Bad Cell or Power Center?

[aaronleahy]

I have a Pentair iChlor 30 that is just under 5 years old (installed Aug 2018). Today I noticed that no lights were on and my FC was way down. Went ahead and replaced the Power Center fuse (10a mini blade) and the new one instantly blew. Fuse remains good when the cell is disconnected.
I know this normally means the cell is bad, but I went ahead and metered out the power center just to be sure everything was good there - but what I found was interesting. The transformer to the power center was showing about 31.5vac which seems reasonably close to the expected 28vac. However, the output from the surge card to the cell connector was only 28vdc, well under the 40vdc.

Would this point to a surge card issue rather than a bad cell?

Thanks in advance!
-Aaron

 

[Jimrahbe]

Aaron,

I would not think the fuse would blow if the only problem was the low volts out of the surge card.

At five years I'd bet it is the cell.

It could also be that they are both bad, but I doubt it.

I know of no way to know for sure.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[aaronleahy]

I was thinking that when you connect the cell it would pull more amps since the voltage is lower and thus pop the fuse. The fuse remains good if the cell is disconnected.
It's a bummer there's not a better way to troubleshoot these rather than just buy new products and see which works. I'm not sure why some people report seeing ~40v out of the power center, I'm getting 28v, and on top of that Pentair lists "Output: 22-39 VDC @ 7.5 AMPS maximum from the Power Center" Not much to go on.

I also forgot to mention, the salt cell (and whole system) was powered down for about 18 months during the pool remodel. So that brings the total operational time down to about ~3 years or so. Not unreasonable, but I would have hoped for a bit more.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Aaron,

I have an EasyTouch with an internal SWCG power center.

When I measure the DC voltage going to the cell, it is about 35 VDC when the cell is making chlorine and about 40 VDC when the cell is at rest and not making chlorine. It is not a well regulated power supply...

The lower the voltage the lower the current..

If it is blowing the fuse, it probably does not matter, as it is most likely a dead short inside the cell.

I have an IntelliChlor and they tend to last 5 to 7 years. But.. that is the lifespan of the plates that make the chlorine. Other things can fail that have nothing to do with the normal lifespan.

We do not recommend the iChlor as we have seen too many failures..

Pentair iChlor

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[aaronleahy]

Thanks for the help Jim!
I'll go ahead and order a new cell and update here with the resolution for reference.

 

[aaronleahy]

Replacement cell resolved the issue. Also took care of the fact that I have not received any salt level indication in Easytouch for the past few years.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Jimrahbe]

Aaron,

Glad you got it working again...

Where did you buy the cell.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[aaronleahy]

Jim,
I purchased from the link you provided in the post, at Polytec Pools. Ordered late Sunday night, it arrived first thing Tuesday morning. Can't beat that.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Aaron,

I have bought several things from them and have been impressed with their overall operation. I only recommend places that I have actually used and always on the lookout for other opinions. I'd hate to recommend places that did not live up to expectations. Glad you had a positive experience.

Thanks,

Jim R.