New T-15 Cell.

[Mycool]

Sunday I put a new T-15 cell on and it worked like a champ. Monday still worked well to well in fact I turned the runtime on the pump down a bit and dropped the % from 70 to 50.

The reason I purchased a new cell was the old one would seldomly turn on and would give a low salt and inspect cell light. I tested my pools salt and took the water to leslies to verify and we agree there is 3100 ppm salt in the pool. Today when I came home from work the SWG says it has 1700 ppm.

The cell is brand new and is doing what the old cell did. Any suggestions how to fix this problem?

Mike

 

[JasonLion]

Check the connection between the cell and the control unit. Better yet get some contact cleaner and clean the socket that the cell plugs into. There are other possible causes, but a lose/bad connection there is fairly likely and the simplest for you to fix.

 

[Mycool]

I double checked how tight it was plugged in and it can't go any further.. The contacts don't look dirty. Any idea where I can get some contact cleaner?

What else could it be?

 

[JasonLion]

Something could be damaged inside the control unit, though your description isn't an exact match with any of the common failures.

 

[Mycool]

Ok. I cleaned the contacts. Still the same problem it shows the ppm at 2200. What should I do?

Could it be the flow switch?
Or is it most likely a problem with the board?

The water in the pool is balanced...

 

[chiefwej]

It's not the flow switch. That is a simple on/off circuit. It has nothing to do with the salt reading.

 

[Mycool]

It's not the flow switch. That is a simple on/off circuit. It has nothing to do with the salt reading.

Heres a thought..

My SWG panel is set to auto. If I reset the average salt reading the SWG works fine and generates. The problem is when the pump turns off and then back on in the morning. When I shut off my pump the panel still says generating. Now could the flow switch be bad making the panel think there is still flow when there isn't? Resulting in the salt to be consumed in the water that is siting there? Which in turn screws up the average salt reading?

 

[chiefwej]

Doesn't turning off the pump also shut off power to the SWG controller? Normally the unit is wired so that it is only powered up when the pump is activated, otherwise the flow switch is the only thing that would prevent the unit being on without water flow. That would not be a good thing as there could be a sizable gas buildup.

 

[Mycool]

the power stays on when the pump is off. I was testing that the past couple hours.

I turned the pump and booster pump timers to off. The generating light was still on. I left it there and just went back it now says 1500 ppm and the Inspect cell and Low Salt is on again w/o anything else on.

So would you say its probably the flow switch thats screwed?

Mike

 

[JasonLion]

That is a double problem and should be fixed right away. It is certainly a flow switch problem. It is also a problem with the wiring, as there should always be more than one thing preventing the SWG from running when there isn't water flow. Normally it is wired to turn off when the pump is off, and also turn off when there isn't flow, so you have two layers safety protection. Running the SWG without flow is a possible explosion risk.

 

[Sailinshuz]

Sunday I put a new T-15 cell on and it worked like a champ. Monday still worked well to well in fact I turned the runtime on the pump down a bit and dropped the % from 70 to 50.

The reason I purchased a new cell was the old one would seldomly turn on and would give a low salt and inspect cell light. I tested my pools salt and took the water to leslies to verify and we agree there is 3100 ppm salt in the pool. Today when I came home from work the SWG says it has 1700 ppm.

The cell is brand new and is doing what the old cell did. Any suggestions how to fix this problem?

Mike

Hey Mike.
Sorry to hear of another chlorine generator component failure. I have heard many complaints of malfunction with the cell and the controller. After we bought and installed our new Aqua Rite chlorine generator, it worked great the first season. Second season after purchasing it, our unit presented the same "inspect cell" error and stopped generation. Third season after purchasing it, the pool didn't get opened for use, nor for the fourth season. May 2012 bring us into season five, and I haven't reinstalled the cell, yet, as I am fighting for water clarity after 2-1/2 years of stagnation. I suppose I will reinstall and see what happens. One would think that manufacturing such a product couldn't be that difficult, given its simplicity. "We have the technology, Jim!" I'm rather disappointed. Keep us posted!

 

[chiefwej]

My AquaRite system worked flawlessly for over 6 years. Then a new cell and one failed flow switch and it's back up and running again.

 

[imjohn]

This is a very interesting post and I thought I'd offer a suggestion to saline users.
Prior to changing to the AquaRite system, I had another Saline system that used a clear cell. I noticed that at start-up there was a LOT of turbulance through the cell and periods of little water flow until the system settled down. (Pump fully primed)
According to the instructions the system should never be operated without water flow. So I installed a small weatherprof box and placed a time-delay relay in series with the incoming power and the AquaRite control. I set the time delay to 15 minutes giving plenty of time for the flow to settle down. I believe the start-up turbulance over time possibly contributes to shortened cell life.
This step may not be necessary, but I didn't want to take a chance.

 

[chiefwej]

The AquaRite has a time delay built in. Although not 15 min. After the flow switch is activated there is a one min "flow detected-delay" before the cell is powered up. If turbulence causes the flow switch to flutter or it contact is interrupted during the delay the panel will go to generating and then kick right back to delay.

 

[imjohn]

Thanks, that's good to know. I don't think that was the case with my old system. At least I couldn't find anything in the documentation. I cant see any harm in leaving the timer circuit in place.

Does anyone know of a way to add a remote low salt level alarm or readout to the AquaRite (standard)? Due to the number of thunderstorms and high local evaporation rate I'm having to check frequently and add salt. I have an auto fill system, so I don't see the pool level decrease so can't use that as a clue. I would like to be able to monitor the salt level more closely.

 

[chiefwej]

The AquaRite operates at a wide range of salt levels. It'll run fine anywhere from 2600 to 3900. Just raise the level up near the top of the range and it should be some time before you need to add salt again. Mine is reading 3800 right now and working just fine.

 

[Mycool]

Ok. So I fixed the wiring of the salt system. The SWG was hard wired to always have power. I just switched the wire position and now it shuts off and turns back on when the pump does. The flow sensor works fine I have seen it blink No Flow when it first turns on then once everything gets going it turns off and generates. Thanks for all your help!

Mike

 

[maxepr1]

Sunday I put a new T-15 cell on and it worked like a champ. Monday still worked well to well in fact I turned the runtime on the pump down a bit and dropped the % from 70 to 50.

The reason I purchased a new cell was the old one would seldomly turn on and would give a low salt and inspect cell light. I tested my pools salt and took the water to leslies to verify and we agree there is 3100 ppm salt in the pool. Today when I came home from work the SWG says it has 1700 ppm.

The cell is brand new and is doing what the old cell did. Any suggestions how to fix this problem?

Mike

Hey Mike.
Sorry to hear of another chlorine generator component failure. I have heard many complaints of malfunction with the cell and the controller. After we bought and installed our new Aqua Rite chlorine generator, it worked great the first season. Second season after purchasing it, our unit presented the same "inspect cell" error and stopped generation. Third season after purchasing it, the pool didn't get opened for use, nor for the fourth season. May 2012 bring us into season five, and I haven't reinstalled the cell, yet, as I am fighting for water clarity after 2-1/2 years of stagnation. I suppose I will reinstall and see what happens. One would think that manufacturing such a product couldn't be that difficult, given its simplicity. "We have the technology, Jim!" I'm rather disappointed. Keep us posted!

Dave, "Inspect Cell" is a normal reading for AquaRite generators as it turns on every 500 hours of run time no matter what. It's just a reminder to check the cell, hold down the + to reset.

 

[imjohn]

Is there a service manual available for the AquaLink controller/system?

If not, it sure would be helpful if those who are working on, or have been working on, their systems/boards could document what they've done or found. Photos with components replaced marked/identified, and their values would be nice. Those are the types of reports that I archive on my computer and would think would be very helpful to others on the forum.

Does anyone know of any past posts that have provided this information?

So far I haven't had a component failure, but after following the forum for awhile, I expect it to happen at some point (I hope in the far, far future.)

Just a thought,

John

 

[chiefwej]

There are a few different models that have been made over the past several years. Here a link to PDF copies of manuals.

http://www.google.com/search?q=hayward+aqua+rite+manual&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari