My 4+ year old Hayward t-cell 15 was displaying a gradually lowering salt level this summer until it was too low to generate any chlorine. I added some salt during the process to prolong the usefulness of the generator, but time won in the end as it always does. I decided to stick with the Hayward T-Cell 15 rather than chance it with a generic, so I ordered a new T-cell 15 and installed it this morning. I was waiting by the board to watch the salt reading climb, but the display continued to tell me that the salt level is too low to generate chlorine. I tried recalibrating it to make sure it was still calibrated for t-cell 15, but that didn't change anything. Here are the readings: +32.17V, +0.00A, 78F, 0000PPM. I understand that the Amps always register zero when the generator is not activated, so the odd part is the 0000 PPM. I then opened the panel and pulled out the main board, and I've attached two pictures. The first image is the upside down image of the rear of the board; the second image is the front side. So it looks like the top Relay is what burned out.
- Is this repairable, or will it require a new board?
- Is there a particular cause for this (e.g. a salt level that is too high?) or does it just happen randomly?
- What is the typical life-cycle of these boards - do they typically fail after a certain number of years? This one is about 12 years old. I already re-soldered one spot on the board (I believe it's referred to as K1?) several years ago - it isn't pretty but it worked.
- I was looking for refurbished boards and I found a service on eBay called Hayward Board Repair by B&L Enterprises in Tuttle OK - the customer ships the board to this company, they repair the board and ship it back to you for a much lower cost than a new board. Anyone have any experience with this company? Thanks in advance for your insight!
