- Feb 14, 2022
- 39
- Pool Size
- 14500
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
This is my salt cell, it was here when we bought the house 3.5 years ago, but by the looks of it, its much older than that. I can't make out any dates or anything as the labels are pretty faded.
For the past 3 years we had a pool guy maintaining the pool for us. Last year we had pretty cloudy water and a some algae which he treated as it came. This year we are doing our own maintenance, and one thing I wanted to do given its age and how long it has been since it must have last been cone (if ever) is clean the salt cell. The fitting on the left I can remove no problem, however the one on the right will not come off. I started with a strap wrench and nothing, bought and tried channel lock pvc pliers and it still won't budge. The threads are mangled from supposedly when the last person to try and remove it (Or maybe put it on which explains a lot). I tried PB Blaster into the threads, boiling water on then outside while running cold water through the cell, even getting overly-violent with a hammer to try and break it up.
At this point I've accepted I'll probably need a new cell even if I get it off without destroying it, however I'm not even sure how I could get it off in a way I can plumb a new one in. It looks like its been replaced once before given the fitting to the right of the cell, but that does not leave me any extra space to join any new sections of pvc into if I have to cut something. At this point my only idea is that i'd have to cut the pipe flush with the right side of the flow sensor and replace the entire run.
For the past 3 years we had a pool guy maintaining the pool for us. Last year we had pretty cloudy water and a some algae which he treated as it came. This year we are doing our own maintenance, and one thing I wanted to do given its age and how long it has been since it must have last been cone (if ever) is clean the salt cell. The fitting on the left I can remove no problem, however the one on the right will not come off. I started with a strap wrench and nothing, bought and tried channel lock pvc pliers and it still won't budge. The threads are mangled from supposedly when the last person to try and remove it (Or maybe put it on which explains a lot). I tried PB Blaster into the threads, boiling water on then outside while running cold water through the cell, even getting overly-violent with a hammer to try and break it up.
At this point I've accepted I'll probably need a new cell even if I get it off without destroying it, however I'm not even sure how I could get it off in a way I can plumb a new one in. It looks like its been replaced once before given the fitting to the right of the cell, but that does not leave me any extra space to join any new sections of pvc into if I have to cut something. At this point my only idea is that i'd have to cut the pipe flush with the right side of the flow sensor and replace the entire run.
