aquarite dead? generic cells for hayward aquarite?

[chiefwej]

Each cell T-3, T-9, T-15 will produce a specific quantity of chlorine before it is depleted. Somewhere there is a chart that tells how many pounds of chlorine each one will produce over it's lifespan, as well as how much it can produce in a 24 period at a 100% setting. Since the output control setting simply cycles the power to the cell on and off, I don't see how the cell would be used up when it just setting there turned off. I suppose you could have your water chemistry so far off that it might damage it, but other than that, it shouldn't matter the size of the pool it's supplying, it will still put out X amount of total chlorine over the lifespan.

UPDATE: I found the chart, so you can compare the cost vs total lifetime output of each size cell. Figure the relative value for yourself.

T-3 = 210 pounds
T-9 = 385 pounds
T-15= 580 pounds
**Equivalent pounds of Trichlor produced over the lifetime of the cell with properly maintained cell and water chemistry.

 

[bonanz]

Has a cell ever broken down before it output the exact amount of manufacturer advertised chlorine? has one ever output more?

has anyone every been able to independently verify the chlorine output in pounds from a unit installed in the field?

Are there factors that play into the deterioration of cell plates other than the amount of hours and the % at which they are set?

nobody says "I replaced my cell after it died at around 10k lbs of chlorine generation." They only can tell you the time in service which seems to fluctuate to a large degree.

You just can't say with any real certainty that the frequency of replacement is reduced with a "slow and low" cell setup. You can take solace in the fact it uses less electricity during its useful life, but you can't call any cell's death date, even if you set up your run cycles justd so and never change them. as far as I'm aware, nobody has collected any empirical data with any accuracy that can confirm this either.

Is it likely the case? it's plausible.

edit: it's the same reason these generic's can exist and nobody can tell you with any certainty if they're as good in terms of how long between replacements. I'm sure they publish some numbers too about how much they can generate and you can do some algebra on a timer schedule and pool stats and get a number, but will it actually last that long? It takes years of people trying them and a few anecdotes of them dying around 2 years or so that people start to form an opinion. how did those 2 years compare with the chlorine amount output for their particular cycle setup and pool? nobody has that info. hayward warranties theirs for 3, let's say you get 5? was that close to the chlorine amount expected? nobody ever has that data to confirm. they just figure meh, 5 is pretty good, it's due no biggie. etc. when really it should have put out a lot more lbs of chlorine according to their usage, but we'll never know. maybe with just the right circumstances someone could say, I ran it on this schedule. i never had to close the pool I checked my FC and it was always around 7 and my pool is this big and here's my schedule and if I reverse engineer how many lbs it's have to generate with those parameter assuming perfect water balance and any other factors. you could figure out a rough number of chlorine generated to determine if a cell came anywhere near it's advertised output.

 

[ping]

If you have to run the pool pump longer to make enough chlorine with the T-9 cell, then going to a larger cell is a must to save money on electrical costs and it will save a little bit on the cell over its life. If you don't have to run the cell near 100% during the summer months, then stick with the T-9 cell if you want to save some upfront money.

Not all cells, that are the same size, last the same amount of time in the real world is true due to many factors, but they should come very close to making the same amount of chlorine during that time. The ones that make less chlorine are most likely acid washed and each time they are acid washed they will lose some of their lifespan. If one uses a strong mix of acid to water then they can significantly reduce the lifespan.

 

[Jaimslaw]

I assume there is (or remains) a consensus that it is the degradation of the plate surface or coating that diminishes the lifespan of the cell, correct? (Not saying such a consensus establishes this as fact).

Also wondering if quality of parts other than the plates factors into the life of an otherwise non factory defective cell (ie, other than the obvious cell death in a relatively short time).

 

[gotsno]

Wow my head is going to explode. LOL Not to hijack but after reading all of this does anyone know any details about the Hayward AquaTrol? They say it uses a T-5 cell. But I can not find any info on the T-5 cell. I have an above ground pool and my old Intex saltwater system gave up the ghost after 6years. The Intex unit did not do a bad job the first four years but the pool was only about 15,000 gallons then we upgraded to a 22,000 gallon pool and the intex could not keep up very well. Are they Hayward salt units that much better?

 

[ping]

They are rated for 18,000 gallons, so not much more than the Intex. You could always run 2 Intex's in series.

Hayward is a reliable brand and seems to be recommended most often lately.