Replacing a Jandy Aquapure with????????

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B

Bart

LifeTime Supporter
Jan 24, 2010
309
Northern Virginia
I've had a Jandy Aquapure 1400 since I opened the pool 4 years ago, and it's in the process of dying. I think it's actually already dead.

What should I replace it with?

Obviously swapping out the cell is quick, easy and relatively inexpensive, but I'm wondering if there are better models on the market nowadays? My Aquapure 1400 is rated for a 40K gallon pool and mine is supposedly 30K gallons. I've had to run it at 75% to keep the chlorine levels correct, so ideally, I'd like to get one with more power so I can run it at lower level.

The only reason why I got the Aquapure is that was pretty much the only option the PB gave me, but that was in 2010 and I'm wondering if advances have been made.

So I guess the question is, if you were putting in a new pool with a new SWG in 2014/15, what brand would you pick?

Thanks!
Bart
 
Usually I suggest to run the SWG with a high % output so you can keep the pump run time down. Are you concerned on how much electricity you have been using? Switching to a two-speed or VS pump might make a lot of sense so you can save on electricity and get the needed longer pump run time on slow speed.

If all you want to do is install a larger system then I suggest an AutoPilot 60K gallon system. If you have automation, then the Pentair SWG would be a good option.
 
Bart, if you decide to get rid of your Jandy, touch base with me. I may need a couple of parts from what you're getting rid of. :)

I've researched salt systems pretty well and can't find any mention that running a high % salt production is bad for the unit. I'm pretty sure that, as long as it's meeting the chlorine needs of your pool, that's all that matters.

You say it's dying/dead. What error codes are you getting? The salt cell itself has a life expectancy of about 5 years. You may just need to replace the salt cell. But the error codes (as well as testing your FC) would tell you for sure.
 
Thanks folks!

ddas - my error codes are 125 and 194. I had those same codes earlier this summer and cleaned the cell and they went away.............but a month later, they came back. ;-(

ping - I have solar heat so I have to run the pump all day. I have a single speed pump. Does that change anything in your advice?

Thanks again,
Bart
 
Have you cleaned the cell again? Cells can get a build up in less than a month if the water balance is not right for the cell. If the cell is clean then I believe the cell is failing or has died already.

As far as the pump recommendation goes, if your electrical rates are high then it would pay off to go the VS or VF route as the pump will pay for itself over a few years. With one of those pumps you could also dial in the optimum flow rate for the solar panels. I'm assuming your electrical rates are high because you are wanting to reduce the pump run time.

An ideal situation, with money being no object, is having automation controlling everything and having a VS or VF pump to dial in the system flow rate depending on demand.

I'm not sure how much more swimming you have this year, you might want to use liquid chlorine for now and do some more research until you are satisfied with your decision.
 
Thanks Ping.

I haven't cleaned the cell again, but I'll do it and see what happens. Since it died, I've been using chlorine granules and pucks and I have to say, I've really enjoyed not having to constantly add muriatic acid to deal with the pH rise! At this point I'm wondering what is more cost effective - - - buying and adding chorine weekly or buying and adding acid weekly?!?!?!

One more question.............in other threads I (think I) remember you giving cell cleaning advice at a 10 to 1 ratio (water to acid) but my manual says use a 4 to 1 ratio. Which one is correct? And did my higher acid ratio do damage to the cell?

THanks,
Bart
 
There is not a correct answer to the 10:1 or 4:1 ratio, but I recommend starting off with the 10:1 and if that doesn't work add some more acid to the mix. I would not go stronger than 4:1 though. I can't say if you damaged the cell with the stronger mix, but each time you do clean the cell it takes a bit of life away from it. Four years is a decent amount of time for a 30,000 gallon pool with that cell.

Post a set of current test numbers and we can see if something could be tweaked to give you better performance. Also post what your fill water tests are.

How much acid are you using weekly? If you switch to pucks then you might have to add borax or soda ash to raise the pH.
 
Thanks. Will do but it will take a couple of days..................to further complicate my problems, the pool is not where I live during the week so I only maintain it on the weekend.

My all test numbers were all in the normal range except for Calcium Hardness which is somewhere around 500-600 (I have trouble getting a proper reading on that one for some reason) and my TA was slightly high - - around 100. I've been trying to bring it down by aeration/acid treatments, but it hasn't really moved in 2 years of trying. For most of the summer I used rain as my fill water (at the suggestion of someone on TFP) via piping in the roof/gutter water, but previously I've been using well water. I can post those results too though.

I did add borax a couple years ago which helped my acid use, but I still probably go though a half gallon a week, maybe a little less. I try to keep my pH down around 7.2 because I had a major scale problem one year at pool opening and I still get little scale "dots" showing up here and there if the pH goes up.
 
In your case, I would keep the SWG or run a Stenner pump to inject liquid chlorine, as the other methods make it difficult to keep the pool chlorinated properly with weekly visits.

It looks like the CSI might be positive and that is causing the scale to form in the cell. Keeping the CSI negative will reduce or eliminate the scaling inside the cell.
 
ping said:
but each time you do clean the cell it takes a bit of life away from it.
Click to expand...


I could imagine that the process of taking the chlorinator out of the pump circuit to perform any preventative maintenance could be risky if one is clumsy in handling it or if you use a screwdriver to clean off the last bits of scale. But SWG electrodes are typically made from precious metals (e.g. platinum, ruthenium, iridium, etc.) that will not care about the acid. How does cleaning the cell "take a bit of life away from it"?
 

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ping said:
Post a set of current test numbers and we can see if something could be tweaked to give you better performance. Also post what your fill water tests are.

How much acid are you using weekly? If you switch to pucks then you might have to add borax or soda ash to raise the pH.
Click to expand...


This is crazy. My test results have been just about the same week after week for 2 years or so, but now they look very different. Also crazy is that my SWG seems to be running fine, has no error codes and no longer says "service".

The SWG "died" about 3 weeks ago (I noticed cloudy water and then noticed the error codes and the "service" message.) At the time I was running at 70%. Cleaning the cell did nothing to fix the problem so I shocked the pool with chlorine granules and added chlorine pucks to the skimmers. I did the same thing the following week. Yesterday I checked the numbers (below) and the chlorine was VERY high. Other numbers were a little wacky too (also below). The previous week I turned the SWG down to 30%

Here are my numbers - the first one is the current reading, the one in parenthesis is my typical reading for the entire summer:

Salt 3300
SWG 30% / (70%)

FC 25 ! / (4.0)
CC 0 / (0)
TC 25 / (4.0)
pH 6.8 / (7.2)
TA 120 / (100)
CH 350 / (550)
CYA 70 / (60)
Temp 88 / (85)
Borates 50 / (60)

Notes - I have trouble doing the CH test. The sample never turns blue (or whatever color it's supposed to) so I take my result when it turns clear
pH is very low because after cleaning the SWG I dumped the acid into the pool so it lowered it and with the SWG not working, I didn't get my normal weekly bump
FC has never been anywhere near this high!

I didn't add any additional chlorine this week and kept the SWG at 30%, so it will be interesting to see what happens later this week.
 
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