Questions related to salt cells are very common, especially this time of year. One of the many questions our sales staff is frequently asked is "how do I know if my salt cell is making chlorine?". This may seem like a hard question to answer, but there is actually a very easy and effective method for finding out if your salt system is producing chlorine.
You'll start by taking TWO water tests for chlorine.
- Test 1 should be water taken
directly from the return line with the pool pump running and the salt
generator turned on. Get the water right from the return line where
fresh water is coming back into the pool after going through the pool and the
salt generator.
- Test 2 is water taken
from somewhere in the pool away from a return line. Use water from the
most stagnant area in the pool that you can find.
If the salt chlorine generator
is working there should be at least a 2PPM difference in the chlorine levels (see Working Salt Generator image below). If the salt chlorine
generator is not working those levels will be nearly identical (see Not Working Salt Generator image below).
There are several other ways to
look for indicators but this method isn’t just an indicator, it’s the answer.
Either yes the generator is making chlorine, or it’s not. By testing right
from the return line you can tell for sure if the generator is making
chlorine. The second test is important because what you’re looking
for is the difference in chlorine levels. Simply testing at the return
line isn’t enough, your pool could have a very high chlorine level everywhere in the
pool after just adding chlorine or shock.
Working Salt Generator:
Not Working Salt Generator:
