Blue Essence-20 SWG + Blue Works T-3 Cell not producing chlorine

[smh68]

HELP! My lifelong dream of owning my own pool has recently turned into a nightmare and I can't seem to find the answers I need about a very old Blue Essence SWG and a new supposedly compatible Blue Works Salt Cell. Hopefully someone here can guide a pool novice who bought a house with a 20 year old pool.

I bought a Blue Works salt cell during an Amazon sale and recently had a new pump installed so I had the installer hook up the new cell but now the system is not producing chlorine and I'm getting wildly inaccurate Salt readings (which was needlessly added because the cell was reporting low salt).

After draining the pool many times, according to the pool store my salt reading is FINALLY down to 3,700 (but the SWG reports 1300).

• The pool is about 8,000 gallons.
• The Salt Cell is brand new: BLUE WORKS Salt Cell BLW1T3H, up to 15,000 Gallons Pool, Salt Cell for Pool
• The SWG is old: Blue Essence-20 Serial Number: 2A15044-126224.

After much research it appears I need to set the Turbo Cell Type, but when I cycle through the diagnostics, I do not have a T-# diagnostic so I don't know if I can change the setting.

Here are the readings I get when I cycle through the diagnostics and a video link: New video by Sean Hanley
1300
84
31.1
0.00
100P
-0
AL -0
r 1.40

Can I make this scenario produce chlorine without purchasing more equipment? Do I need a new Salt Cell for such an old SWG? Do I have to buy a whole new SWG? Or can I just buy a replacement main board and install it in the existing SWG ORIGINAL Hayward Goldline Aqua Rite Main Board GLX-PCB-RITE

Thanks for any advice!

 

[reggiehammond]

Do you have a K-1766 Taylor salt test kit?
Grab that on Amazon to confirm your actual salt levels. Do not rely on the "guess" that the SWCG makes...

Hayward Aquarite SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[JamesW]

The Salt Cell is brand new: BLUE WORKS Salt Cell BLW1T3H, up to 15,000 Gallons Pool, Salt Cell for Pool

The original cell was a T5 and your new cell is a T3, which is too small.

You need a T5 cell or a T15 cell.

The board can be changed to T15 by jumpering the J4 connection.

 

[JamesW]

Can't set salt level on Blue Essence by Hayward

My orginal salt cell died, I bought a replacement from Leslies, I began working and generating. Actual salt level is 2700, When I attempt to set the salt level the istant will not count down it is stuck at 5600...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[JamesW]

You can use the T3 cell if you keep the salinity higher than normal.

To make the system read 2,800 ppm salinity, you need to keep the actual salinity at 3,900 ppm.

Aquarite Cell Plates.

Here are the dimensions of the Hayward plates:

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.

 

[smh68]

Do you have a K-1766 Taylor salt test kit?
Grab that on Amazon to confirm your actual salt levels. Do not rely on the "guess" that the SWCG makes...

Hayward Aquarite SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

I've been testing at the pool store and the salt level is currently 3700.

 

[JamesW]

This is the basic information we need to know in diagnosing a problem:

Report all diagnostic readings when you..
Move the switch from auto to off and check all of the readings.
Move the switch back to auto and recheck the readings.
Move the switch to off for a minute and then back to auto and recheck the readings.

 

[JamesW]

When you get to the Instant Salt Reading, update the average salinity reading.

 

[JamesW]

I've been testing at the pool store and the salt level is currently 3700.

3,770 ppm actual will read as about 2,500 ppm with the wrong cell.

The system will work at a reading of 2,500 ppm, but it will show a low salt warning.

Update the average salinity to make the system work.

Increase the salinity to about 4,000 ppm to keep the box reading at about 2,700 ppm.

If you can change the cell to a T5 or a T15, that would be best.

 

[JamesW]

TF-Pro Salt

tftestkits.net

 

[smh68]

The original cell was a T5 and your new cell is a T3, which is too small.

You need a T5 cell or a T15 cell.

The board can be changed to T15 by jumpering the J4 connection.

View attachment 563985

This may be above my pay grade! I have an 8,000 gallon pool so I thought a T-3 would be sufficient. Since I already bought a new cell in October and the SWG is so old and can't be updated, I am leaning toward buying a new Blue Works SWG that is compatible with the new cell I own.

 

[JamesW]

Report all diagnostic readings when you..
Move the switch from auto to off and check all of the readings.
Move the switch back to auto and recheck the readings.
Move the switch to off for a minute and then back to auto and recheck the readings.

 

[Mdragger88]

This may be above my pay grade! I have an 8,000 gallon pool so I thought a T-3 would be sufficient. Since I already bought a new cell in October and the SWG is so old and can't be updated, I am leaning toward buying a new Blue Works SWG that is compatible with the new cell I own.

I hate to tell you but the blueworks cells are known to be duds more often than not so that may be at play here as well aside from your compatibility issue.
They also have a much shorter lifespan (around 3-5k hours) vs oem hayward or even other generic t cells like circupool or pureline which are 7-10k hours.
We recommend a cell that is rated for at least 2x’s your pool’s volume as the ratings are based on running the cell @ 100% around the clock which is not recommended if you want to stretch out its finite lifespan over several years.