Pentair IC40 not working.....

[Scotchwater]

Pretty sure I fried my IC40 but wanted some second opinions. My salt generator is 5 years old and when I cleaned it last week I didn't pre-mix the acid and water. I had the water ready, but like a dummy I poured the acid over the cells. It's now reading 4100 on the salt level when I know it's in the mid 3K's. Am I getting the reading because I ruined the blades? Also, it is not producing chlorine and has been bullet proof for the last 5 years.

I'm ready to bite the bullet and pay for my poor judgement if that be the case.

 

[generessler]

Even the recommended dilute MA solution is reputed to remove some of the exotic metal coating on the plates, so this probably did damage. You could do an overnight chlorine gain test to make absolutely sure it's dead. Run the cell overnight with fc measured at dusk and dawn.

 

[Scotchwater]

Thanks Gene, I've been running it every day and nothing showing. I've started to add chlorine tabs in the mean time to keep algae away. I've been looking at he generic Splash IRCF40 and for almost half price I'm considering giving it a try. Had a lot of 5 star reviews and most of the low reviews looked like they had problems hooking it up or getting it calibrated. I've got the Intellitouch system and according to the reviews it's plug and play.

 

[Jimrahbe]

SW,

The cell does not have any kind of salt senser. It determines the salt level by monitoring the conductivity of the water.

I suspect that you have ruined what was left of your 5-year-old plates.

That said, the cell does not shut off just because the salt level is too high, so run it and see if it still generates chlorine.

If the cell light is on, the cell should be making chlorine. A good test is to set the % of output to 50%. When run at 50% the cell light should be on for 2.5 minutes and off for about 2.5 minutes. It should just keep repeating that cycle.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Jimrahbe]

I've been looking at he generic Splash IRCF40 and for almost half price I'm considering giving it a try

SW,

Try finding someone that has had the fake cell running for 5 years. Reviews at the 1 or 2 year points are useless.

You almost always get just what you pay for.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Scotchwater]

Thanks Jim,
All of my lights are solid green and showing cell is good. I've had it set to 100% for 6 hours a day, as I have for the past 5 years, and it has been great. I'm just outside Vegas so we have a ton of summer high heat. I'm pretty sure the plates are bad.
Good advice on getting what you pay for. Cheapest price I can find on an IC40 is 1099. I don't think Pentair is able to get them right now and the lack of supply has driven the price crazy.

 

[sbcpool]

That and the price of the rare earth metals used in the plates has more than doubled in price over the last year.

 

[Jimrahbe]

SW,

This place has them in stock..

Pentair IntelliChlor Salt Replacement Cell | IC40 | EC-520555

6 hours does not sound very long??? How many gallons is your pool?

What FC (Chlorine) level are you trying to maintain??

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[sbcpool]

6 hour runtime on my 21,500 gallon pool is enough to keep FC at 6, and I'm in hot sun for at least 10 hours a day. But that is with an IC60.

 

[pjt]

My salt generator is 5 years old and when I cleaned it last week I didn't pre-mix the acid and water.

How many times have you used MA to clean your cell?

MA should be a last resort for cell cleaning since it shortens the life of your cell.

* * *

How to Clean a SWG Cell:

You should only clean a SWG cell if it has visible scale on the plates. First try and use strong blasts of water to remove the scale. You can scrape the plates with a stick, like a Popsicle stick, to remove the scale. If the scale is stubborn then use cleaning vinegar (6% acetic acid … available in Home Depot). It’s milder than Muriatic Acid and won’t damage the ruthenium surface. Highly concentrated mineral acids are not good for the transition metal catalysts. Cleaning a SWG cell with Muriatic Acid 10:1 diluted solution will remove some of the rare earth coating from the plates and reduce the life of the cell with every cleaning.