Rising Salt Levels W/o Adding Salt

[OCPoolguy]

Howdy, I maintain numerous salt pools in the Orange County California area and am having difficulty with a couple of pools. During the winter the generators stopped producing Cl because of low water temp. This forced weekly application of from 1 to 2 gallons of chlorine to maintain clarity. Now that summer is here, 2 of these pools' salt levels have gone through the roof! One pool stays at 4200ppm, the other is around 4410. The system reports salt too low and the owners want to add salt.... nooooo! Both systems are GoldLine AquaRite. One has the control box, the other is integrated to the control panel. I am using salt test strips and have found them to be somewhat unreliable (ie; weekly test results vary from the same bottle of strips!)

My questions are: Is this normal? The cell's have been cleaned and checked.

Does adding liquid chlorine, 12.5%, cause the salt level to rise?

Is it your opinion to drain adequate amount of water and refill?

Thats it....thanks

[waterbear]

One pool stays at 4200ppm, the other is around 4410.

Are these results from the strips?

The system reports salt too low and the owners want to add salt.... nooooo! Both systems are GoldLine AquaRite.

If the strips are testing high and the cells are reading low I would suggest cleaning the cell with acid. I suspect that they had scale buildup during the winter.

[OCPoolguy]

One pool stays at 4200ppm, the other is around 4410.

Are these results from the strips?

The system reports salt too low and the owners want to add salt.... nooooo! Both systems are GoldLine AquaRite.

If the strips are testing high and the cells are reading low I would suggest cleaning the cell with acid. I suspect that they had scale buildup during the winter.

[OCPoolguy]

Yes. I've been using strips that are fresh. Dont have access to any other test device and dont trust the readout on the controller. (seen too many out of calibration....)

Thanks for the input. I'll try cleaning the cell again, see what happens. Is my other question valid? Can I raise the salt level simply adding chlorine?

[quantumchromodynamics]

You can use the Pool Calculator to see how much salt is added when you add chlorine. Go to the section called "Effects of adding chemicals".

For example, adding 1 gallon of 12.5 % liquid chlorine to a 10,000 gallon pool will increase the FC by 12.5 ppm and the salt by 20.6 ppm.

The Taylor K-1766 Chloride test kit works well.

http://www.taylortechnologies.com/products_kitinfo.asp?&MarketID=1&KitID=2176

A digital meter is accurate if it is properly calibrated. The Hayward Goldline GLX-SALTMETER and calibration solution (GLX-CAL-SOL Calibration solution for salt meter, 3200-ppm) are a good choice.

[waterbear]

A digital meter is accurate if it is properly calibrated. The Hayward Goldline GLX-SALTMETER and calibration solution (GLX-CAL-SOL Calibration solution for salt meter, 3200-ppm) are a good choice.

The most cost effective meter out there that actually works well, IMHO.

[OCPoolguy]

You can use the Pool Calculator to see how much salt is added when you add chlorine. Go to the section called "Effects of adding chemicals".

For example, adding 1 gallon of 12.5 % liquid chlorine to a 10,000 gallon pool will increase the FC by 12.5 ppm and the salt by 20.6 ppm.

The Taylor K-1766 Chloride test kit works well.

http://www.taylortechnologies.com/products_kitinfo.asp?&MarketID=1&KitID=2176

A digital meter is accurate if it is properly calibrated. The Hayward Goldline GLX-SALTMETER and calibration solution (GLX-CAL-SOL Calibration solution for salt meter, 3200-ppm) are a good choice.

OK, that answers that. I had the suspicion but no foundation. Thanks for the info and I think I'll make the investment in a digital meter. In the meantime, the cell's get cleaned again and start over. As I mentioned, out of 15 salt systems, all demonstrating similar characteristics, only two are having this "problem."

I just thought it was kinda weird.

Thanks again, I will post results after cleaning.

[quantumchromodynamics]

The first thing you need to do is verify the actual salt level. Use the Taylor salt test and/or a calibrated digital meter. You can bring in a water sample to a local pool store to get the salt tested if you need to.

Also, check and report the following information:

Diagnostic Displays

Sequential pushes of the small "diagnostic" button next to the LCD display will cause the Aqua Rite to display the following information:

1. Pool temperature (xx degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius)

2. Cell voltage (xx.x volts)

3. Cell current (x.xx amps)

4. Desired Output % ("0P" -- "100P" depending on knob position or input from remote

pool automation controller)

5. Instant salinity ( -xxxx ppm or -x.xx grams/Liter)

6. Product name sent to the pool automation control display ("AL-0" which signifies

"Aqua Rite")

7. Software revision level (r1.xx)

8. Chlorinator cell type (t-3, t-5, t-9, t-15)

Be sure that the correct model Turbo Cell has been selected (page 7).

To Set Turbo Cell Type

Before operation, the Aqua Rite must be configured for the chlorinator cell that will be used. Refer to the following information and steps below to set the Turbo cell type.

"t-3" = T-CELL-3, GLX-CELL-3-W

"t-5" = GLX-CELL-5, GLX-CELL-5-W

"t-9 = T-CELL-9, GLX-CELL-9-W

"t-15" = T-CELL-15, GLX-CELL-15-W

1. Slide the Main Switch to the "Auto" position.

2. Push the Diagnostic button repeatedly until "t-xx" appears on the display ("t-15" is the factory default). If the desired cell type is displayed, skip to step 4.

3. To change to a different cell type, slide the Main Switch from "Auto" to "Super

Chlorinate" and back to "Auto". Repeat this process until the desired cell type is displayed.

4. Push the Diagnostic button to exit.

http://www.goldlinecontrols.com/Support/manuals/092009M.pdf

If the unit is not set to the correct cell type, the readings can be off.

How do I recalibrate my Aqua Rite™ Chlorine Generator?

When attempting to recalibrate the average salt reading (default reading {2700-3400ppm}) the pump needs to be running. If the pump is not running, the system will show “NO FLOW”, if flashing this is just a warm up process and the unit is waiting for the water to begin moving through the cell to carry the chlorine out to the pool. Once flow is established the unit should begin to display the “POWER” & “GENERATING” lights solid green. Once this happens the cell has just engaged and is trying to measure the salt level. Press the diagnostic button once.

The unit then gives the following:

Default = what the unit thinks the salt level is due to an average of all previously recorded “instant salt readings” from all of the different polarity changes since the system was installed, or since the last time the unit was recalibrated.

First the unit reads the temp, then the voltage in the cell, then the amperage, then it will display the desired output percentage (where you have the dial set to), then next reading is the “instant salt reading”, or what the cell thinks the salt level is right at that moment. Then it will show “AL-X”, this just tells the technician what type of system they are working on (Aqua Rite™, Naturesoft, ect…), and then finally the software revision (r1.XX), this just tells the technician what to look for symptom wise, for instance a certain combination of lights. “Low/ check salt” and “inspect cell” are the most common lights and they are usually on together as the cell is saying it’s not sure if the problem is in fact the salt or if it perhaps has a calcium build up.

So you will see:

Default

•temp

•voltage

•amperage

•desired output

•instant salt reading (comes up with a dash before the # to differentiate with default

•product code

•software revision

•back to default

Now moving the slide switch from “AUTO” to “SUPER CHLORINATE” and then back to “AUTO” on our control box is basically like pressing ‘enter’ on a computer. If the unit is reading 2700-3400PPM it is in the standard mode, if it reads 2.70-3.40, it is in the metric mode. If you need to change the reading, press the diagnostic button once to display the temperature. Then slide the switch up to “SUPER CHLORINATE” for a few seconds, as long as the “SUPER CHLORINATE” light illuminates, you can switch back, this should be instantaneous. This procedure will toggle between the two different settings.

Also, using the same procedure, “AUTO” to “SUPER CHLORINATE” then back to “AUTO” while showing the 5th reading (if it reads between -2700 up to -3400), the “Instant Salt Reading”, this will force the system to forget all of the previous readings and it will recalibrate its self to the new readings and should eliminate the error lights. If it does not, contact technical service at 908-355-7995 (Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm) one of our techs will be able to assist you.

http://support.goldlinecontrol.com/faqs.cfm?category=23&subcategory=52#q386

[OCPoolguy]

Thank's for the info. I really appreciate it. I will be servicing these pools this week and I'll be cleaning the cells to get rid of scale build up. I did a visual inspection on these units and did not see any buildup. It may be there, just cant see it when wet.

Again, I thank you and the others for the support. I will post results later this week.

[quantumchromodynamics]

You should carry some standard salt calibration solution with you to verify the results of any test you use. You can buy the solution and/or you can make your own. Add 12.11 grams of salt to distilled water to achieve 3200 ppm. (3.03 grams per quart or 3.2 grams per liter).

You can use tap water. Just measure the initial salt level and add the amount of salt needed to achieve 3200 ppm. Example: If your starting salt concentration is 1,000 ppm, you would need to add an additional 8.33 grams of salt to achieve 3200 ppm.

Verify the concentration with a freshly calibrated meter.

Make sure that the correct cell type is selected in the unit. The t-15 cell is set by default. If there is a smaller cell, it will use less power than the unit expects. The unit will guess that perhaps the reason the cell is using less current than expected is because the salt is too low.