Replacing my SWCG -any suggestions

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dfiletti

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LifeTime Supporter
Jun 12, 2008
76
Thornton, PA
Folks-

My 5.5 year old Jandy AquaPure 1400 is beginning to fail. It's producing choline, still but not well. Test seems to indicate that the cell is at fault. So it seems I need at least a new cell, but was wonder whether now would be the time to install a new, better, entire system. If I had had a great experience with the Jandy, I would simply replace the cell, the flow sensor and be done with it. However, for each of the last 4 years I have replaced a flow sensor, or had to resolve various error codes, once I was on the phone with tech support and they had me remove some sort of correction card from the front board.... Anyway, it has been farther from 'trouble free' than I would like.

Perhaps this is just the nature of SWCG's in general, and if so, please let me know if you think so. If that is the case, I may simply forgo the system and manually chlorinate, not sure, I'd have to give that some thought. However, I hold out hope that there is a system that runs for ~5 years with just basic maintenance, cleaning and properly winterizing the cell etc, without all of the other problems. Again, it may be that what I am looking for does not exist and my expectations are too high, but I hope not.

Any and all opinions are welcome.

Thanks,

Dan
 
I would say most of the SWG manufacturers have some bugs that show up from time to time. Some bugs show up more often than others, like with the Jandy units. My Aquapure has been trouble free for about a year now since I removed the small board that was introduced with the latest sensor.

The Hayward systems tend to blow a cheap electrical part that most people can replace on their own if they learn how to replace it, there is a large thread on the forum that explains it. Other than that part, they seem to be very reliable.

AutoPilot Digital seems to be a very good unit, just do a search for AutoPilot and see if you see a pattern of repairs needed.

CircuPool has just been redesigned and is on the cheaper side as far as cost goes, I'm not sure I would be willing to switch to them yet. The old units were burning up.

Pentair seems to be reliable, but you need automation to run them at anything other than rough 20% increments.

There have been many users that get 5+ years of use out of their systems and we don't hear much from them. You could also look into chlorine injection systems like the Stenner pump or Liquidator.
 
I'm on year 2 with autopilot. I just had the cell out last weekend while installing my new heater. Plates looked perfect. Screen had a lot of stuff on it (yikes!). So I hosed it and put it back together. Runs like a champ. I also like the accurate salt readout- matches my taylor salt test perfectly. Oh, and the temp adjustment is nice too.

I'd avoid circupool- I've read about lots of problems with them here on the forum. The only "cool" thing is that you can see the bubbles coming off the plates with that model.
 
If you were to replace with a Jandy (which I know is now owned by Zodiac) what would one use? They seem to be pushing something called the AquaPure Ei. Is that a replacement for the 1400?
 

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I had an Aquarite for 9 yrs. Just replaced it and they sent me a SwimPure which supposedly is the same thing. Hope this one lasts as long as the old one did. Had zero problems the whole 9 seasons I used it. The unit started showing low salt last year but only accelerated this year. I would highly recommend them. Set it and forget it. Just test once a week and you're good to go.
 
There's Josh! I'd recommend him for a new unit- despite his angry face avatar.
Click to expand...

Haha! I guess it is time to get a new photo. I'll have to find out where all of the real estate and insurance agents get there photos done. :D Maybe I'll put up a photo of my daughter instead, she is much cuter. ;)
 
I have had a compupool for 3 years and other than having to clean the cell on a regular basis no issues. But others will not second that experience from what I have read.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I had a chance to replace my cell with whatever I wished. My wife gave me full reign on deciding. Instead of spending 3 times the amount or even twice the amount, I chose to just replace the cell and the flow sensor with the same unit I inherited when moving into this house. I'm glad I stuck with the Jandy 1400. It works very well when set up correctly and indeed I've not supplemented the water with any chlorine/bleach since installing the new unit. Plus, it only cost me $430.00. You would be hard pressed to find a whole new system for that kind of money I'm sure as I priced many different SWG's and as it has been documented on this site, none are flawless.

You do have quite a big pool for that system. Maybe look into getting a larger unit? I've heard of one manufacturer that builds one for a 52k pool and there are some out there that are rated for a 60k pool. That may be the way for you to go.
 
I have had an autopilot total control (which I upgraded from a pool pilot digital) for 5-6 years (I had the digital for a couple of years before I upgraded so total of 7-8 years with autopilot systems). Both systems were solid with few if any problems. I am good about maintaining my chemicals and doing the routine maintenance.

For me while I liked the digital and it was WAY better than the previous tablet system (remember if you switch away from salt the water just isn't as nice to swim in). The temperature compensation was very nice especially since it shut off production in the winter when the water temp dropped into the 50's. That being said I did spend a lot of time chasing the PH since it would vary quite a bit depending on chlorine production.

Upgrading to the Total control made my life a lot easier. Since it does the PH and measures the chlorine using ORP the pool is has ALWAYS been crystal clear. The only problem I have had is this winter (perhaps because it was record cold for us) the PH meter went out of calibration. This caused overproduction of chlorine for much of the winter since ORP is related to PH. I re calibrated it when I opened the pool and its been fine since. I'll check the chemical every few weeks but they are always rock solid. I add a couple of gallons of acid to the tank every month and clean the cell twice a year and thats about it. I will also add that I recently got a automatic cover for the pool and that has really decreased the amount the chlorinator is on. I have a 20K gal pool and use the rc-42. My current cell just went bad after 3 years.

That being said many people have had bad experiences with the sensors (PH and ORP) not reading correctly resulting in wild swing in the chlorine. So YMMV, but if it works its awesome. If you have a Jandy control system you should be able to use that with the autopilot.


K
 
I agree with bdex above, I have had a Compupool SWG for 5 years, no problems; however, I did recalibrate the unit this season and it is supplying chlorine at a higher rate at a lower percentage setting. I do take the complete unit inside during the winter months.
 
My CompuPool is 2.5 years old. But, I've had the power supply/control unit replaced exactly one year ago. It was overheating and blowing fuses. The new one seems fine, right now I'm struggling to hold FC, but it may be my fault (I'm doing daily checks to troubleshoot the problem). I have the 60,000 gallon unit on my pool (CPSC48). I don't know how the new units are holding up, Bobodaclown has one, haven't heard of any issues.
 
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