Keep old Jandy PLC1400 or new system

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Russmd

Well-known member
May 14, 2013
134
My old Aquapure gives me constant problems. Despite great care and cleaning of the cell, they go bad every 3-4 years at $600-$700 a cell. I am considering:
1. Trying the cheaper Compupool cell. Any experience?
2. Buying a newer up to date salt system with better reliability. Any recommendations?
Thanks,
Russ
 
Ouch! Your Aquapure was undersized for your pool, IMO. We recommend a cell that is *at least* 2x the pool's volume, and you have a *big* pool!
Cells do have a certain lifespan in hours and that will get shortened with each cleaning you do. Over cleaning will remove the precious magic metals that make the salt water magic happen.

I'd suggest ditching that Aquapure and getting a system and cell that is sized for a 60k gallon pool.

Discountsaltpools. com has a good chart on their website showing which brands offer which sizes.

Compare and Review Saltwater Chlorine Generator Prices and Features | DSP

www.discountsaltpool.com www.discountsaltpool.com

Maddie
 
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Russ,

The fact that you think a 40K cell is appropriate for a 40K pool is telling.. :rolleyes:

Salt cells are rated when running at 100% output and 24/7.. This makes it hard for the cell to keep up with your chlorine demand..

Unless you have an autocover for you pool, that is not in your signature.

Jandy does not make a bigger cell, so switching to a 60K CircuPool Cell is not a bad idea. In theory, it would allow you to run at a lower output and the cell should last longer.

If the cell is sized properly, it should last 5 to 8 years... I have a couple of rent houses where I just had to replace the cells.. One with over 7 years old and the other was over 10 years.. (I know hard for me to believe also) :mrgreen:

As pointed out above, we always recommend that a cell be rated for 2 x the volume of the pool.

The downside with using the CircuPool is that it will not integrate with your automation, but that should not be a show stopper.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Thanks Jim. In my research Circupool was not in the better known systems. Do you have good experience with that brand, is it what you’d consider the best option?
 
Russ,

We have a ton of members that have CircuPool SWCGs... Almost every review that I have seen here has been positive..

Your only other option is the Pentair IC60, but I am not 100% sure it will integrate with your Jandy system. I see that you are running the IntelliFlo (great pump!!) so I assume that your system would also "talk" with a Pentair cell, but have no idea if that is true or not.. Worth looking into, but they are not cheap and you would most likely have to buy the power center..

I have Pentair automation systems so it makes sense for me to use Pentair cells.. If I did not have Pentair Automation, I would buy the CircuPool cell.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
I put swg in about a year ago. Did exactly what the Maddie, Kim, Jim recommended above. I evaluated almost every brand on the Discount Salt Pool Comparison site. Used $/lb chlorine, warranty, reputation here. That drove me to Circulpool and using my Pentair Intellicenter Automation. I would say it's probably the most often used 3rd party here. Major brands and Circupool plus at least one other seem to have similar reliability. If you DIY you will get better warranty with 3rd party. If installed by authorized rep this doesn't matter. Circupool advertises more chlorine output and at least with my RJ 30 unit I am verifying the output with Pool Math predictions of performance.

I hope this helps.

Chris
 
Thanks, I think I'm sold. Looking at a Circupool RJ60Plus unit. Installation looks simple but question on the wiring. I know it won't integrate with the Jandy automation but will I be wiring it up in the Jandy control center to the VSP pump relays? I don't see the wiring manual online and no reference to the Jandy control center.
Russ
 
I ran mine on a Jandy RS iAqualink system probably similar to yours for a short time before I switched to Pentair Intellicenter automation. Best way to do it if you have a spare relay is power the spare relay from the load side of the pump relay then use the load side of the spare relay to power your swg. This provides an element of protection that you can't accidentally power the swg with no pump running (dangerous). You won't have control over % power but you can adjust runtime independent of pump run time. I found that once you have it set % power doesn't change at all. You may adjust run time once or twice per year. But eventually you may find like I did (with Jim's help) that it's best to just let the FC drift from high end of range to mid range. At most this requires only one adjustment per year. My unit has been running 40% power since locked in the settings and ~8 hr run time per day. CYA has a big impact so I learned to run 70+ ppm and it works great.

I hope this is helpful.

Chris
 

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What about Simply using the same relay that the Aquapure is currently on? I believe that is only powered when the system turns on and the pump starts up, as all the Aquapure indicator lights are off when the system is off.

Secondly, when my system is in spa mode, it shuts off the Aquapure output. This new system would not do that as I understand it , unless, I put the flow sensor in the return line from the pool. Make sense?
 
Russmd said:
What about Simply using the same relay that the Aquapure is currently on? I believe that is only powered when the system turns on and the pump starts up, as all the Aquapure indicator lights are off when the system is off.

Secondly, when my system is in spa mode, it shuts off the Aquapure output. This new system would not do that as I understand it , unless, I put the flow sensor in the return line from the pool. Make sense?
Click to expand...
I can't tell what Jandy automation model you have from your signature but if it has the capability to power the relay and turn it off when you are in spa mode that should be a better way, Unless of course, that feature works from the 4-conductor RS 485 which uses a proprietary communications protocol and won't work with any 3rd party swg. For my installation we turn off the swg whenever we are in spa mode during the day using our phone app. Usually we run spa mode later in the day after the swg is off. Could add a flow switch to get the feature you're talking about but just haven't found it necessary.

Chris
 
Thanks Chris. The Aquapure turns its production off while in spa mode via the RS485 connector- when switched to spa mode, the Aquapure lights are on and output shows zero. So it is still powered. My system uses the same pump to circulate pool and pump, spa mode just changes the valves governing inflow and outflow sources. I was thinking that if i put the circupool flow switch on one of the lines just from the pool, when in spa mode it would sense no flow and turn off. It would only produce when in pool mode.
 
Russmd said:
Thanks Chris. The Aquapure turns its production off while in spa mode via the RS485 connector- when switched to spa mode, the Aquapure lights are on and output shows zero. So it is still powered. My system uses the same pump to circulate pool and pump, spa mode just changes the valves governing inflow and outflow sources. I was thinking that if i put the circupool flow switch on one of the lines just from the pool, when in spa mode it would sense no flow and turn off. It would only produce when in pool mode.
Click to expand...

actually the aquapure unit can be set to adjust output for both spa mode and pool mode in the web interface screen. Mine is set for 70% on pool, 10% on spa.
 
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Thanks Rostterman, I see that in my current interface as well. Mine is set for 90% pool (hot here in SoCal and burns up chlorine) and 0% in spa. I’m just unsure because When I install the CircuPool unit and it’s set to say 80%, that 80% will stay on while I’m in spa mode As well. Is that bad? 80% chlorine going into the little spa for an hour or two? That’s why I was thinking of putting the flow sensor on the return line from the pool so the SWG is only activated when the main pool,is in the circulation. When in spa mode, all my return is just from the spa- Pool is out of the loop.
 
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If you assume spa is 1000 gal and you accidentally run the swg at 100% for an hour it will raise the FC 6.2 ppm per hour in 100% spa mode. Probably not the end of the world. We very rarely stay in more than an hour. But if you decide to stay several hours can start to approach SLAM levels. You can use Pool Math to figure it out for your specific volume.

Chris
 
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Thanks all for your input. So, I've decided to configure the system so the SWG does not come on when in spa mode. Just now, my pool service came by for the weekly cleaning (he does installation too). I talked to him about it and he said rather than creative plumbing, there's an easier electronic way to make it so the cell is only energized when in in pool mode. Put the sensor in the usual position before the cell. I can't pretend that I understand it all that well as I'm not an electrician, but he showed me that on the Jandy RS Power Center Panel, there's a dip switch #6 that can be toggled to only energize a relay when the system is in pool mode or in spa mode. Simply hook up the SWG to that relay, set the dip switch appropriately, and that should do it - relay off when in spa mode. Anyone else familiar with that? Thanks,
Russ
 
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