ZODIAC NATURE2 FUSION SOFT 1400 CELL - Error 123. (pic attached)

[adamwallace]

Hello from Canada.

More Salt Cell issues. My SWG was producing very low chlorine near the end of last season. I then started getting an Error 123 (Extremely low current to cell). My pool builder recommended yet my second salt cell in 5 years. I took it apart today and looked at the plates. Any ideas why a 3-year-old cell would look like this? Throughout the season the water was maintained and balanced. We live in an area with hard water but I am unsure if that would contribute to that kind of corrosion. These cells are over 1K in Canada. Maybe I should switch to chlorine.

TIA.

 

[ajw22]

Have you ever cleaned the cell with acid?

@PoolGate how does this compare with your SWG plates?

 

[PoolGate]

Those plates don't look used up from use they look overly cleaned. You should not clean them unless you can see calcium buildup on them. How big is your pool and what level do you maintain with these?

 

[adamwallace]

The pool is 10,000 gallons. There was some calcium buildup on the plates, I used a salt cell cleaner (I can't recall the brand). I did note the manual said to use 10-1 water/muriatic acid. Someone at the local pool shop advised against that stating it is too harsh. Throughout most of the season, everything seemed good with regards to chlorine/FC level, the drop in chlorine output seemed sudden, which is when the pool shop recommended cleaning the cell thoroughly to try to fix the issue. Before cleaning it, it was hard to see the plates (condition) while the unit was intact. Essentially 0% output now. I assume due to the state of the plates.

 

[ajw22]

Tips on how to clean a SWG cell without damaging it can be found in SWG How It Works - Further Reading

 

[adamwallace]

@ajw22 Thank you. I will follow this article next time! I wish the cell was designed to easily come apart for cleaning. I followed this article to take apart my faulty cell. It required a bit of force, I am not sure I would try with a working cell for cleaning purposes.

Aquapure 1400 121 Error

Oh - Ha - he was confused how I had chlorine in the water he measured it as a "3". I told him I would start adding chlorine probably tomorrow since it was getting low. And he says no I mean why do you have chlorine now since this is not working are you adding it? Your chlorine level is fine. I...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[PoolGate]

You are not supposed to take the cell apart for cleaning. Just soak it in a bucket.

 

[ajw22]

You should not disassemble the cell to clean it.

While you say throughout the season the water was maintained and balanced you provide no actual data. There are many of us who never need to clean their cells for years.

I suggest you use PoolMath this year and log all tests and chemical additions and let us see what your water chemistry history is.

Did you see visible white scale blocking the plates or did you just clean the cell because the pool store said to?

 

[ajw22]

This is an example of a cell with scaling that adding borates to the water helped.

Minding my CSI, but still scaling in SWG

I have been battling increased scaling this season (our second summer with a new-build pool) despite my attempts to manage the CSI. This is what the SWG looked like in early Sept after cleaning: ...and this is what I have today: This is pretty representative of where I have been...

www.troublefreepool.com

Borates in pool - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[adamwallace]

Yes, some visible scaling on the cell. Not so much on the plates but where the electrodes enter the top inside of the cell, and at the top of the electrodes where it meets the top of the plates. The first cell I owned had major scaling after one year, which according to the pool installer was due to the SWG % output being too high. I usually run it 24 hours/day, 30%.

 

[PoolGate]

Yes, some visible scaling on the cell. Not so much on the plates but where the electrodes enter the top inside of the cell, and at the top of the electrodes where it meets the top of the plates. The first cell I owned had major scaling after one year, which according to the pool installer was due to the SWG % output being too high. I usually run it 24 hours/day, 30%.

That is a pantload. You can run that 24x7 and never get any scale if your CSI is proper. I run mine around 55% 24x7 and have never had a flake of scale.

 

[adamwallace]

I’ll download the app and get the CSI in check this season. See what happens.