Inground Spas and Chlorine Generation

The most common inground spa is tied in with a main pool to share the same filtration and pump equipment. This means that the inground spa will use the same water as the swimming pool. In these cases the ColorChlor will not work as the chlorine generator needs to be able to support the full water volume for both the swimming pool and the in-ground spa.

Portable Spas and Chlorine Generation

What is know as a portable spa is usually made out of fiberglass and is not connected to a swimming pool. The ColorChlor and TechniChlor were designed to support water volumes up to 600 gallons and are a perfect fit for almost all portable spas.

The chlorine generators designed by ControlOMatic have been specifically engineered to work with just about any application – new or existing.

A spa installation usually has a voltage of 220 volts to support the water heater. The ColorChlor and TechniChlor operate off a normal outlet ( 120VAC ) and require a GFI. The Spa Install may have included a 120VAC GFI outlet either ender your enclosure or exposed through a weather-proof box. The addition of either a ColorChlor or TechniChlor will be very easy. If the Spa Install doesn’t include this type of an outlet, one will need to be added and you should always have a licensed electrician perform this installation.

When the power level is set to 10 on the ColorChlor or TechniChlor, the unit will always be on except when in a light show. Power level 10 also doesn’t use temperature compensation.

If you use your SPA every day, and keep the power level set to 10, there is a good chance that the chlorine level is just right. If you don’t use your SPA for a couple days there is also a good chance that at this power level it will make too much chlorine when it isn’t used as the unit will be on all the time. If you set the power level to 6, then when you use your SPA the boost mode will keep it on for 24 hours after the light show which is like power level 10 for one day. Then if you don’t use your SPA for a couple days there will likely not be too much chlorine production. Note that power levels 6 through 9 will all be on for the full 24 hours after a light show which is the boost mode. The boost mode will increase the on time by 3.

The power levels chlorine production on times are:

PL 10: ON 100%, no temperature compensation.

PL 9: ON 83%, boost level 100% for 24 hours

PL 8: ON 68%, boost level 100% for 24 hours

PL 7: ON 51%, boost level 100% for 24 hours

PL 6: ON 34%, boost level 100% for 24 hours

PL 5: ON 25%, boost level 75% for 24 hours

PL 4: ON 16%, boost level 48% for 24 hours

PL 3: ON 8%, boost level 24% for 24 hours

PL 2: ON 4%, boost level 12% for 24 hours

PL 1: ON 0.5%, boost level 1.5% for 24 hours

The software version will be listed on the TechniChlor and ColorChlor next to the serial number label. To see what specific changes have been made to the particular unit you have refer to the ColorChlor pages at www.ControlOMatic.com. These changes may not be documented in the owner’s manual.

Software Version 1

Customer Request: Increased the light show time from 10 minutes to 15 minutes. The time off after the light show until chlorine generation will commence is also 15 minutes.

Customer Request: When used in very small SPA’s that are not used very often the ColorChlor makes too much chlorine even at the lowest power level. Turns out that when the ColorChlor is in an off cycle it checks to see if it has been removed from the water in order to start a light show, this checking was making more chlorine than we expected. The checking interval was 1 second and has been increased to 2.5 seconds. The on time was also decreased from 7.5 minutes to 2 minutes and the 1 minute minimum on time has been removed.

Solar Evaporation methods produce the purest salt of the many different commercial salt mining and producing methods. It will produce 99.5% pure salt – and this is the recommended purity level for salt water chlorine generation. When buying salt for your pool or hot tun chlorinator, always look for Solar Evaporation with above 99% purity!

Solar Evaporation is the oldest method of salt production and still is the most environmentally friendly. It has been used since salt crystals were first noticed in trapped pools of sea water. Solar salt production is filling shallow ponds with saltwater where the sun evaporates most of the water. The salt is then gathered by mechanical harvesting machines. Any impurities that may be present are drained off and discarded prior to harvesting.

These salt ponds range from to 40 to 200 acres with a foot-thick floor of salt resulting from years of depositions. During operation salt water flows continuously through these ponds. This is called a saturated brine solution, containing as much salt as it can hold, so pure salt crystallizes out of the solution as the water evaporates. Natural chemical impurities are returned to the salt water source.