Has Your Insnrg Chlorinator Stopped Producing Enough Chlorine?

Then Follow This Troubleshooting Guide.

If your Insnrg Vi or Ni chlorinator is no longer producing enough chlorine, then before you buy a new one, lets check a few things first.

This guide will work for all chlorinators, Including the Insnrg Vi and Insnrg Ni, and all sizes including 20g, 25g and 40g. 

The Basics

Chemicals

In order for your chlorinator to produce enough chlorine, it's critically import to maintain the correct salt levels. Too much or too little, and the electrical current running through the cell will cause burn-out, shortening the life of the cell. 

A professional water test by your local pool shop will be able to tell you what your salt level is, and how much you need to add.

If you want to know how a salt cell produces chlorine? Click here.

Salt Levels

The correct salt level is 3500-4000ppm.

Minerals

Minerals are a little trickier, because salt is not the only compound that can used during the electrolysis process.

When using pure Magnesium, it is important to maintain Magnesium level at 3,500 to 4000 ppm.

Run Time and Production Settings

Is your chlorinator running for long enough?

Increasing your pumps run time, is a simple way to ensure your chlorinator gets the time it needs.

The old measure of thumb was 4 hours during Winter, and 8 hours during Summer.

Although will all the variations of equipment available today, these numbers can vary quite a lot. It's not unusual for a 12 hour run time, especially with variable speed pumps.

Production Settings

What production setting is your chlorinator on?

Your Insnrg chlorinator doesn't need to run at 100%. By increasing and decreasing production, you can better balance the needs of your pool. A good way to test if you are over chlorinating, or under chlorinating your pool is to use test strips.

These can be purchased from your local store or online here.

ORP Settings for Insnrg Premium Vi Chlorinators

If you own a Premium Insnrg Vi Chlorinator with probes, then this applies to you. Otherwise skip ahead to the next section "Still Not Improving? It's Time to Confirm Chlorine Production".

Your Premium Insnrg Vi Chlorinator has two probes. An ORP probe/sensor and a pH probe/sensor. The pH probe and your pH setting, will determine when your Insnrg Vi Chlorinator adds more acid to the pool. Likewise, the ORP probe along with the corresponding ORP setting, will be determining when your premium Insnrg Vi Chlorinator is (and isn't), turning on to produce chlorine. 

Now this is where it gets a bit tricky... an ORP probe doesn't directly measure Chlorine, it actually measures 'Oxidization Reduction Potential', or in simple terms, how well the chemicals in the water can kill things. So ORP is the measure of how well your water can maintain its own quality.

The next thing to understand about your ORP probe, is that they lose accuracy over time and need to be calibrated or replaced. The manufacturer's recommendation, is to replace both probes/sensors every 2 years. 

The winter setting and summer setting will change. Every single pool has a unique ORP setting, but as a very rough guide, you might need to raise your summer setting about 100 points higher than your winter setting. Autumn and Spring can also be adjusted to somewhere in between. To know the right setting for your pool, a water test will confirm if it needs to be raised or lowered.

If your set ORP level is never being reached, start by increasing your run time. Sometimes, that's all it takes.

Still Not Improving? It's Time to Confirm Chlorine Production

So you've checked your salt levels and extended your run time, but still have no chlorine in your pool? Ok then, lets test if the cell is producing chlorine.

1. Raise the residual chlorine level in your pool to 1ppm. We do this to ensure the water is healthy enough not to be rapidly producing algae, that will use up the chlorine it produces. And hopefully low enough to reduce over produce of chlorine. (Note: not recommended with a new cell).
2. Put your chlorinator in manual mode at 100% production for 24hrs. Only do this if your salt levels are within the correct range.
3. At the end of the 24hrs, test your chlorine levels again. Not your ORP, your actual Chlorine level.
4. If the result is not conclusive, repeat steps 2 and 3. If you're not convinced, repeat steps 2 and 3 till the result is clear.

If after 24hrs running at 100% production, your chlorine level should have either increased or decreased. If it's increased, then it's producing chlorine. If it's decreased, then it's not produced chlorine, or at least, not enough. 

How To Identify The Correct Replacement Cell?

So you've discovered it's time to replace your Insnrg Chlorinator's cell, and want to make sure you're buying the right one.

There are only 3 sizes to choose from, regardless of the model (Vi, Ni, or Xi). They are:

• Ni/Xi 20 (20g)
• Ni/Vi 25 (25g)
• Ni/Vi 40 (40g)

While the letters Vi, Ni and Xi that indicate the model, it's the number that indicates the size/production capacity, and it's this number we're interested in.

The 2 easiest ways to identify your unit/cell capacity are:

1. The sticker on the chlorinator cable. There is a sticker added to your chlorinator cable during production. However this sticker often falls off, so if yours is missing, you'll need to move to method 2.
2. The sticker on the control box. It will be either white or silver and roughly 8cm wide by 5cm tall (2 inches by 1.5 inches). The sticker location can vary based on several factors, but will be in one of three places. 
   1. First place to check is both side panels. This is the easiest to check and most will be found here, so check both the left and right sides of your chlorinator. 
   2. Then check underneath. Although this is less likely, it's easier than pulling your chlorinator off the wall. I use my phone camera for this, and press the button to use the self-facing camera. It means I can look at my phone screen to see under the chlorinator, without having to get my head in there.
   3. The back panel. If you still haven't found it, then it's time to get serious. You'll need to lift your chlorinator off the wall. It's heavy though, so be super careful, because you definitely don't want to drop it.

Once located, the model and size/production capability are written clearly near the top.

To replace the cell in your Insnrg Ni 20 or Xi 20, click here.

To replace the cell in your Insnrg Ni 25 or Vi 25, click here.

To replace the cell in your Insnrg Ni 40 or Vi 40, click here.