DIG 220 SWC no Chlorine gen

[dfaith]

Hi-
I'm new to TFP, however, have been reading many posts regarding problems with Autpilot DIG 220 system. In my 4th year my pool service had to replace my Tri-sensor because of bad temperature sensor (per DIG display message). Since it was replaced a little over of week ago, seems to be little to no chlorine being generated. Chemistry is "ideal" per multiple tests performed by pool service company, except Cl which was 0.25 ppm. I have loosened the union on the SC-48 cell on the discharge side, sampled the water and virtually no Cl measured on test strips (two different varieties).

DIG 220 control unit indicates normal operation and cell reading is 28V/4.9A. I've checked the installer menu to ensure proper settings. Pool service was out today and checked fuses which were okay, however, they took a voltage measurement at the black and red terminals on the board which feed the cell and claim it was zero. When the cell cord is disconnected, I do get a message on the display (low cell amps). Called Autopilot and they seem to think the cell has voltage, but the pool guy doesn't think so and suspects a control unit problem. This issue seems very coincidental with the tri-sensor replacement. Thoughts?

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

28V/4.9A is essentially normal, though suggestive of a cell moving on towards the end of it's life. It is nearly impossible for you to get that reading and not be producing chlorine. Does the Test Pool Pilot function continue to display numbers like that?

There are a couple of things that can go wrong after replacing a trisensor, but all of the ones I can think of would produce error messages that you have not mentioned seeing.

Checking the water coming out of the union on the output side of the cell is one of the most reliable ways of checking if chlorine is being produced, but you do need to make sure that the cell is energized for at least a minute before taking a water sample. One good way to do that is to press boost and then wait a minute before taking a sample. However, test strips tend to be very imprecise, and just don't have the precision you need to do this test reliably. It would be much better to do this test with any of the drop based chlorine tests.

You should post a full set of water test results. There are a number things that can prevent chlorine from showing up in the pool even when the cell is working perfectly.

 

[dfaith]

thanks for the reply Jason. Yes, I did have the controller on boost (had been for hours) before checking at the union fitting. My pool service person just called me and said they spoke with Autopilot and they are telling them a new controller is needed.

Since this unit is 4 hours old and I'll need to replace the cell in another year, I'm going to bite the bullet and get rid of the Autpilot which has been problematic for some time. I don't want to invest another dime in the that unreliable unit and I don't need all the bells and whistles- just a reliable system that produces chlorine on a consistent basis. Pool service company is telling me most reliable units they see are Jandy and Goldline and will provide me with a quote tomorrow. Any comments on these two systems?

 

[JasonLion]

I like the AquaRite, though I like AutoPilot better. None of them are completely reliable, Hayward and Jandy seem to have just as many problems as AutoPilot.