Question about what cells work on what systems?

[Mesamav]

I have a friend that just closed on his home here in Mesa Arizona but he won't be moving down from Oregon for another week or two. The home was a short sale so it took a while and during that time, I've filled the empty pool and kept it sparkling for the last few months with the BBB system.
The pool has a SWG but the cell never worked so I've been using liquid chlorine until the sale was finalized. Now he want's to buy the salt cell. It's a Hayward system and it has the cell for a 40K gallon pool but the pool is actually a 14K gallon pool.
The question is, can we just get the cell that is designed for a 15K pool? Is it compatible with the control unit? Leslies only sells the big cell and at this point, I see no reason to but the larger cell unless there is some other reason for it but the guys at Leslies say to buy the largest one which is $400.00 more because it will last longer. Is that accurate or are they just trying to sell me something they have in stock and/or to make more profit?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[jblizzle]

Depending on how old the controller is, you may be able to change the cell size ... BUT ... we usually recommend a cell size that is 1.5-3 times larger than the pool ... so honestly I think I would stick with the 40k cell as it will not have to work as hard and should last longer. Also, being in the AZ sun, the larger cell will be better able to keep the FC up in the sun.

You can also certainly find the cells cheaper online ... many discussions here lately about high mark-ups at Leslies.

There are also generic cells now available from circupool (I think that is the company) ... there are some reports of compatibility problems, but the company seems to be very responsive to replace the cell if there is a problem.

Of course you realize that you will want to increase the CYA in the pool when you convert.

Can you find any Version numbers on/in the controller that may help someone here determine if the controller can handle different cell sizes?

 

[Just-a-PB]

You are better off with a larger cell due to the very hot conditions, amount of sun and possible use.
Larger units produce more chlorine in a shorter time.

 

[Mesamav]

Depending on how old the controller is, you may be able to change the cell size ... BUT ... we usually recommend a cell size that is 1.5-3 times larger than the pool ... so honestly I think I would stick with the 40k cell as it will not have to work as hard and should last longer. Also, being in the AZ sun, the larger cell will be better able to keep the FC up in the sun.

You can also certainly find the cells cheaper online ... many discussions here lately about high mark-ups at Leslies.

There are also generic cells now available from circupool (I think that is the company) ... there are some reports of compatibility problems, but the company seems to be very responsive to replace the cell if there is a problem.

Of course you realize that you will want to increase the CYA in the pool when you convert.

Can you find any Version numbers on/in the controller that may help someone here determine if the controller can handle different cell sizes?

That's what I needed to know. I don't trust Leslie's any farther than I can throw them so I wanted to see what you guys thought. I'll advise my friend to just get the next step up to the 25K cell if it will work on his system. I'll get the numbers off the control unit and post them later today and yes, I know the CYA should be higher with a SWG.
I'll also check out the generic cells and compare.