Salt cell gone bad

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T

Talental

0
Mar 19, 2016
6
Florence,AL
So, for The last month I have been troubleshooting on my salt sytem. System is saying low salt, despite having the appropriate amount of salt per manufacture. I have cleaned the cell with acid and other troubleshooting methods.
Currently the salt cell is not producing any chlorine despite my salt levels being at the recommended 3800 ppm. The system is a Jacuzzi J-SS40 Salt system And it is only 2 years old.
It is no longer being made and the contact number connects me to a Leslie‘s pool supply. The current price to replace just the salt cell itself is $600 on the Leslie website.
I can get a whole new salt system from my local pool store installed for about $2500 with a warrantee and service protection. Currently trying to decide what would be my best option. Do you guys have any’s in solutions? Currently I was thinking about just treating it like an old fashion chlorine pool for the rest of the summer and just getting the new system installed this fall/winter. I am just afraid to spend $600 and still have problems with this cell/system, which isn’t even being made or serviced anymore.
How would I go about transitioning to an old-school chlorine type system until next spring.
Any solutions and advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Talental said:
So, for The last month I have been troubleshooting on my salt sytem. System is saying low salt, despite having the appropriate amount of salt per manufacture. I have cleaned the cell with acid and other troubleshooting methods.
Currently the salt cell is not producing any chlorine despite my salt levels being at the recommended 3800 ppm. The system is a Jacuzzi J-SS40 Salt system And it is only 2 years old.
Click to expand...
That unit should have a 2 year warranty
Talental said:
It is no longer being made and the contact number connects me to a Leslie‘s pool supply. The current price to replace just the salt cell itself is $600 on the Leslie website.
I can get a whole new salt system from my local pool store installed for about $2500 with a warrantee and service protection. Currently trying to decide what would be my best option. Do you guys have any’s in solutions? Currently I was thinking about just treating it like an old fashion chlorine pool for the rest of the summer and just getting the new system installed this fall/winter. I am just afraid to spend $600 and still have problems with this cell/system, which isn’t even being made or serviced anymore.
Click to expand...
Tell us about your pool equipment and volume for advice on what system to choose if the warranty claim doesn’t work out
Talental said:
How would I go about transitioning to an old-school chlorine type system until next spring.
Any solutions and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Until your swcg problems are worked out you need to dose with liquid chlorine to target range for your cya ensuring you don’t fall below minimum.
FC/CYA Levels
Use
PoolMath to calculate amounts.
 
Talental said:
its a 20x40 pool. 3 feet shallow and 8ft deep end. So approx 35k gallons
Click to expand...
That cell was too small for your pool anyway. We recommend a cell rated for 2x’s your pool’s volume.
You will need a 60k gallon rated cell as thats as big as they come unless you want to use 2cells.
Your options are:
pentair ic60,
the larger circupool models (@discount salt pool) -rj60, core 55, universal 55,
or pureline 60k gallon (@inyo pools website & amazon)
If you’re even remotely diy capable you can likely replace what you have yourself.
Do you have any automation currently?
 
wow, that's so interesting. The pool store in town told me they are installing the Hayward AquaRite S3 on most of their new builds. Which is the system they were selling me on as well. I am fairly diy capable, just electricity makes me nervous.
I currently don't have any automation on the pool, that would be awesome to have.
 
The largest cell available for that system is a 40k gallon cell that outputs 1.47#/day. The max fc that cell can produce in your pool is 5ppm per day running at 100% for 24 hours.
Here in the south in the peak of the season daily fc demand can easily reach 5ppm so that leaves no wiggle room. It also means you’ll deplete the cell’s finite lifespan of 8-10k hours more quickly running it so much.

IMG_6809.png
Here’s a good chart that shows outputs, warranties etc. You want at least 2.0 lbs/day chlorine output or higher.

Compare and Review Saltwater Chlorine Generator Prices and Features | DSP

www.discountsaltpool.com www.discountsaltpool.com
 
Thanks so much!! This is such wonderful advise.
If the cell only last 8-10k hours, makes sense why mine has failed after 2 years. I keep mine on and running basically all day.

In your opinion do you think I should replace the system that I have or just replace the cell itself? I could top it off with liquid chlorine as needed in the peak season. Its about a $1500 difference. But if am going to have to replace it every 2years...

I am having to learn all of this stuff on my own. Basically my pool builder just built the pool and no further instructions were given. I will definitely look into replacing the system that I have. Is it very hard to do? I doubt any pool supplier in my area will do it for me since all they are pushing is the Hayward AquaRite system.
 
It depends on your wallet at the moment - the unit could Crud out on you but they usually last through several cells.
Ideally though in the long run you need a bigger cell for your pool size.
Changing the cell itself is very easy.
Replacing what you have may not be much harder to diy. May need to reconfigure the plumbing a little as all cells aren’t the same size.
There are lots of install videos for circupool units on the discount salt pool website & also for the pureline on the inyo website.
Post some pics of your equipment setup.
Not sure how you have it setup now but the swcg should not be able to be powered when the pump is off. Most people use a timer for this.
 

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You can get a new gauge at lowes or Home Depot
I like these glycerin filled ones.
tftestkits.net

Center-mounted Pressure Gauge

tftestkits.net tftestkits.net
Your swcg should be wired in such a way that it is unable to run if the pump is off. Generally people use an intermatic timer or automation & a relay for this. When the timer comes on so does the swg & the pump. Ideally you would want there to be 30 minutes of the pump running before the swg comes on & after the swg turns off to ensure you’re in the clear.
It doesn’t look like that’s how it’s currently set up. The flow switch should not be the main controlling means for it’s operation.
If it is & the flow switch gets stuck while the pump is off gas can build up in the pipe & cause an explosion 💥.
The pump & swg should also be fed from the same power source (breaker) so if it trips they both are off.
They way it stands now you should either manually turn both off & on or simply leave the pump running 24/7. This can get expensive with a single speed 1.5hp pump.
A variable speed pump would save you a heap in energy costs. You could run it on 1/3rd of the rpms 24/7 & make chlorine with your swcg around the clock for your large pool.
Using this calculator it looks like about $1200/year savings with a vsp if you have a 7month season like me and need to run the pump pretty much 24/7.
www.pentair.com

Pool Pump Savings Calculator

Use Pentair’s Pool Pump Calculator to estimate how much you can save on energy costs by switching to one of our variable speed pool pumps. Get started today!
www.pentair.com www.pentair.com
Pentair products are pricey & require professional installation for the full warranty but there are other vsp options available in various brands for less$$ including circupool, pureline & Calimar.

I asked about purchasing at Leslies because they were extending the warranty for those units to 5 years at one time.
 
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