Replace Hayward T-Cell with a Pentair and a slew of other questions

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utnorris

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Mar 26, 2015
10
Savannah, TX
Good afternoon,

I have a 20k pool that is saltwater. We bought the pre-owned house two years ago and we were told the pool was installed in 2006. We have a Hayward saltwater generator, not sure of the size though, but it seems to work. I had to replace the GLX-PCB-RITE board the first year with a rebuilt one because it went out. Now the control panel with the GLX-PCB-RITE says to check the T-cell. I cleaned it out and tried flushing it with acid per instructions I found on this site, but i was not able to allow the T-cell to sit for a long period. However, just looking at the T-cell, i do not see any corrosion or whatnot, but I figure I may go ahead and try cleaning it again properly, but based on everything I have read about the GLX-PCB-RITE boards it could be broken again. That being said, last year when I still had a pool guy they said i should replace it with a Pentair system. I bought the IC-20, but didn't get around to buying the power panel for it since the system was working although it seemed to have some quirks to it.

First question, should I go ahead and bite the bullet and replace the Hayward with the Pentair and buy the power module? Is one better than the other? If so, do I need new couplers or does the Hayward pull out and the Pentair pop in? The current couplers are the right size and I even fit the Pentair in there, just wasn't able to get it tightened down and it was leaking pretty bad, but again, I figure that is just something i need to tighten down, but maybe i am missing something here.

Second question is unrelated to the saltwater generator, I have read about the solar blankets you can put in the pool, but are these better than a tarp? I only ask because I plan on getting a tarp to cover the pool when the season is over with and it would save me from buying to separate pieces to keep up with. I am using a tarp as a cover because I have an odd shaped pool, so they do not make a cover for it unless i want to spend some major money to have a custom one made.

Third question, I need to fix some of the grout that has cracked around the edge where the water stops, is this just regular tile grout or is it some special grout I need?

I know it's a lot of questions, but i would appreciate any help or advice. So far I have been able to maintain everything myself, but this is beyond just maintenance.

Thanks in advance.
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

1. Are you sure you do not just need the $3 current limiter replaced on the board? There is a very large thread discussing this on the forum and YouTube videos showing the fix. There is nothing wrong with switching to the Pentair SWG if you want other than the fact that their cells are more expensive to replace and you do not get very good control of the output if you do not have Pentair automation. I certainly would not have bought a cell before using it as your warranty may already be over before you use it. I would assume you would need to by all new unions.

2. "solar" blankets is a poor name. Really what the do is maintain the heat in the pool, especially at night, by preventing evaporation. A tarp should be able to have nearly the same effect.

3. Not sure, but I think there is a specific type of grout used in pools.
 
Thank you for the quick response. I know about the limiter from the first time. The box is showing lights and such, but what i may try to do is clean the cell properly and if I still get the "Check cell" light I will replace the limiter, I have a couple left over from the first time when I was going to fix my original board. Anyways, the way the pool guy talked it was like the Hayward was the worse one I could have, that's one of the reasons i was thinking about replacing it with the Pentair, plus the Pentair that I got had a few more features than what I currently have. As far as warranty goes, yeah it's probably not under warranty as i am approaching almost two years on it, but that's what i get for rushing to fix something without researching.

Good to know about the tarp and as far as the grout, hopefully I can find out more on that or someone that has done it before can answer it. I just hate buying anything that is specific for something because it always costs more and a lot of the times you don't need to be specific.

Again, thank you for the quick reply. Lot's of great info here, wish i had found this site two years ago. :D
 
The check cell light is on a timer to come on every 3 months or so to remind you to inspect and clean the cell if required. After you do that, you have to follow some sequence to turn off the check cell light (check your manual).

I have have 2 Hayward SWGs at my houses ... no problems. They are a nice basic middle of the road SWG that are extremely common and lots of options for cell replacement.
 
If all the parameters are good, like salt and temperature, then I would guess the light is just the reminder, which I think comes on ever 500 hours of generation (roughly 3 months). Looks like you just hold the button in for 3 seconds to reset it.
 
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