Compupool cell burned

[lbrownin]

Need some advice. My CPSC-16 cell burned where the power cable disc attaches to the cell. Oddly enough, it was still generating to some degree. My question - should I order a replacement cell or go with another brand (or method)? The unit is 4 years old, so the cell was probably on its way out anyhow. I would cut the burned cable end off, attach with spade lugs and devise some way to waterproof. Another thought I had was to replace with an Intex SWG for my 11K gallon inground pool. I just don't want to spend $600+ for another SWG. Looks like I'm back to bleach for awhile! Thanks for any help. Temps will drop to low 50s tonight, so I guess swimming season is officially over.

 

[pooldv]

Boo for all of that! You can definitely use an Intex to chlorinate your pool. Might be able to find one one on end of season sale for under a hundred bucks right now. I've seen pool stuff on clearance at Academy and Target.

 

[malfield]

Check your flow switch. If it failed in the closed position, power would have turned onto the cell before it filled with (cooling) water and caused it to overheat.

 

[mnschu]

I am in a similar situation, and based on my experience I don't have a lot of confidence in the Compupool CPSC series.
Here is my history with the Compupool CPSC-48:
October, 2011
Installed, no problems working fine

May, 2012
Cell melted through at red terminal, causing breach in cell and water leak.
The red plug end of the cable also melted.
Cap that covers the end of cell where power cable plugs also became extremely discolored and I found out later brittle.
Compupool replaced the cell under warranty and sent me a new power cable.

June, 2015
Cell melted again, unfortunately not under warranty.

September, 2015
Cell melted again.
May have been caused by changing salt production to 100% a few days prior. I had heavy bather load and low FC, plus lots of sun shining.
In summer I usually run at 70-80%, winter at 30%.
This time it caused more damage. The clear plastic housing near the electrode connection was melted, not all the way through, but near the threads.
I am really frustrated with this thing, I wish I had opted for a more expensive, more reliable brand.
I was able to repair it, though I consider it temporary, I just hope it lasts long enough to replace the entire SWG with something I trust.
Here is what I did, and it is actually making chlorine and not leaking:
My cell had a complete, through and through hole that was obviously leaking.
The cylindrical terminals can be unscrewed, don't be too rough.
I took it apart, cleaned off all the burned plastic, and used marine grade silicone (regular silicone should work, ACE had a tube so I thought would be better) to seal everything inside that comes into contact with water. I was very liberal, covering all 3 terminal areas with the silicone.
I put it back together, screwing the cylindrical terminals back on.
Where the hole was, I used epoxy to seal it. I put it level, and used 5-minute expoxy (the kind you mix resin+hardener).
This closed up the hole and sealed it from both sides.
Just to be safe, I used another layer of JB-weld epoxy on top of the previous clear on. Probably not necessary, but I wasn't sure which one would tolerate heat better.
Luckily my terminal plugs are all usable, though the red is misshapen due to melting.

So in summary, you can try a quick fix of using epoxy to seal it on the outside and silicone on the inside, this may give enough life until you get a replacement.

 

[llthom7]

Contacted Compupool today regarding the melting cell problem. Was told not under warranty any longer so out of luck. Asked to speak to the operations manager who of course did not answer, the unit completely melted even charring casing. Fire hazard? Had a company come to inspect the damage who told us we were lucky the pump did not shut off from overload and cause a house fire? (Sits next to house) Why wouldn't a company cover equipment that does break but potentially burn my house down. Yeah, guy at company did not seem concerned at all. I need to fix my pool but cannot fathom buying another compupool product. Also told these items have been updated since this problem came to light. Ugh.

 

[lbrownin]

Update: I repaired the leaky cell with JBWeld and it seems to hold pressure. I used electrical ground connectors to attach the three wires to the cell terminals. However, there is a 4th wire - a thin, black wire. I can't see anything to connect it to. Any ideas? When I turn the unit on, it runs for a couple of minutes and displays "water fault". I can't see any bubbles coming off the plates, so it doesn't appear to be working. Oh well, I tried. And, to top things off, my pump motor died. Aarrrghhh. Anybody know where I can get a bunch of dirt?