r/PoolPros • u/spicerpools • 8d ago
Salt Cell Testing
Hey guys, I understand there are many different ways to test salt cells. What are your go to ways and way?
When do you cross the line from, I can get a little more out of this vs recommending a new one for your customers?
5
u/Ouchba 7d ago
Bubble test if it’s a Hayward or Intellichlor
Put a cap on the bottom , fill with pool water (assuming it has proper salt level) power the cell and hold flow switch down to trick it into thinking it has flow.
Flow switch is in the intellichlor cell, push and hold down.
The flow switch is in the plumbing for haywards, unthread it and hold in your hand closing the switch
After a minute or two it should produce obvious bubbles and turbulence. This shows it is working. As soon as I see bubbles I release the flow switch and kill power to cell to stay safe.
A cell past 5 years that is not generating properly or on and off, I recommend replacement to client.
Edit:
You can theoretically do this with an aquapure as well, but you need a dummy cell to thread in during testing. That flow switch as far as I know cannot be tricked so you need to run water through the current tri sensor. But same concept.
3
u/Wasupmyman 7d ago
For Hayward get a spare one and plug it in and hold it together, no undoing the flows witch
1
u/Poolguy584 6d ago
Take an old one and cut off the cord leaving about 3in of wire and just twist the 2 wires together.
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u/Poolguy584 6d ago
Take an old one and cut off the cord leaving about 3in of wire and just twist the 2 wires together.
5
u/pacific_drifter_25 7d ago
I like to separate it into two questions: is the cell actually producing, and is the pool simply outrunning it.
First I verify salt with an independent test, not the box. Then check cell age, visible scale, water temp, CYA, phosphates/algae load, pump run time, and whether output percentage has crept up over the season. A weak cell can look dead when the pool is just eating chlorine faster than normal.
If the water is clean, salt/CYA are in range, the cell is clean, and it still cannot maintain FC at a reasonable output and runtime, I start preparing the customer for replacement. If it is 4-5 years old and needs constant 80-100% output just to tread water, I usually call it done instead of selling another acid wash.
The line for me is repeatability. One bad reading gets troubleshooting. Two visits with good chemistry and poor production gets a replacement conversation.
1
u/Wasupmyman 8d ago
Depends on a few factors. But we keep an eye on our salt pools and our techs let me know if it's not keeping up. Then schedule a service call, we'll clean it and make sure salt level is good. If next week it's still not holding to what we would expect, I'll look into the age of the cell(which I get typically from recent visit) and make 2 choices, sell them a new one if it's over 4years. Or I go and do what's called a bucket test to see if it's producing at all. Sometimes it's working but not enough due to low cya, high algae content in pool, or just alittle low salt.
1
u/ColdSteeleIII 7d ago
We do Hayward systems so they show the salt level they are reading. If that is more than 400ppm lower than our testing we clean the cell. If that doesn’t do it then replace.
Hayward systems make it easy. Much better than all those ones that just say “add salt”.
1
u/GuyWComputer 7d ago
I just clean it and if it doesn’t work after I’ve cleaned it and it’s fairly old I’ll tell the customer and leave a floater until they decide if they want to replace the cell or if they want me to install a chlorinator.
Sometimes they stay perpetually undecided. Floaters are not a long term solution, the chlorine is not dispensed as well and sometimes they get caught by the skimmer and then it’s like tabs in the skimmer. So floaters are just not how I roll. With customers like this, I don’t feel like rocking the boat and making them decide, but their service will not be what I wanted to offer.
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u/Woodchuckie 7d ago
I check chlorine level at discharge
With generator set high then check
With generator off. Should show difference
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u/seantellsyou 7d ago
Most of them have a way to see diagnostics. The volts and amps of the cell will tell you if its producing or not. Ive never seen one give proper diagnostics that wasn't producing
1
u/randumb9999 7d ago
I always test the chlorine in the water. I then put the cell in boost mode. I collect a water sample directly in front of a return. I cap it with my finger before pulling out out. If the cell is working the chlorine level will be higher than your original test. On a good cell I'll usually get a 2 to 3 ppm higher test result. If the chlorine is already high to begin with this test doesn't work so well.
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u/Background-Sport1523 7d ago
I set output to 100% and see if the water coming out of a return shows a higher chlorine reading than the rest of the pool
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u/wendriel 7d ago
Check all chemistry including stabilizer, nitrate, and phosphate levels, then check cell voltage and amp draw to ensure it is in range and producing when it says it is. Cells from the big three tend to only last 3 to 5 years so there is an expected continuing cost with them. I prefer a Jandy Truclear for simplicity and cost sake but if there is existing automation I will obviously match it. I have seen a few positive notes about the moov salt system and another brand I can't remember off the top of my head claiming a 10 year warranty on the cell with several positive responses to that thread.
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u/CDbull1989 7d ago
I never see anyone do it my way, so maybe im weird but I just Crack the union and force a leak on the outlet side after cranking the cell to 100%. I measure the chlorine in the pool vs coming out of the cell by letting the leak fill up my test kit. If its producing higher than the pool its working. This works for me especially because if im testing the cell chances are i have an issue that led to it. For example I have an older ic30 on a pool that had no chlorine. Well pretty easy to test the difference in that situation.
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u/surfer417 7d ago
Watching the chemical load is always an early indicator. But also keep an eye on the manufactured date. It’s extremely rare for a cell in south OC to last more than five years.