Death Spiral?

[RASelkirk]

Hi All,

About 2 weeks ago, my salt reading was 2600. I put in one 40# bag, which would normally bump it 400 ppm's to around 3000. Two days later my reading was 2800, and over the next week, the reading steadily decreased to 1500. I finally got around to fixing some leaks today and it read 1200 on restart.

I normally "swap ends" on my cell every 3-6 months but had covid back in December and left the system running 24/7 because of a leak on the suction side. Would the consensus opinion on this be the cell or MB?

Thanks!

Russ

 

[mknauss]

Hayward Aquarite SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Run through the Diagnostics as described in the article. Post up the data.

 

[RASelkirk]

Awesome write-up, thanks. Got one more leak to fix and I'll be able to get some numbers.

Russ

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Do you have the Taylor Salt Test Kit K-1766? You should always test your salt level independently of the system. We've heard of folks adding salt to their pools which ends up being overly salty based on faulty SWG readings.

K-1766 Taylor Salt Test

tftestkits.net

Maddie

 

[RASelkirk]

Yeah, just got it back up and running leak free. My Taylor kit shows 3200, which is what it should be after adding the last bag. That would confirm the reading was already on it's way down and should have shown 2800, not 2600.

All readings except salinity appear to be in the normal range.

_______________auto -> off ________-> auto_____________auto -> off -> auto
default sal________300_______________300_______________________300
temp______________77_________________77________________________77
volts______________32.4_______________32.2______________________32.2
current___________0.00_______________0.00______________________0.00
duty %____________61p_______________61p______________________61p
instant sal___________0__________________0_________________________0
product___________AL-0______________AL-0_____________________AL-0
software rev______r1.59______________r1.59_____________________r1.59
cell type___________t-15_______________t-15______________________t-15

Cell box: AQ-RITE-XL
Serial: 6A0605-1060234

I'm thinking my cell is done for since it's over 5 years old and had been run at 100% dc 24/7 from mid-Dec until early Mar. The article above has links to a couple different non-Hayward cells, anyone tried either?

Hayward Aquarite/Goldline T-15 Replacement Cell- T-CELL-15 @ $599
Chlorinator Pro CP-15 Cell @ $399 shipped.
Salt Solutions CELL-15 @ $325 + $60 core + shipping.

Thanks!

Russ

 

[wireform]

Yeah, just got it back up and running leak free. My Taylor kit shows 3200, which is what it should be after adding the last bag. That would confirm the reading was already on it's way down and should have shown 2800, not 2600.

All readings except salinity appear to be in the normal range.

_______________auto -> off ________-> auto_____________auto -> off -> auto
default sal________300_______________300_______________________300
temp______________77_________________77________________________77
volts______________32.4_______________32.2______________________32.2
current___________0.00_______________0.00______________________0.00
duty %____________61p_______________61p______________________61p
instant sal___________0__________________0_________________________0
product___________AL-0______________AL-0_____________________AL-0
software rev______r1.59______________r1.59_____________________r1.59
cell type___________t-15_______________t-15______________________t-15

Cell box: AQ-RITE-XL
Serial: 6A0605-1060234

I'm thinking my cell is done for since it's over 5 years old and had been run at 100% dc 24/7 from mid-Dec until early Mar. The article above has links to a couple different non-Hayward cells, anyone tried either?

Hayward Aquarite/Goldline T-15 Replacement Cell- T-CELL-15 @ $599
Chlorinator Pro CP-15 Cell @ $399 shipped.
Salt Solutions CELL-15 @ $325 + $60 core + shipping.

Thanks!

Russ

Salt Solutions is a good choice. Have used them and recommended them without a problem.

 

[RASelkirk]

What about this blurb from the above manual?

LOW SALT Message & 0 Salinity, 0 Amps​

The salt cell does not have the DC voltage needed to function. The symptoms correlate to either of the following;

• Bad In-Rush Current Limiter (RZ3)
• K1 or K2 Bad solder (most likely suspect)
• Logic Controller failure (worse case scenario)

A replacement board should fix this issue. If you're technically inclined, you might save the existing board by inspecting the solder or by replacing the relay if determined faulty.[34]

My volts seem OK, but all readings show 0 amps. Or is that just a function of the box seeing low salt and not generating?

Russ

 

[RASelkirk]

OK, it was the cell. I got a "loaner" from my son, this loaner was removed from someone's trash pile last year and it was soooo filthy with caked leaves and bug parts I didn't want to even try it. After flushing it with water and shop air, then a 2 hr soak in acid, I swapped it out and got it working. New cell should be here Thurs, but I may just let this one go and see how it lasts...

Russ