The easiest way to ascertain if the chlorinator is working is to make sure the cell is clean by checking the needle or production lights. Ensure there is enough salt in the pool. On the chlorinator box there should be a light or dial that indicates it is working.
When the saltwater chlorinator fails, it cannot produce enough chlorine to meet the swimming pool needs. This can result in the pool water turning dirty, leading to poor sanitation, algae formation, and corrosion in parts of the pool.
Chlorine levels with a chlorine generator are a function of how long you run the equipment and at what percentage you set the generator. A pool your size should turn over the water in about 8 hours depending on the pump/filter/plumbing flow rates.
A well-maintained salt chlorine generator will last 3–7 years. Replacing the salt cell costs $700–$1100. Replacing the control board costs $500–$900. You can extend the lifespans by maintaining a consistent salt level, cleaning the cell only when needed, and using the reverse polarity function.
The most common reason for low or no flow is that the baskets are full of debris. By checking and emptying both the skimmer basket (by the pool) and the pump basket (inside the pump) will free up the water flow, allowing the system to fully 'prime' and function at full capacity.
Obviously in this scenario, you will need to either replace or repair the controller. Again some key considerations when looking at chlorinator repairs are that the cost to repair the control unit can be as much as half the cost of a complete new system, including the salt cell.
On average, most pools will need the saltwater generator to be on 8-12 hours per day. This will produce adequate levels of chlorine to properly sanitize the pool's water.
Test and adjust your pool water's salt levels
If you're using the Water TechniX Salt water chlorinator then you should try to aim for a salt level of around 3,000 to 4,000 ppm. Test your pool water and add the required amount of salt to raise your levels to the required point.
A pool without a chlorinator is akin to an algae-ridden frog pond. We know that does not sound incredibly tempting to swim in, which is why we highly recommend an automatic pool chlorinator to help you keep the right chemical balance in your pool and safe for swimming.
Saltwater Chlorinators use an electrolytic cell to sanitise your swimming pool. By adding a small amount of salt (sodium chloride) to your pool water, the cell converts the chloride contained in the saltwater into chlorine. This is an extremely efficient and cost-effective method of sanitising your pool.
You should never turn on your salt chlorinator until you have balanced your pool's water and all levels are within range. It is important to maintain salt and chlorine stabilizer levels in order to prevent scaling and to maximize system effectiveness and life.
When the free chlorine level is low, that usually means it's time to add more salt, but it may mean a couple of other things as well. For instance, low chlorine readings can indicate that you need to increase the chlorinator output or run it more frequently.
It is easy to tell if you need more chlorine pucks in your skimmer basket. Since they dissolve, once they have disappeared just add more. Chlorine pucks also allow you to manually control how much chlorine is in your pool's water. It is usually 1 chlorine puck for every 5,000 gallons of water.
As long as it runs for at least 8 hours in every 24-hour period, you're good to go. Overall, the lessons learned today is you should run your pool pump an average 8 hours a day to properly circulate and clean your water. The pump should push your entire pool in gallons in this 8 hour period of time.
Running the pump at night should only be when you are doing a major chemical treatment such as algae clean-up. Your pool is more vulnerable during the day, plants don't grow at night the way they do during the day–that's true of ALL plants including Algae.
The size of your pool, the efficiency of your pump and filter, and how dirty your pool is are just some of the factors you need to consider. Nevertheless, most pool cleaning professionals would advise against running a pool pump for more than 8 hours a day.
At the very least, your saltwater chlorinator should be cleaned twice a year, but you should inspect it every two months just to be sure. If it needs to be cleaned, clean it. If it doesn't, then just give it a good rinse with a garden hose.
A Salt Water Chlorinator usually costs anywhere from $800 - $1500 for a decent model, which will also rely on the size of your pool.
The main culprits for leaks are the unions not sitting properly (cross-threading) and old or dirty o-rings in the lid of the cell unit or in the unions. Sometimes cracks in the body of the salt cell or pipes occur. You can fix by tightening unions, replacing o-rings or repairing the crack.