Floatron Solar Powered Ioniser Questions & Answers

Best to phone or email Floatron in Lismore and they can give you the exact answer. Probably to do with taking the minerals out of the water which it does as part of its operation.

Scientifically speaking it should be. The Floatron supports water balance but I suggest in high use and my high debris areas (trees) it struggles. Also hopefully they have upgraded the plastics used in construction. Mine degraded and subsequently leaked water into the solar panel over time. Expensive item so worth considering these issues IMO.

Thanks for your reply. Leaf litter is and in late Summer Casurina pollen is an issue for my pool too. I’m hoping to be able to reduce the chlorinator and pump running times with a Floatron. I guess I’ll have to take a chance with one to know if it will work in my pool.

I did have similar at one stage. Used Inox and a pair of vice grips going back and forth until it started to unwind. Probably 15 minutes.

The machine will try to reduce the chemicals you put in. The pool needs to be balanced with chemicals the machine does not do all the work.

Thankyou. So over time the floatron itself will reduce the need for extra chemicals the same way it did for the chlorine? Is that correct? Also what would happen if we did not add extra chemicals?

Floatron's instructions state that apart from a little chlorine, do not add any other chemical, cleaning product,balancer or clarifier etc. Keep the pool filters clean, regularly check the anode (keep a spare one) and check the copper content of the pool water. Do not visit pool shops, it's like asking a hairdresser if you need a haircut! Their water test is irrelevant, except perhaps, for Ph value. Ionization is death to their business. I have absolutely no connection with Floatron or their marketing and have been a very happy and satisfied user of their product over the past 14 odd years, willing to give my experience to help others.

Thanks terry. I became invoved with floatron run pool a few years ago, and vowed one day i will get a pool, its above ground, and a floatron. Done. But i have since married and my new husband who is also blind used to run a chlorinated pool in the past. So i am having difficulty convincing him there are other methods that work. Plus i am not very good at explaining it to him. I thank you for your knowledgeable input. Regards

Terry, I was wondering if you have used bleach with your ionizer? If so, can I switch to chlorine?

Try changing the screw in core. Check whether there is a current coming into the unit from the solar cell. Is it getting enough sunlight on the panel

Is the Floatron really working. Put a multimeter between the copper rod and the coil on the outside. From memory mine was around 6v. This is needed to make the sacrificial anode is corroding effectively.

I did get a black mound one year were the pool fellow hit it hard with chlorine and scrubbed it.

Hope that helps.

Hi Bruce, I am not a Plumber or Pool Technician, but DIY Hobbyist. For thirty years I have had pools and Floatron for about fifteen and some experience of Algae, had them in diesel storage tanks in Johannesburg. Algae are virtually indestructible and may hibernate for 80 to 100 years but are controllable They love concrete and Ph and if your Ph level is correct the algae may be in your filters. Vacuum the pool bypassing the filters and renew or thoroughly clean them,check the Ph and restart the system. Nothing lasts forever and I have renewed the Floatron when it got a bit iffy so you may need to do the same. I live in Queensland, with continuous sunshine and have a floating dispenser with two chlorine tablets in it permanently. Would advise against going to pool shops for anything, they'd sell you acid, liquid chlorine,calcium, anti algae, pool shock and a lot more unnecessary and expensive products that would upset the ionisation. If all else fails, raise the Ph a bit. That's my two pen'north and I hope it helps.

Thanks guys I appreciate the advice and will do some experimenting.

Bruce

Terry, how do you raise the PH in a concrete pool?

Try cleaning the spring and changing the rod. Make sure it is working properly and gets the sun

My pool is full sun, I clean the rod once a week. It always has a lot of white substance on the spring and the rod is green so Im certain it is working?

There should be a white strainer that screws onto the bottom of the copper rod. that will catch the reddish powder that dissolves from the copper rod. You need to remove this ( undo thumb screw) and wash it out and also run a wire brush (stainless) over the wire coil and copper rod. I clean my unit about every 2 weeks and it works well. It does take a month or so before the levels are up to the correct level, your test kit that came with the unit will indicate if it is at the level. We have found the copper rod lasts for about a year and is about $100 to replace. I have a 65k litre pool and have had no problems with algae, blackspot etc and being a salt pool with very heavy usage throw in 4-5 bags of salt a year. Hope this has helped

I cannot remember the red colouration, but being a new copper rod it may happen. It will take a few week to get to a suitable level. There is about 6 volts dc between the rod and the surrounding coil. This voltage difference makes the electrons flow from the sacrificial anode (copper rod) to the coil. The rod corrodes slowly creating copper sulphate. The rod and the coil gets a green crust over both. You need to give the coil a scratch and brush every month or so. I just let this brushed off material fall into the pool and as I remember this includes a rusty colour to it.

Early on to make it more efficient I tied it up so the water jet pushed water past the rod. Not sure if that was beneficial. I now just let it float around.

Cheers

Great, just as I thought, but definitely good to get confirmation from other users, thank you both.

Hi, You could go to the original supplier or. Mine has been working for a few years without the basket and thumb screw. You could go to clarkes rubber or Bunnings to get a similar item to the thumb screw.

For the copper rod, I took mine to a local machinists and bought three. Similar price with no freight.

Cheers

Try Amazon .com for replacement parts if you are having difficulty scouring in Aust