWCG and added 50# of salt (that should raise it to 3200 based on the strip test). I'll try again tomorrow and see what happens.

After adding the salt the SWCG now reads 2900-3000, a 300 increase which is as expected, so that's a good sign. Turned it on and it seemed to work fine all day. I'll have to keep an eye on CL level to see if its generating sufficient CL levels.

Perhaps the 300ppm difference I was getting between the SWCG and the strips is within the normal range of variation?

Comments?