So, am I ready to ROCK???

[Jeffski]

Reduce the cell life??? The SWG is made to do that. I think you need to shock your pool by turning the SWG up to 100% for two days and then you'll be good.

[Pool_Mike]

I checked the PPM on the SWG @ 60% it dropped to 3100 consistantly.

Seems like my swg to keep it at 3200ppm is @ 70%.

So this morning it still has a cloudy look to it.

I turned on filteration, skimmer and main drains. We'll see what happens when the PBs come out today for it's results.

Thanks

[Jeffski]

I checked the PPM on the SWG @ 60% it dropped to 3100 consistantly.

Seems like my swg to keep it at 3200ppm is @ 70%.

So this morning it still has a cloudy look to it.

I turned on filteration, skimmer and main drains. We'll see what happens when the PBs come out today for it's results.

Thanks

Mike - I don't think your numbers are right, and please someone tell me if I am wrong. The SWG doesn't control the salt level in the pool which is what the number 3200ppm is measuring. When you bump the SWG up to 70% it is producing more chlorine, not salt. 3200ppm shouldn't change much unless you add more salt or lose a lot of water. Make sense? I hope I am understanding that right because it's new to me also.

[Jeffski]

Also with regard to using the SWG for super-chlorination, I live in Michigan so my SWG is going to last a lot longer than one in a warmer climate. It runs 4-5 months a year. I won't hesitate to use it for that since the convenience is why I bought it.

[Simmons99]

Pool_mike -

Were you able to get the pool clear? It seems like your "cloudy pool" thread was hijacked by the "we should vs. should not use SWCG to shock" discussion.

One more thing that I didn't see mentioned was that with a PH that is high (like over 7.8) you will have a high tendency to have a cloudy pool. This is because calcium will start to precipitate and/or the chlorine will be less effective leading to the growth of organics in the pool.

Also - the SWCG only changes the chlorine level. The % setting determines the strength at which it works (like the cook % setting on a microwave). The ppm you see on the display is what the SWCG sees as the current salt level in the pool. The salt concentration level changes the "ppm" reading on the SWCG.

BUY a GOOD test kit - the pool builder will give you a crappy OTO/PH test kit only. You cannot maintain a good looking pool by using that and then going to the pool store. Also buy about 2-3 gallons of muriatic acid, a couple of boxes of baking soda from the store. Keep this around to adjust the PH and ALK.

Good luck on the new pool - have you posted pictures?

[Pool_Mike]

pool never has "yet" got clear.

The shallow area "we" started to see the bottom.


I did use the cheap'OL' test kit that was given to us by the PB, the cl was high, the ph was little high.

I am not sure what to do to lower the cl, but as for the ph, I just dropped two cups of muratic acid. The test kit I got, just shows color, I have no idea how much I need to add if I do need to add anything. Muratic acid was a guess. I am sure 2 cups is ok.

[Pool_Mike]

test kit says to test the alkalinity first. I ended up dropping 10 drops to get it to yellow. By what the instructions said, I need to add 1 gallon 1/4 cups of muratic to our 20K pool. So I ended up adding that amount.

Well see tomorrow what it does. Also my SWG dropped to 2900, kinda weird

[Phillbo]

Reduce the cell life??? The SWG is made to do that. I think you need to shock your pool by turning the SWG up to 100% for two days and then you'll be good.

6 gallons of bleach is much cheaper than a new cell. SWCG cells have a set life span. Why get in a hurry to reach that point buy using it to shock? I run mine at about 40%. I have not had to shock my pool but if needed , I would not use the SWCG.

[SeanB.]

My thinking is that one of the reasons I am getting the SWCG is convenience. My unit will be over-sized so it should last the longer end of the range, say 4-5 years. If, by using it to shock, I shorten the duration by say 10%, then I will only have lost 4-5 months. If you calculate a cell's value as a dollar figure, that means that extra shocking and reduced life will cost me about $30-$40 (less if you subtract the cost of the bleach). To me, that is well worth not having to buy, store and handle bleach over a four to five year period. Even if you double the figure to 20% loss of cell life, I still think it's a reasonable trade off.

[waterbear]

From my understanding the biggest problem with superchlorinating with the cell is not the shortening of the cell life (although that IS a concern) but that the FC levels rise slowly over the period and during this certain types of complex chloramines can form when FC levels are high but below breakpoint that make it more difficult to reach breakpoint than if the proper amount of chlorine is added all at once to reach a desired ppm of FC. (Richard or anyone else please correct me if I am wrong on this, my research indicates this is true).