New Autopilot

[NBWS6]

Finally had it installed yesterday! The salt level is reading 4600ppm so I took a sample up the pool store. Their reading was 3900, I bought a drop test kit and did that when I got home. My reading is 4600 exactly what the Dig-220 reads. Should I be concerned with that high level or just sit back and let it drop with backwashing and splash outs?
The installer put 9 bags of salt in my pool (which I think is around 20k gal). I dont even think he checked the salt level in the pool before dumping it in because he was going to give me some test strips but said he was out of them. Would my pool have salt already in it from another source?
Also, I had a new Pentair PNS Plus 48sqft DE filter installed yesterday, finally getting rid of the cartridge filter that wasnt doing a good job (old cartridges). My pressure rose 14psi overnight cleaning up the pool, so I decided to backwash it. My Autopilot directions say you push the "pump" button to turn it off, which I did, but it just displays "high pump" not "off for maintance". I have a 2 speed pump and I changed modes from "external timer" to "2 speed pump", is that the correct setting? Why doesn't it switch off for maintance? Maybe I'm not doing it right?
Store readings:
FC 5
PH 7.6
TA 100
CA 310
CYA 90
Salt 3900

My results:
FC 5
PH 7.6
Salt 4600
I will do my own TA and CYA sometime today

Thanks in advance,
Dawn

[tenax]

i see no reason why short term, there'd be an issue with 4600. i wouldn't want to run that all season but..mine is at 3600. i believe the autopilot recommendation is 2500 to 3500..i still have a round of vacuuming and backwashing to do so i'm not going to sweat it. i did some digging..see this. i forgot how high a salt level the autopilots can tolerate!



"AutoPilot Systems do not require a high salt cutoff or warning and can operate satisfactorily at levels up to 35,000 ppm! AutoPilot cells, unlike the others, are not affected by high salt levels. Systems that have a high salt protection cannot handle the high salt and are probably the units that will damage the cell, under these conditions. The reason for protection is that the transformer runs hot with higher salt (greater conductivity) levels. Unless you are sure that you added too much salt, I suggest that you verify that the salt level is where you think it is. Your concern about excessively high salt levels greater than 6,000 PPM, should be directed towards metallic fixtures such as handrails, ladders, light rings, or heat exchangers. Higher salt levels will approach the taste threshold of about 3,500 PPM. To lower the level to 3,000 PPM, you need to pump out about 3,200 gallons of water or drop the level to about 6,966 gallons, taking care not to pump out too much water at a time, as this might cause problems in high water table situations. To avoid the possibility of pools popping up or vinyl liners floating, it may be safest to pump out the water in smaller increments. In either case, replace the pumped out water with fresh water. However, if the taste is not objectionable, the salt level can be left at its current level. It should dissipate, as time goes by, without any damage to equipment. I hope that I have been helpful."

re: your question about salt from other source...i believe that some salt will be in your pool already from chlorine from last season. case in point..i ran 3000 ppm last year (1st year i had an autopilot). i drain at least half my pool for winter. i was pleasantly surprised that my salt level was still at 2400 ppm when in opened this season and filled with water! i took it up 1000ppm using the bleach etc calculator with 2 bags of salt (i had 3 in my garage left over) like i say..i'm at 3600 now.

[Poolsean]

Hello Dawn,

With the Two Speed pump, there is no OFF mode and should be shut down at the main circuit breaker whenever you need to turn power off.
In this case, you cannot afford to do this as you need to run the pump to backwash...

However, I would recommend that you either turn the Purifier % to 0% or simply disconnect the cell cord.
The system should recognize that there is insufficient flow and shut down the cell anyway, so if you don't turn it to 0% or disconnect the cell, it should be fine.

The high salt, as Tenax mentioned, should not cause any problems if you leave it as it is.

Thanks for selecting AutoPilot.

[NBWS6]

thanks for answering my questions!
I noticed the flow stops when I shut it off, and its only for a minute or two. When I need to take the filter apart (when the time comes) I will definitely shut the power off.
I saw how much salt the Autopilot can handle so after I read that I felt better about my high salt level.
I already had to backwash 2x, the pool was sanitized and blue but not really clean so I'm impressed with the DE filter. My cartridges must have been really worn out, after 2 weeks of continuous filtering it wouldn't get my water sparkley but its on its way now! Even the shark vac is aggressive again!
Now if it would just stop raining here in Texas..........

[NBWS6]

New question! My pool is finally sparkley so I tried to set the timer program for my high and low pump to turn on and off. I went to program 1 set the high to come on at 10am and the low to come on at 1pm. After that, there is no options for duration of low speed pump to shut off, or time setting to program a time to shut off like the direction book indicates. Autopilot is not open today so I can call tomorrow if no one here knows what the problem is. I'm wondering if the installer didnt wire for 2 speed pump and thats the problem, but the Autopilot indicates when it is running on low speed. I'm just running on low speed continuously and keeping it on until I figure out what is wrong (or learn how to program correctly, haha).
thanks again,
Dawn

[NBWS6]

I found this post
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...pump+autopilot
but I dont really understand it. So I would use my pool's orginal timer to turn pump on and off? And the Pool Pilot would just sense no flow and shut off?

[Poolsean]

The order of the pump programming should be:
Pump Program 1
HI SPEED ON TIME - HRS - MIN
HIGH SPEED OFF TIME - HRS - MIN

Pump Program 2
HI SPEED ON TIME - HRS - MIN
HIGH SPEED OFF TIME - HRS - MIN

The rest of the time, the low speed should be running.

If your display shows differently, make sure it's not programmed in the INSTALLER MENU for ONE SPEED PUMP.

If you press the PUMP button, it should show HIGH SPEED (if it's already on low speed) or LOW SPEED (if it's already on high speed).
If it asks PUMP ON or PUMP OFF...or PUMP OFF FOR MAINTENANCE, then the system is programmed for ONE SPEED PUMP and must be changed.

Hope this helps,

[NBWS6]

thanks for responding Sean. I have "two speed pump" selected in the installer menu.
Program 1:
set high pump hours 10
set high pump minutes 15
(so it would start at 10:15)
set low pump hours 1
set low pump minutes 15
(so it low pump would come on at 1:15)
after that there is no other options its goes back to the menu. Same program options for program 2, which is not programmed. Do I need to program that also with the same hours?
Does that mean my pump will be running 24hrs?
If I switched to "external timer" can I use my original filter timer and the Autopilot would shut itself off because of no flow?

I checked the "pump" button, when the pump is on low speed it shows high speed and I switched the pump to high speed and the "pump" button still reads high speed. Does that mean the installer didnt wire it for 2 speed? I called him yesterday to ask how he wired it and he didnt return my call.
I'm usually understanding of instruction manuals but this Autopilot manual isnt very specific.
thanks
Dawn

[Poolsean]

Sounds like it programmed properly. High speed should come on between 10:15 to 1:15, with low speed running the rest of the time...yes, 24 hrs/day.

To control the system where it's not running 24 hrs/day, you can connect the Pool Pilot to your existing time clock so that you can limit the pump operation. Simply wire the main incoming power wires from the Pool Pilot to the LOAD side (time clock acts like a "switch" to send power to the Pool Pilot) of your time clock, rather than LINE side (always powered on from your circuit breaker). Then you can set the overall pump run time on your external time clock. The Digital will retain the pump high speed/low speed settings via an internal battery back up for the memory. Just leave the programming where it is.
THEN, your external time clock will automatically turn the pump on low speed, the Digital program will activate High Speed, and you can manually shut the pump off as needed.


You do not need to program the second Pump Program mode.

WOW, I hope I didn't confuse you more.

[NBWS6]

Sweet! thanks Sean! I'll do that Friday when I'm off work so check back then if I have more questions, haha. And I leave the Autopilot set on "2 speed pump" and not change it to "external timer"?