Aqua Rite Pro and T15 cell. Salt 0

[fordsbyjay]

I've had this Aqua rite pro for a lot of years. Every cell I have bought seems to last less then the previous one. The last one I bought only lasted 1 yr 10 months. Every time I have bought a new one the price has increased 50%+and although it says 3 year warranty on Haywards site this model only has 1 year. To be honest I'm tired of getting ripped off. I'm looking for the best option. Buy another overpriced crappy cell, change the whole system to a different brand or just go back to chlorine? I love the SWG system the costs are getting ridiculous. The Aqua Rite Pro seems to have very little info available so it makes troubleshooting difficult, even the Hayward guy said they never get calls on it.

What are my options is the question..

 

[mas985]

I am on my third cell and while the first lasted the longest at 9 years, the second was around 4 yrs and now I am going on my 4th year with this cell. Less than 2 yrs is pretty short and could indicate another problem.

How often do you clean the cell and do you use acid everytime?
Are you having the cells tested at a pool store to determine if they have failed?
The display on the AquaRite indicates No Power. When you reset the SWG unit, does the cell power come on?
What are the SWG readings while it is energized?

Hayward Aquarite SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[ajw22]

Salt 0 is more likely a problem with the board then the cell.

Take your cell into a Hayward dealer who can test it.

This is the basic information we need to know in diagnosing a problem:

• Report the diagnostic readings when you..
  • Move from auto to off and check all of the readings.
  • Move back to auto and recheck the readings.
  • Move to off for a minute and then back to auto and recheck the readings.
• What are the first seven characters of the cell and box serial numbers?
• What is the actual salinity and how are you measuring it?

 

[fordsbyjay]

This is my 3rd cell over the lifetime of having swg. Every other one did the same 0 salt reading. I called Hayward and they said that is standard for a bad cell so I have not taken it for testing. I have the PRO which is completely different then the standard Aqua Rite. It does not have a switch to change or a diagnostic screen like the regular AR. I have those trouble shooting documents but Hayward does not have any for the PRO version.
The serial # 1E19325-708292. The screen picture is what get after the pumps on delay, it stays on for 30 seconds or so then it turns off the chlorinator because of low salt. As far as testing I went to my local pool store. I've gone there for years and found them much more reliable then places like Leslies.

 

[mas985]

But did you have the cell tested at the pool store? If not, I would do that next before doing anything else. You might want to test some of your older cells as well just to make sure. Board failures can sometimes look like a bad cell when it is not.

Also, do you use acid to clean the cell and how often?

 

[ajw22]

Your SN indicates you have a 1 year warranty cell which is usually a replacement cell. The 1 year cells don’t have as long a life as the 3 or 4 year warranty cells.

 

[fordsbyjay]

Your SN indicates you have a 1 year warranty cell which is usually a replacement cell. The 1 year cells don’t have as long a life as the 3 or 4 year warranty cells

What is defined as a "replacement cell"? It looked new to me.

 

[fordsbyjay]

But did you have the cell tested at the pool store? If not, I would do that next before doing anything else. You might want to test some of your older cells as well just to make sure. Board failures can sometimes look like a bad cell when it is not.

Also, do you use acid to clean the cell and how often?

I only used acid to clean it if the water pressure isn't enough. I cleaned it the other day with acid as it had a few spots of build up. I had my previous cell tested at the store and it was bad.

 

[mas985]

I only used acid to clean it if the water pressure isn't enough.

It should be cleaned when you first notice scale accumulating. Waiting for the pressure to change is waiting too long to clean it. That could be responsible for shorter cell life.

I cleaned it the other day with acid as it had a few spots of build up.

One thing to be aware of is that cleaning with acid does reduce the life of the cell so it should be used very sparingly. If possible, scale can sometimes be remove with a very narrow wood skewer.

What is the ratio of acid to water you are using? I don't use anything more concentrated than 1:5.

Also, do you try to set CSI slightly negative when balancing the pool PH?

I had my previous cell tested at the store and it was bad.

How about your current cell? Have you tested that?

 

[ajw22]

What is defined as a "replacement cell"? It looked new to me.

These are cells Hayward supplies to dealers to be exchanged for a cell under warranty that tests bad.

Although some of the 1 year warranty cells end up being sold at a lower price.

 

[fordsbyjay]

I had to repair the board in 2018 so I pulled it off to have a look. I had two bad solder joints on the power relays to the cell. I fixed those and it would work for a few minutes then the chlorine would drop from 3400 to 2500, then 1500 and it would shut off. I pulled the board back off and could not find anything else wrong with it so I pulled off my 2018 jumper, cleaned it up better and resoldered it back on. It's working so far.....

 

[mas985]

The last picture looks like cold solder joints to me which have higher resistance than a good solder joint.

Also, there are three relays on the board, two swap the polarity and one turns on and off the current to the cell. These will spark some when switched which over time can lead to higher resistance contacts.

This is the reason I suggested testing the current cell. If it tests good, then the problem is likely with the board. If it tests bad, then you have another bad cell. But if your cells are failing that quickly, then your chemistry is likely to be off. Balancing PH with a slightly negative CSI can help extend the life of your cells.

 

[fordsbyjay]

The last picture looks like cold solder joints to me which have higher resistance than a good solder joint.

Also, there are three relays on the board, two swap the polarity and one turns on and off the current to the cell. These will spark some when switched which over time can lead to higher resistance contacts.

This is the reason I suggested testing the current cell. If it tests good, then the problem is likely with the board. If it tests bad, then you have another bad cell. But if your cells are failing that quickly, then your chemistry is likely to be off. Balancing PH with a slightly negative CSI can help extend the life of your cells.

After fixing the board the system is working now. I did get the cell tested yesterday and it was good. I've seen those bad solder joints in other threads over the years for the standard Aqua Rite so I wasn't surprised. Those two are indeed the two relays that go to the cell. I've had this unit for many years so for it to do that now is pretty good I guess. The other relay is what burnt out in my 2018 repair. It actually burnt a hole in the board so I soldered a jumper wire right to the pin for that repair.

 

[ajw22]

Salt 0 is usually a board problem and not a cell failure.

Cells show lower salt then actual as they fail.

Glad you got it figured out.