Aquapure 1400 121 Error

[santacruzpool]

@PoolGate

I have had a similar issue to what you reported just before your unit died for good - "Aquapure Not Found". This has been happening for 5 years now - fortunately it only happens every once in a while (more often on really hot days). If I restart the pump things usally start working...

I had several tech visits and finally the Jandy area Rep came out and eventually replaced my control board, wiring and everything involved except for the cell.

My Aquapure still goes missing in the iAqualink...just not as often.

I think I originally had the old 2 pin setup and they upgraded me to the 3 pin with cable and setup. I asked why they don't have error tracking and logging functions so I could keep track of how often it happens.

Sometimes when I am in the yard I hear my panel beep, but I can never capture what it is getting upset about or any error. I wonder what it is complaining about.

I expect my cell will need to be replaced at some point soon as it is 5 years old...

I do have an extra cable and board sitting in my pool closet if I ever need it...wish I had an extra cell.

Thanks for your photos of the damaged plates - sure looks like a simple fix to replace just those and save a bunch of money compared to a new cell from a Jandy stealer...

 

[PoolGate]

OK, the dimensions are the same as a T-9.

So, I would expect that the plates probably come from the same manufacturer and the production is probably the same as a T-9.

What is the plate thickness? Maybe stack all up and measure to make it easier to measure.

What is the plate spacing? Total outside to outside when assembled?

Spacing looks to be exactly 2". Blade thickness according the below pic is .040.

 

[PoolGate]

@PoolGate

I have had a similar issue to what you reported just before your unit died for good - "Aquapure Not Found". This has been happening for 5 years now - fortunately it only happens every once in a while (more often on really hot days). If I restart the pump things usally start working...

I had several tech visits and finally the Jandy area Rep came out and eventually replaced my control board, wiring and everything involved except for the cell.

My Aquapure still goes missing in the iAqualink...just not as often.

I think I originally had the old 2 pin setup and they upgraded me to the 3 pin with cable and setup. I asked why they don't have error tracking and logging functions so I could keep track of how often it happens.

Sometimes when I am in the yard I hear my panel beep, but I can never capture what it is getting upset about or any error. I wonder what it is complaining about.

I expect my cell will need to be replaced at some point soon as it is 5 years old...

I do have an extra cable and board sitting in my pool closet if I ever need it...wish I had an extra cell.

Thanks for your photos of the damaged plates - sure looks like a simple fix to replace just those and save a bunch of money compared to a new cell from a Jandy stealer...

I'm not too concerned about it "losing" the SWG since it appears it is still running, just not accessible via Aqualink. Thanks for the service note I thought about getting a service call but won't now. Anyway I am out of warranty at this point.

I am also wondering if I could weld the broken piece back on. Would really be nice if someone sold just a replacement center electrode!

 

[PoolGate]

In my opinion, the pins need to be sealed better. In my opinion, it’s a design flaw since so many failures occur due to leaks at the pins.

Maybe some sort of permanent sealant like epoxy.

Note that my earlier estimate of the amperage for the unit was based on the assumption that the plates were the same as a T-15.

Now that we know that they are the same as a T-9, the amperage at 5.5 is more in line with expectations.

I made a minor change to my write-up. After looking further, there is actually 2 orings in each hole for sealing the electrodes. And I agree, a better sealing mechanism would make this unit last a lot longer. I think I am going to take my new cell apart and put some epoxy in those holes. The only reason to have that even able to come apart is for servicing. And since there are no serviceable parts, it wouldn't hurt to seal that up better.

Am I correct in thinking it corrodes at that point due to being exposed to the air once it starts leaking? I would say even adding some more lube to the orings would help. I did not see any lube at all on the one I took apart. It appears that when the screws are tightened, they squish the orings to make them seal better. So any loosening of that top piece would cause the electrodes to leak. And it wasn't really that tight when I took it apart it didn't take any force at all on the screwdriver on either of the 2 screws.

 

[JamesW]

Am I correct in thinking it corrodes at that point due to being exposed to the air once it starts leaking?

Possibly partly due to air exposure.

While generating, there is chlorine gas or hydrogen gas generated depending on the polarity.

The gas and water exposure probably damages the metal.

 

[PoolGate]

Great writeup. Thanks. The failure is what I suspected.



What are the dimensions of the plates?

Here are the dimensions of the Hayward plates for comparison.

T-15 has 13 Titanium Plates, 150 x 63mm. Produces 1.47 lbs/day.

T-9 has 13 Titanium Plates, 101 x 63mm. Produces 0.98 lbs/day.

T-5 has 7 Titanium plate, 150 x 63mm. Produces 0.735 lbs/day.

T-3 has 7 Titanium Plates, 101 x 63mm. Produces 0.53 lbs/day.

I would expect that the amount of chlorine produced per amount of surface area would be similar.

According to Jandy:

Chlorine: 1.25 lb. / 24 Hr. (567 gm / 24 Hr.)

 

[JC707]

Awesome info guys! So guess it doesn't matter if you go aquapure or Fusion soft...both have this design flaw. Send these pics to Jandy, maybe they'll update the cell?

 

[JC707]

Forgive my dumb question, but is there a way to prevent this issue from happening? Will this happen eventually to all Jandy salt cells? I can't help but think if this is widespread they would change the cell to resolve this?

 

[JamesW]

According to Jandy:

Chlorine: 1.25 lb. / 24 Hr. (567 gm / 24 Hr.)

Since the plate surface area is the same as the T-9, I would expect that the production would be about the same.

The manufacturers have some room about how they want to rate the output. So, that probably accounts for the difference in rated output.

 

[JamesW]

Forgive my dumb question, but is there a way to prevent this issue from happening? Will this happen eventually to all Jandy salt cells? I can't help but think if this is widespread they would change the cell to resolve this?

It's a known problem. They need to permanently seal the pins as there's no reason to service anything. I don't know what percentage it happens to, but it's too many although probably not all.

 

[PoolGate]

The new cell they sent me does appear to be a slightly different design than the old/bad one. It has a bulge right where the pins enter the top part. So I guess they are aware and hopefully working on it. Knowing what I know now, I will check that area several times a year to see if any leaks are present.

Here is the new cell. You can just make out the bulge. All 3 pins have this.

 

[chlorinatorpro]

There isn't much to the salt cell. I am having difficulty understanding the $750 price tag. I am not sure what rare metals used but I can't believe they are that much.

A common misconception amongst pool owners. The precious rare earth minerals on the plates , ruthenium and iridium, have zoomed in price by 400%+ in the past two years. It's almost like having gold on the plates, lol. Plus think of the engineering and production costs that went into mass producing these cells. And the overhead.

Prices will continue to go up in my opinion. Generics can sell lower since they usually don't have the overhead. Although some disreputable generics will reduce the amount of material on the plates to 3000 hours (from the normal 7000- 10000) because it's impossible for the buyer to see or measure the plate thickness. Like buying a diamond and putting your entire faith in a jeweler.

 

[PoolGate]

Epilogue: O...M....G.... I just got a call from the warranty company telling me, "Good news! We got the parts and are ready to install them!". I was like are you serious? I did this myself over a month ago. I told them I honestly thought they forgot about me. They claimed they have been fighting with Zodiac all this time on the cable but got the cell in a month ago. Meanwhile no one ever got back to me on anything or called me back at all about it. They were even supposed to give me 3 quotes on other pool related stuff. Wow customer service is dead.