Concerns About starting the 2017 season, SWG and Borates

[Paul.]

Hi everyone,

Ill try to make a long story short. I am having concerns about adding Borates to my pool this year.

I had originally bought my SWG in the summer of 2015. The season went perfectly with no problems concerning my SWG. No algae blooms and sparkling water. A but of difficulty controling the pH. I closed the pool at the end of the season and cleaned the SWG cell as indicated in the owners manual with Muriatic Acid.

In the summer of 2016, I decided that I wanted to try out borates in the pool, hoping that it would help with the pH stability (which it did). I added the borates to 50ppm as instructed in the forums and all other water parameters were stable. I then noticed that my SWG cell stopped working, noticing the Red light indicating "cell must be replaced". I inspected and cleaned the cell, (no scale observed before the cleaning) and reinstalled the cell. I reset the SWG, and it began to work again. The next day, the Red light was on again.
I contacted my Local Pool store, and they refused to help saying that the warranty was expired since the SWG was purchased in 2015. So I spent the remainder of the 2016 season with a mix of "resetting the cell" and manually adding chlorine. Which became very tiresome.

I did some consumer affairs research, and the laws in my province allow for reasonable use/duration of products, even if they are no longer under warranty. So today, I went back to my local pool store and explained to them that one season for a cell is not "reasonable use/duration" and they agreed to give me a new cell.

I am planning on opening my pool this week or the next.

My concern is this....
1) Do you think that it was the addition of the borates that damaged my SWG cell? It was the only thing that differed between the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
2) Was it just a coincidence?
3) Have any of you had problems with the SWG and Borates?
4) Looking for advice. Should I risk adding the borates again this year, and see if it damages the cell? Or just forgo the addition of the borates.


Thanks a bunch Paul.

 

[triptyx]

Are you absolutely sure it's the cell and not the control board, or some other problem?

 

[Paul.]

All the functions of the control board seemed to work properly.
Lights, %control, temperature, etc all seemed to be normal.

The only thing wrong was the constant Red light, which in turn turned off the cell. I also noticed that when the Red light was on. The Salt ppm on the control board changed to around 900, when in reality it was at 3200ppm (tested using Taylor Test and pool store just to be sure).

I guess, it may be the control board, doesnt seem likely though. Ill have to check when I open the pool for the season. It's been raining every day for the past few weeks, so havent been able to open it yet.

 

[Pyrodav]

I would call the manufacturer and explain to them your problem. Have you checked their website to see if they have a troubleshoot guide?

 

[Paul.]

I would call the manufacturer and explain to them your problem. Have you checked their website to see if they have a troubleshoot guide?

Yes, I used the trouble shoot guide that came with the owner manual, and I also found the technician manual on the internet. Both seem to suggest a problem with the cell.