Pool Pilot

[DONNIE]

I am having a hard time believing that I can maintain 5ppm FC with my SWG on level 1 at 3% but thats what it's doing. Running pump 12 hours a day in 2 six hour shifts. Temp is 65 - 70. CYA=65 salt = 3500 Ph=7.5

Is it possible?

Donnie

[Poolsean]

I'd say...believe it. You're doing something right. Also, if the pool is not being used, there's little to use up the chlorine.

How much water are you circulating? What horse power pump do you have? Perhaps 12 hrs/day is more than necessary? I run my system 6 hrs/day.
But my 20,000 gallon pool gets more than 80 gpm (80 gal/min x 60 min x 6hrs/day = 28,800 gallons of water being circulate per day). More than enough for proper filtration.
I have an SC-48 cell with the Total Control, so I don't really have to adjust the % output. it's automated.
However, in your case, I would reduce the pump run time to get at least one turn over per day, until the temperature increases into the 80's.

[DONNIE]

I have a 1.5hp pump and figure i'm turning it over 2 times a day with 12 hours run time. M y wife likes the pool "on" whe she is at home as it also runs the fountain. I might cut it back to 2 5 hour cycles and see how that does. I'm just amazed at the low output I need to maintain 5ppm FC. once again....Thanks!

Donnie

[catnip]

Sean, regarding your post on the SC-48 cell on your 20,000 gallon pool:

Can you think of any good reason to upgrade to an SC-60 cell for a 20,000 gallon pool? The location is the Florida NW coast with fairly heavy bather loads during the summer months. The water temps can get into the upper 80's. The flow rate is in the 50-60 GPM range and we usually run 12 hrs/day in the summer and half that in the winter. We are planning to install a Pool Pilot in the next 30 days. Thanks for your advice on this!

P.S. How important is it to install a Polaris booster pump inlet upstream vs. downstream of the chlorine cell?

[Poolsean]

Increasing the cell to an SC-60 will offer longer cell life and a linger proration warranty.
I have an SC-48 because that's what they gave me (heck it was free).

The question regarding the booster pump with your flow rate will be critical as the booster pump will draw water away from the manifold assembly and may result in a low flow condition, which will turn the Pool Pilot cell off.
How many hours per day do you anticipate running the booster pump? If it's just a few hours per day of your 12 hr/day cycle, that shouldn't affect the ability to maintain your chlorine level.
I do not recommend placing the booster pump suction downstream of the Pool Pilot manifold as the higher concentration of chlorine may (or may not) do damage to the booster pump and cleaner. I believe there are metallic components in the cleaner such as pins, shafts and screws.

Have you considered a suction side cleaner with an in line leaf trap? The leaf trap will collect the debris before the skimmer basket, and will alleviate extra debris in your pump basket and filter. That's what I have.

[nater]

Hey Catnip,
For your reference, my pool is just under 20,000 gal and I run a 60 series cell in the DIG-220. I use power level 1, 8-10 hours of pump run time in the summer, and maintain a FC level of 4-6 (cya of 80 last year) at an output level of 15-25%. Hopefully that translates into longer cell life.

My CYA level is around 40 this year, so I'll see what effect that has on cell output etc.

[catnip]

Sean and nater, thanks for the responses!

Sean, I see your point on the potential for low flow cutting off the cell with the Polaris suction inlet upstream of the cell. Can you tell me the minimum flow rate for cell operation? I looked in the manual but can't find a spec. In addition to the Polaris diverting some flow, a partially clogged filter also drops the flow as well since we currently have a pump with a "shallow" pump curve; I plan to replace it with a "steeper" curve pump that will keep a good flow as the filter clogs. We normally run the Polaris for 2-3 hours a day. And, so far, we haven't considered a suction side cleaner. We have a minimal amount of leaves and other floating debris; the Polaris does a good job of picking up sand and other debris from the bottom.

Nater, I've been leaning toward the DIG-220 with the SC-60 cell and appreciate hearing your experience; it doesn't sound like it would be overkill at all.

[Poolsean]

The flow switch that we use is rated for 13 - 15 gpm minimum flow. Actually the specs indicate that the flow switch will deactivate at around 13 gpm, but may require 15- 19 gpm to fully activate. Having said that, it's difficult to specify what the minimum flow is other than giving you a general answer of "make sure you've got at least 20 gpm minimum".

[catnip]

Sean, thanks. With the new, higher head pump we shouldn't have any problem maintaining 20 GPM under almost any circumstances.

[tsuma]

Uhm, this maybe a stupid question, but how do you figure out what your flow rate is? I have a 2-speed pump.

I notice that my flow rate drops when the DE filter needs a cleaning (showing ~10 psi higher backpressure at that point compared to when it's clean).

The flow switch that we use is rated for 13 - 15 gpm minimum flow. Actually the specs indicate that the flow switch will deactivate at around 13 gpm, but may require 15- 19 gpm to fully activate. Having said that, it's difficult to specify what the minimum flow is other than giving you a general answer of "make sure you've got at least 20 gpm minimum".