I have searched extensively for this issue but have been unable to find anything...here is my situation
Have an aquarite system with a t-cell 15 (pool is inground 35,000 gallons). A few weeks ago my salt readings kept dropping, and since it is summer here in Florida with rain and evaporation I didn't think much of it and kept adding salt. The level kept going down, and when I had my salt tested it was reading above 4000, so I concluded that my cell had probably gone bad (about 3.5 years old). I ordered a new t-cell 15 and installed it, and although it was showing salt at 4400, it indicated it was still generating. I left it running for 24 hours, but no change. I figured there must be something else wrong. After some research I discovered the varistor (SL32) issue, and since I live in area with a lot of lightening I decided to check it out. Sure enough, there were the tell tale burn marks around the SL32 connections to the circuit board. So I ordered a new one (and a spare in case it happens again) and swapped it out last night. Checked that I had continuity between the SL32 and the other components down the line, and put it all back together.
The unit starts up and runs as normal. All of my diagnostic settings are within the proper range (pulled those from other posts on this site). However, my salt is still reading 4300 and the unit still says it is generating instead of giving me the high salt indicators which is what it did in the past. I have run the recalibration several times, but the instant salt reading keeps coming up the same...sometimes even higher (has gone from 4000 back to 4300). Since having my salt tested I have drained and added fresh water...not sure exactly how much as I have just left a hose siphoning it off with another adding fresh water on the other side, but it should have been enough to lower the readings. I will take another sample in after the weekend to see if there really is any chlorine being generated.
The other issue the box is getting quite hot. I have read here that is normal as well when it is generating, but I never noticed it getting that hot before. I wonder if it is because it is generating with a high salt level.
So any ideas/suggestions? Any insight is greatly appreciated.
Have an aquarite system with a t-cell 15 (pool is inground 35,000 gallons). A few weeks ago my salt readings kept dropping, and since it is summer here in Florida with rain and evaporation I didn't think much of it and kept adding salt. The level kept going down, and when I had my salt tested it was reading above 4000, so I concluded that my cell had probably gone bad (about 3.5 years old). I ordered a new t-cell 15 and installed it, and although it was showing salt at 4400, it indicated it was still generating. I left it running for 24 hours, but no change. I figured there must be something else wrong. After some research I discovered the varistor (SL32) issue, and since I live in area with a lot of lightening I decided to check it out. Sure enough, there were the tell tale burn marks around the SL32 connections to the circuit board. So I ordered a new one (and a spare in case it happens again) and swapped it out last night. Checked that I had continuity between the SL32 and the other components down the line, and put it all back together.
The unit starts up and runs as normal. All of my diagnostic settings are within the proper range (pulled those from other posts on this site). However, my salt is still reading 4300 and the unit still says it is generating instead of giving me the high salt indicators which is what it did in the past. I have run the recalibration several times, but the instant salt reading keeps coming up the same...sometimes even higher (has gone from 4000 back to 4300). Since having my salt tested I have drained and added fresh water...not sure exactly how much as I have just left a hose siphoning it off with another adding fresh water on the other side, but it should have been enough to lower the readings. I will take another sample in after the weekend to see if there really is any chlorine being generated.
The other issue the box is getting quite hot. I have read here that is normal as well when it is generating, but I never noticed it getting that hot before. I wonder if it is because it is generating with a high salt level.
So any ideas/suggestions? Any insight is greatly appreciated.