Ace Salt Water System In Grandee Tub

[TonyS]

Hello,

I have a Grandee tub with the ACE Salt Water System in it. The water looks crystal clear in the tub, but on the strips it almost never registers even the slightest bit of chlorine. I asked the dealer and they replaced the cell, replaced the electronic control panel that drives the cell and still it never registers on the strip.

My question is this - should it register something? I would think it should. And, since the water is clear, do I need to be concerned?

Thanks!

[dark rider]

It should register at least 1ppm on the test strips (slightly purple). Have you manually dosed for dichlor for at least a couple of days. Is the salt registering on the control panel after you perform the test?

[TonyS]

Thanks for the reply. I have manually dosed and the salt is registering, but I don't really see any purple on the strip. The other items (pH, Hardness, etc) all look fine. Should I maybe get a better testing kit?

It should register at least 1ppm on the test strips (slightly purple). Have you manually dosed for dichlor for at least a couple of days. Is the salt registering on the control panel after you perform the test?

[PoolSpaGuy30]

Thanks for the reply. I have manually dosed and the salt is registering, but I don't really see any purple on the strip. The other items (pH, Hardness, etc) all look fine. Should I maybe get a better testing kit?

It should register at least 1ppm on the test strips (slightly purple). Have you manually dosed for dichlor for at least a couple of days. Is the salt registering on the control panel after you perform the test?

ditch the strips and get a Taylor K-2006 drop test kit, the salt system I have setup here usually tests around 2-3ppm

[dark rider]

ditch the strips and get a Taylor K-2006 drop test kit, the salt system I have setup here usually tests around 2-3ppm

+1, the K-2006 is more than worth the $50-$60 it costs online.

[TonyS]

Thanks for all of your responses. I did go ahead and order the Taylor kit. Hopefully, the results will be good.

[PoolSpaGuy30]

Thanks for all of your responses. I did go ahead and order the Taylor kit. Hopefully, the results will be good.

very nice...the Taylor is the best/most accurate way to test water at home for a relatively cheap cost, read the instructions and with some practice you'll have that water "tuned in" just right in no time

[TonyS]

Well, I did get the Taylor kit. And I do agree that it's the way to go.

Problem is, my tub still does not register any chlorine with the ACE system active. I think I am going to drain it and start over in a couple of weeks when the weather is a little warmer. The water in the tub looks perfectly clear and I still use it, but I just feel like it should register chlorine.

[PoolSpaGuy30]

Well, I did get the Taylor kit. And I do agree that it's the way to go.

Problem is, my tub still does not register any chlorine with the ACE system active. I think I am going to drain it and start over in a couple of weeks when the weather is a little warmer. The water in the tub looks perfectly clear and I still use it, but I just feel like it should register chlorine.

sounds like starting fresh is the way to go, just remember to make sure your water is properly balanced (calcium especially) before you even worry about adding salt. Once your balanced and up to temp. (100+) slowly add the salt in the skimmer 1 cup at a time, and then give it 24hrs to stabilize, ignoring any flashing water care lights or low salt/clean cell error messages as these will go away once the salt has stabilized and at that point you should register anywhere from 2.5-5ppm on average (I also use the Taylor to test my water)

[GrandeeKevin]

I have an ACE system and had trouble with getting the chlorine to read anything between 0-.5ppm I eventually was able to get it to work by 1)making sure the water was balanced 2) making sure I had enough salt. I used the inidicator screen and got my level to be at least to the middle of the green on the scale per advice from my dealer. 3) Based on some other posts, I manually added a bunch of cholrine to kind of shock the tub to make sure everything was clean. 4) ran Ace at level 5 usage. Everything is working well now, water is crystal clear and i dropped the usage back down to a 3.

[PoolSpaGuy30]

I have an ACE system and had trouble with getting the chlorine to read anything between 0-.5ppm I eventually was able to get it to work by 1)making sure the water was balanced 2) making sure I had enough salt. I used the inidicator screen and got my level to be at least to the middle of the green on the scale per advice from my dealer. 3) Based on some other posts, I manually added a bunch of cholrine to kind of shock the tub to make sure everything was clean. 4) ran Ace at level 5 usage. Everything is working well now, water is crystal clear and i dropped the usage back down to a 3.

the part in bold is a very good point, you can play with your "usage levels" to dial it back if need be. Most new spa owners think they will use the thing 7 days a week, and some owners do but for those where the "honeymoon" stage passes and your usage may drop you can definetly dial it back to fit your individual needs.

[HS Vanguard]

Make sure your spa size is set correctly, up the usage level and hit BOOST several days in a row.

[hottubdan]

Well, I did get the Taylor kit. And I do agree that it's the way to go.

Problem is, my tub still does not register any chlorine with the ACE system active. I think I am going to drain it and start over in a couple of weeks when the weather is a little warmer. The water in the tub looks perfectly clear and I still use it, but I just feel like it should register chlorine.

Do you still heva the ozone installed?

[passos]

Thought I'd add my 2 cents.

Picked up a Grandee in December and had a very similar problem as use. Struggled with using strips and kept coming up completely no Chlorine after weeks. Turns out that I was reading the strips wrong on PH. The amount of PH Down that I needed to add was in the cups, not in the tablespoons. I had originally been told to take it easy but now know that you literally need to dump the PH Down in. And that no Chorine gets made by Ace if the PH isn't right. I wasn't really reading the PH colors correctly. Once the PH went down, with usage at 4 and a boost, its been smooth sailing ever since.

[dark rider]

ACE isn't difficult, but you do need to pay extra care during the start-up procedures to ensure it functions properly. Here's my idiot's guide to ACE startup for new users or those who've been having problems:

1. Refill and repower the tub. Set temperature to 102F or higher. Ignore any ACE indications.

2. Balance the water by measuring with Taylor K-2006 test kit and adding appropriate chemicals. Pay special attention to CH, pH, and TA. Do not proceed until all 3 are in the target range! You typically won't have a problem with low CH (may cause some foaming), but high CH will cause premature failure of the ACE electrodes due to scaling and will limit chlorine production. It is important to get TA right prior to worrying about nailing your pH. If pH is in range, but TA is high, add pH down (drops both TA and pH) until pH hits 7.0ppm. At that point, aerate (turn on all jets and air diverters to max), which will cause pH to slowly rise. Keep performing until both TA and pH are in your target range.

3. Manually add 5ppm dichlor to establish CYA reserve and sanitize/oxidize waste until ACE kicks in.

4. Periodically check temperature of water. Once water reaches 102F or higher, add required amount of salt, and allow jets to circulate for 15 -20 mins. Ensure that the spa size and usage levels are correctly set in the control panel. If you do not know what your usage will be, start with either 3 or 4.

5. Take periodic manual measurements with the control panel to see if salt level is in the middle of the "green" indicator. It may initially read low, but be patient and allow at least 24 hours at 102F for salt to totally dissolve prior to adding any additional salt.

6. Continue to add dichlor to maintain 3-5ppm FC readings until the ACE system kicks in, but do not exceed more than 34ppm of total dichlor added. For reference, .9ppm of CYA is found in each 1ppm of FC you add by using dichlor, so 34ppm FC added would result in a CYA reading of 30.6ppm. Truthfully, you shouldn't need to add more than about 20ppm total of dichlor before ACE reaches and maintains 3-5ppm readings by itself in between uses with no outside chlorine added. CYA stabilized chlorine will make your FC readings more regular in between usage, so I encourage you to keep a 15ppm FC reserve. If you continue to get low readings between uses, try upping the ACE usage level. If you still cannot get ACE to maintain a 3-5ppm reading between uses without adding chlorine, it may indicate a problem with the cell. At this point, stop using dichlor, and switch over to unscented 6% OTC bleach to supplement any chlorine production by the ACE unit, until you figure out the problem. This will prevent you from getting too high of a CYA level, and will continue to oxidize/sanitize waste in your tub.

7. Kill power to the tub, and soak the ACE cell in a dilluted pH down/water mixture for 15 minutes to dissolve any build-up on the cell every 30 days or so. Re-install the cell in the filter. Re-power the tub and perform a manual salt check to make sure everything is functioning normally.

8. Use the K-2006 kit to test regularly at first (probably daily) to get your usage level sorted, and then you can revert back to weekly or bi-weekly checks. If you have heavier than usual loads, check more often, and manually dose with 6% bleach to keep FC in the 3-5ppm range.

9. Check your TA and pH at least monthly to keep your water in balance, and otherwise enjoy!

[chem geek]

Also, if it's a new tub or one that has had the Free Chlorine (FC) level ever get to zero for more than a few hours, then you may need to use a biofilm removing product such as Spa System Flush and/or superchlorinate.