Revisiting, 'aquarite not generating, all lights off'.

[Scott_From_Florida]

I recently had an issue with my Aquarite salt generator. I perused the forum and found this thread which seems to offer the best recommendations:

http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/17562-Aquarite-Not-generating-lights-not-on

I have purchased the defective part-there were burn marks on the brown spacer-like pieces between the board and the top of the resistor, so I imagine that is the culprit.

The question I have is the resistor does not come with the spacers. Do I need to get these spacers for the resistor or can I just remove and resolder the resistor without them? If I do need the spacers, where can I get those as well? Digikey?

Also, the thread I mention refers to a different resistor; I orders one that has the same number on the one that is on my mother board.

Thanks in advance.

 

[JamesW]

You don't need spacers. Just unsolder the old one and solder the new one in the same holes. Make sure that the legs stick through the board a little bit.

 

[Scott_From_Florida]

You don't need spacers. Just unsolder the old one and solder the new one in the same holes. Make sure that the legs stick through the board a little bit.

Is there a specific type of solder I should use?

Thanks again.

 

[JamesW]

A basic rosin core solder is a good choice. Lead based solder is easier to work with due to its lower melting temperature. However, since the thermistor runs hot, I sometimes use lead free solder.

 

[Scott_From_Florida]

A basic rosin core solder is a good choice. Lead based solder is easier to work with due to its lower melting temperature. However, since the thermistor runs hot, I sometimes use lead free solder.

I am having an issue; I cannot get the new thermistor to take on solder. I want to be careful and not burn up the electronics, right? Why won't the solder adhere?

 

[JamesW]

If you heat up the solder over the holes in the board, you should be able to melt the solder enough to get the legs of the thermistor to go through. Then make sure that you're heating the legs and the spot where the legs go through. Don't touch the solder to the soldering iron. The legs have to get hot enough so that when you touch the solder to them, the solder melts. The board has heat shields, so it's unlikely that you would damage the board.

 

[Scott_From_Florida]

I held the soldering iron to one of the legs for a good 3-4 minutes and it still wouldnt adhere. The thermistor was getting hot.

 

[JamesW]

It can be a little tricky. Perhaps review a few YouTube videos on soldering to help improve your technique. Or, perhaps you could take it to a local repair shop that does electronics (tv, computer etc.).

 

[n240sxguy]

Good luck is all I can add. I couldn't solder with an acetylene torch. There is definitely an art to it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bama Rambler]

What wattage soldering iron do you have?
What solder do you have? (Tin to Lead %)

A 25 watt iron is going to have a hard time getting the parts hot enough to flow the solder well.

 

[Scott_From_Florida]

Good luck is all I can add. I couldn't solder with an acetylene torch. There is definitely an art to it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yea, I am gonna take it to a electronics guy locally. One last question: is there a direction that the thermistor needs to go in?

- - - Updated - - -

What wattage soldering iron do you have?
What solder do you have? (Tin to Lead %)

A 25 watt iron is going to have a hard time getting the parts hot enough to flow the solder well.

It's a cheap 30 watt iron. The solder is:

Make clean solder joints with this rosin core solder, packed in a poly tube dispenser. The rosin core solder is ideal for low temperature electronics soldering with a 430 degree Fahrenheit melting point.
Lead-free to prevent toxic contamination
430 degree Fahrenheit melting point
Composition: 96% tin, 4% silver solder
Wire diameter: 0.030" (0.77 mm)

 

[Bama Rambler]

That's a pretty high melting point for a small iron. Taking it to an electronics guy is probably your best bet.

The current limiter isn't polarity specific.

 

[Scott_From_Florida]

Done. Reinstalled and seems to be running correctly. Thanks for the guidance, ya'll.

 

[JamesW]

 

[yam007]

I just did mine last night and it was difficult to un solder the old one. It ended up breaking at the end and I solder the new one on top. The new issue I did notice is that the piece sticks out too high since it didn't go through the board and it touches the face plate/cover. It is running perfect but it worries me that the metal touching it may cause an issue. My soldering skills are not good and my gun was not powerful enough. I found another solution on ebay which is a few sellers that will repair the board for $65 + $6 shipping. I also found rebuilt boards on Ebay for $70 and I think they require an old one. I thought this was reasonable. I'll watch mine and see if it holds but the soldering that was originally there is done by a machine because that thing did not move. I thank this forum and youtube for the info. Even the guy at Pinch a Penny mentioned that he had heard about the quarter size part going bad but they don't repair it, they just replace the board for over $300(ouch). I fixed mine for $10 part and shipping from digikey.com. Also beware of ordering the right part number. I ended up ordering two different ones based on recommendations I had read here but you must look on the side of the part on the board to get the number printed on it. Thanks again to all.

 

[yam007]

That's what my piece of art looks like. Not one at all but it held in place and system is up and running. It was almost impossible to remove old solder and inset new part through the board. I ended up breaking the legs at the end and attaching to that but now it sticks out a bit too much and touches the panel board. I may end up buying a backup rebuilt board on ebay. I found for like $70.

 

[Bama Rambler]

In order to do a good job on that, you need a good solder sucker or some good solder wicking. And a good pencil iron doesn't hurt.

You could have clipped the leads off a little to get it closer to the lands.