Powerclean Ultra 760 Salt Generator not working correctly

[LoriPaas]

35K gallon, IG, Vinyl (new liner installed April 2022), Cartridge filter, Whisperflo pump (installed May 2022), pool built 2008, CMP Powerclean Ultra 760 (installed new cell March 2023, new control unit May 2023), pool store test kit, city water. In 2021, circuit board went out & they replaced it (still under warranty); from that point on, I have had issues off & on with this system. The issue is it works fine in positive polarity, but when it switches to negative, the service light comes on & it stops producing chlorine. They have replaced both the control unit & salt cell numerous times, but I continue to have the same issue. But, sometimes, randomly it seems, it will work properly. It actually began working in June of 2022 (after not working the month prior), but still needed a bit of supplemental chlorine. I had received replacement cell & control unit in 2022 (between the time it wasn't working and started working), but I didn't install them because it started working. But, when I installed the ones I was using in 2022 in 2023, the problem returned, so I installed the replacements I received in 2022, but the issue remains. The water temp & salt levels are sufficient. The appropriate valves are open & running properly. We've had an electrician look at it. Doesn't seem to be a power/short issue. In recent days, it will work all day (even when switching to negative polarity), but generally some time in the night, it will kick off again and I have to force it to positive to get it to work. I would call CMP again, but they just keep sending me new units (and I'm guessing at this point I am past warranty, so they may no longer do that). I just have a difficult time believing it would be that many faulty units/cells. I've called around & no one locally will service it. I am about to give up & buy something else, but I have a brand new cell & control unit; I just really hate to do that when I am wondering if it is more something to do with something beyond that. Suggestions?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I previously had a system that used the same type of cell as the unit that you have. At lower speeds, an air bubble would form at the top of the cell and expose the plates. Are you seeing this in your cell?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I would also check power going to the control unit. The Powerclean SWG ships "ready for 220 volts" but can be set up for 120 volt applications.

How do you test your salt level? Your unit works best with salt at 4000-4500 ppm.

 

[LoriPaas]

I previously had a system that used the same type of cell as the unit that you have. At lower speeds, an air bubble would form at the top of the cell and expose the plates. Are you seeing this in your cell?

No. I noticed that in the instructions, but there is no air bubble.

 

[LoriPaas]

I would also check power going to the control unit. The Powerclean SWG ships "ready for 220 volts" but can be set up for 120 volt applications.

How do you test your salt level? Your unit works best with salt at 4000-4500 ppm.

I'm not exactly sure what your comment about the power is saying. Are you saying I should check the voltage? We had an electrician look at all the power connections and he didn't think it was a power issue. Do I need to do something on the control unit to adjust the voltage if it's not 220?

I check the salt with a test tab but I also have it verified at the pool store. It is in the range of 4100-4500 ppm.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Since we can pretty much rule out the cell or controller as being the cause, I'm just trying to suggest other possible causes.

If hooked to 120 volts, the internal jumpers on the controller need to be properly configured. Again, the controller is shipped for use on 220 volt systems. However, if your electrician is sure he did it right, then we can rule that out as well.

 

[LoriPaas]

I will check that. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[LoriPaas]

Just wanted to thank @Rancho Cost-a-Lotta for the suggestion to look into the voltage. Apparently, we had a very unusual situation where, we think, the original unit was reconfigured to 120 volts, but when it stopped working (while still under warranty), it was replaced with a unit that was configured for 220 volts and we were unaware of the mismatch issue as we didn't do the original installation (and the people who did had gone out of business). Once you suggested this, we had the electrician reconfigure the power source and now it works like a charm. Thanks so much!

 

[mknauss]

Thanks so much!

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[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Great news! I'm glad you got it working.