Circupool SI vs SI+ vs SJ

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This is my second season (May-Oct) with a Circupool Si60, it's been great so far, but found that the control unit had no power yesterday; the fuse had blown. Replaced it, and the new one blew instantly :(.

Am having to return the unit to Discount Salt pool for repair/replacement, and hope that the issue is resolved. I'll keep you informed as to how things go, by the time I get the unit back it will probably be time to close the pool for the winter anyway.
 
I have a SI 30+ and I'm at the end of my second year with no problems.

It seems to be quite PH sensitive, and prone to clogging. My salt is a bit high ~ 4000, and I run mine at 20% because I have solar heated water, so whenever the pump is running the SWG is running. As the system begins to clog up, I can tell because my salt reading starts dropping. I clean it with a high pressure nozzle and I try to avoid using acid.

I borated my pool this year and that has greatly helped to stabilize my PH, as the SWG tries to push it upward.

Having said all of that, I used to have a Hayward SWG, and IMO, it seemed to be more forgiving, but they are quite expensive. being a cheapskate, and a hands on one at that, I'm happy with my Circupool at this time.
 
Hi all,
Just joined this forum while looking into info/troubleshooting on a Circupool SI 60 for a potential customer. Up until the other day I have never heard of Circupool. Normally I service Hayward/Aqua Rite generators for a local pool guy and some commercial customers. Within the next few days I should have some insight on the blown fuse issue. On Hayward generators, when the fuse blows, it's generally a bad full wave bridge rectifier that does the dirty deed. When this customer texted me pics of her unit, I couldn't believe the uncanny resemblance to the Aqua-Rite. Although the layout is a little different, the components look the same, but disassembly will tell all. My guess is that the original SI series was a Chinese knockoff of the Aqua Rite, I'll report back.
Thanks for being here,
Bart G.
 
I spoke with Discount about my fuses slow blowing (3 times now). They were very nice to talk to, but didn't offer many suggestions. He said that the fuse should blow instantly if there's a controller board issue. I question this though because mine seems to run VERY warm and it seems like it's slowly melting the fuse. It's almost too hot to touch the front panel if you crank it up to 100%.. but I usually only run my around 20%, but he said that's normal operation. I live in Michigan.. I can't imagine what this thing is like if it were running in the AZ desert.

He said there were basically only two reasons why it should slow blow (due to high cell current): either your salt levels are way too high (4500+), or there is some scaling or foreign particle stuck on the cell plates. My salt level is at 3500 per the Taylor drop test (control panel reads 3600). My cell has zero scaling but he asked me to clean it with muratic acide/water solution anyway. Nothing came off it when I cleaned it, but that third fuse still hasn't blown. He gave me an RMA number to send it back (at my own shipping cost), but I've been waiting to see if it blows again first.

My PH is almost always 7.5. I usually dose it down to 7.2 and let it rise over the next couple weeks. I've had zero scaling at all after a summer of usage. I just wish it would stop blowing fuses.
 
Any update on the fuse issues? I just placed an order on the SI30. But the prices on amazon for RJ30, and hayward aquarite 30 are similar. If these circupool models are really unreliable, I'm really leaning towards cancelling my order and going with the hayward.
 
I sent it in to Discount and it was repaired under warranty. They replaced a couple bridge rectifiers as I recall. My pool was closed for the season by the time I finally sent it in, so I won't know if the problem is truly fixed until I open in a month or two.
 
Thanks nx240, your advise is always appreciated.
sackmonkey said:
I sent it in to Discount and it was repaired under warranty. They replaced a couple bridge rectifiers as I recall. My pool was closed for the season by the time I finally sent it in, so I won't know if the problem is truly fixed until I open in a month or two.
Click to expand...

If you had the option of a smaller hayward system or a new circupool system, would you still go with the circupool? I think hayward covers everything in full for 3 years, and if their common source of faliure has been fixed as the post here indicates: Hayward vs Circupool RJ45 SWG - Page 2
I would imagine the hayward system is the clear stress free choice for 3 years.
 
The Circupool RJ series was never a consideration for me. I think I'd still go with the Si series over either of them, honestly. But I may change that opinion after a month or two. I feel like I don't have enough data to make a firm conclusion (or recommendation) quite yet.
 
If I had seen the fuse blowing issue you had with the circupool, I would probably be one of the people blowing them selves up trying to make their own chlorine generator. Hopefully I'd have better luck since we make chlorine at work. Either way, it's a shame these manufacturers can't get this stuff right. I mean all it does is throw electricity across salt to make chlorine. It couldn't be any more simple. It's ridiculous that these things aren't rock solid.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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discount was definitely recommending the RJ over the Si claiming it's more durable, and has a feature rich control unit. The manuals indicated they are the same, except for the avg. salinity button on the RJ, and the si has a bulkier closed panel box that I thought would be durable.

The SJs seem to be the original design, and wouldn't work with hayward or pentair cells in the future. Did you say you would probably pick the circupool over the hayward? I'm under the impression the hayward works better at low pump speeds and is more forgiving with salinity. The support for the hayward is strong on TFP but it puts out only a bit more than half the chlorine of the si30.
 
I had a hard time finding the Si model on discount's website so that tells me they are ditching that model as a choice. With all their problems they have had I would bother with those units. My .02, go with the Hayward AquaRite.
 
Jcgage0 said:
I'm shopping for SWG systems on discount salt pool right now and was starting to lean towards either an SJ55 or RJ45.

Do any of you have updates on your experience with Circupool models. The leak issues and the fuse issues?
Click to expand...
I have a RJ60+ unit that has been running for 6 mos. Great unit, able to be increase or decrease run % in 5% increments, easy to use and gets the job done. Between that, my Doheny Discovery robot and my TF100 test kit, I am a happy pool owner!
 
Hi Jcgage0,
I've been away from this site for a while, but here is an updated on my Circupool fuse blowing issue. I sent the controller (white rectangular metal box with display in the middle) on my dime of shipping charge.
The problem was the design which shorted cell's output trace of the PCB to the metal box where the PCB is mounted (bottom right mounting screw). This in turn fried one of the voltage rectifiers (turns AC to DC) in the box. I would have replaced the part and corrected the shorting condition myself, but I wanted Circupool to determine if there was anything else wrong. There wasn't. Anyway, got the controller back and yes they sent me the same PCB back including the original burn marks on the PCB. I added insulation (electrical tape) underneath where the PCB is mounted to the metal box.

Everything since then is operation and has not blown a fuse ever since.

One thing though is that Circupool doesn't sell the same version of controller box anylonger and looks like moved to the RJ series. Looks like a better design but you can't tell what's on the inside.

Right now I am fighting no chlorine readings and pool is really clear.....I am going to get a TF100 test kit since I am at my wits end. Had this problem last year and no again this year.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and one other thing, I have never had my chlorine generating cell crack or leak.
 
Hey mdwallace,

Thanks for the tip on the circuit short. I'm going to take a look at my PCB and see if it has a similar defect (that apparently Discount isn't aware of!).

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I'm hoping it's helpful. Let me summarize my experience with this piece of garbage Circupool Si-60 system:

Season 1: blew fuses about once every 2-3 weeks (though once I had a fuse blow in a single day). It's clearly a heat issue, even though I'm in a temperate area (Michigan). It is NOT a sudden short circuit.. all the fuses look like they slowly melted the plastic. I waited until the end of our short swim season to send it to Discount for "repairs" (HAH!). They replaced the two bridge rectifiers, which wasn't relevant to the fuses melting (I didn't know this until Season 2). Cost was $40 to me for shipping (to them). This first season, I kept the controller knob seat at around 15-20% and that was plenty to make tons of chlorine.
Season 2: blew more fuses. I kept a stock of 15 amp automotive fuses on hand and checked the controller every several days to make sure it was still alive. It *seemed* like it was going longer between blows and that it correlated to keeping the CYA levels a little higher (80~90ppm instead of 65~75). The second season, I had to keep the setting up around 50% for some reason to get the same chlorine output.
Season 3 (this year): blew more fuses. I can't see the point in sending it to them when I know they're not going to fix the core problem and I'm now paying 75% of the costs + 100% shipping. (admittedly, I never bothered to call them and complain.. it's just not worth my frustration) Half way through this season, the entire controller display and LEDs started to flicker and stop working. Eventually it wouldn't even power up. Looking inside, it's very clear that the bridge rectifiers were getting HOT and the AC lines going to them were so hot that they'd started to melt the insulation right off! The spade connectors were even loose from the thermal fatigue. Even though I have 25% of my prorated warranty left, I decided against sending it back to Discount. Instead, I ordered a 5-pack of rectifiers for a whopping $5 shipped (metal bodies, rather than the plastic ones that were in there.. otherwise identical). I just swapped them in (and replaced one of the weak spade terminals) and it powered right up. I'm currently making chlorine again and can stop using pucks. :D

If you choose to do this yourself, please make sure to disconnect AC power and be very careful. Use good thermal paste on the new parts. I got the part numbers off the old rectifiers and just searched for them on Amazon. Piece of cake.

Now I'm going to go look for that short circuit on the PCB that you mentioned.. maybe I can solve the actual source of the heat issue...

Short version: I DO NOT recommend Circupool products and would NOT purchase them again in the future.

Rob
 
I found the same issue was happening on my PCB. The backside of the output driver solder joints were touching the metal frame of the box. There were two dots where the solder had poked through the white paint. I added 7-8 layers of electrical tape, as well as a few on the lower standoffs so that the board would be lifted out a couple mm's from the metal. It's working like a charm. I measured a peak surface temp on the panel of only 108F using an infrared pyrometer. I didn't think to measure it before the fix, but previously it would get so incredibly hot that you couldn't even hold your hand touching the surface for more than a few seconds.

THANK YOU for the tip, mdwallace!
 
I'm completing my fourth year with a SI30+ and it's still cranking it out.

My biggest problem is getting it started each season. The salt reading system has a mind of it's own and regardless of your "true salt", it's hard to get to the correct level of what the SWG wants to be at. In my case that creates a tendency to accidentally over salt. (I also use borates)

In my case, it has been a royal PIA to get it "set", and tech support has even monkeyed around with the cell identification system to get me into the right parameters. But once it's dialed in it runs great if you keep the Ph just a tad on the low side.

IMO, the Circupool is a great cell, but is much less forgiving than Hayward.
 
I take back my comments. I felt it the other day and it was cooking hot again (140 degF on the panel surface). It must have been cycling when I tried it the first time. Also, I saw the overall power flicker a bit again.. tapping the panel made it come back to life. I only replaced one of the two AC line spade terminals that feed into the bridge rectifiers, so hopefully the other one is getting loose and just needs to be replaced.

Can someone with a properly functioning control box please do a quick temperature measurement of the front panel to give me a frame of reference? I basically just open the front door and take a quick reading. If you wait too long with the door open the reading will drop a few degrees, so I try to do it quickly.

My salt sensor reading seems to wander a lot too. So far it's stayed within bounds to keep running though.
 

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