My original Aquarite SWG control box/boards have been in service since 2002. The board's fw is r1.1 and other than replacing a thermistor, they work fine.
I have replaced the T-15 cells with Hayward units a number of times over the years and the unit is always happy with that and works fine until I eventually deplete the generation capacity of the cell. My 40K gallon pool size is, of course, very borderline for a T-15 in the Texas summers and I need to run my VS pump virtually all day in the summers to keep the chlorine levels up and the pool happy.
My question is: I see many non-OEM T-15 cells from various manufacturers. Invariably they say they require Aquarite fw level r1.5 or newer.
Does anyone really know why/what the fw level r1.5 has to do with the operation that only certain cells will work? I recognize that buying a knock-off is sometimes buying a pig-in-a-poke but if they'll work fine and supply chlorine in the same capacity a Hayward/Aquarite T-15 will, why not save a few hundred over the life?
Can anyone shed any factual info about the release levels of the boards and why there would be this requirement for fw v1.5+ for certain compatible cell brands?
I have replaced the T-15 cells with Hayward units a number of times over the years and the unit is always happy with that and works fine until I eventually deplete the generation capacity of the cell. My 40K gallon pool size is, of course, very borderline for a T-15 in the Texas summers and I need to run my VS pump virtually all day in the summers to keep the chlorine levels up and the pool happy.
My question is: I see many non-OEM T-15 cells from various manufacturers. Invariably they say they require Aquarite fw level r1.5 or newer.
Does anyone really know why/what the fw level r1.5 has to do with the operation that only certain cells will work? I recognize that buying a knock-off is sometimes buying a pig-in-a-poke but if they'll work fine and supply chlorine in the same capacity a Hayward/Aquarite T-15 will, why not save a few hundred over the life?
Can anyone shed any factual info about the release levels of the boards and why there would be this requirement for fw v1.5+ for certain compatible cell brands?