replacing my swgc - circupool? compupool?

[kdejager]

I don't want to spend more than $800, my pool is 28,000 gal and I have a Jandy which I've already replaced once. Any suggestions? I've researched and seems I decide on one, only to read something negative.

[PoolDoc]

I'm not sure that your desire to spend $800 or less is compatible with your desire to have a reliable fully functional long lasting salt water chlorine generator (SWCG).

The fact is, the way to get a SWCG that will last a long time is to buy the largest one available -- usually in the 2# chlorine per day category. As best I can tell, SWCG life is a function of 3 factors:
1. Operating hours. Large SWCG's are preferred because they don't have to run all the time.
2. Polarity reversal. Polarity switching removes scale, but shortens life. If you run a non-scaling pool, and get a SWCG that has adjustible polarity switching frequenting, lowering the frequency will extend life.
3. Water temperature. Operating in cool -- much less cold -- water shortens life.

Probably, the cheapest way to go, if your Jandy power supply still works, is to replace the Jandy cell with the largest Jandy cell compatible with that power supply.

[kdejager]

I hate to give another penny to Jandy!! My first one croaked just before the warranty ended, then this one croaked even sooner and they don't honor another warranty, the replacement's warranty ended when the warranty for the initial purchase one ended. So, do you have a recommendation for me on a somewhat cost friendly brand to go with?

[Aggievet]

Don't go with Circupool is all I can say. We have had one for 4 months. It is producing NO chlorine. We have tried talking to them. They blame it on everything but their unit. We spent months getting all chemistry readings COMPLETELY normal because that's the only way they would believe their unit was the problem only to have them tell us it must not be a big enough unit for our pool. Our pool is 22,000 gallons. It is the rj30 rated for 30,000 and we have been running it 12 hours a day at 80% to try and produce enough chlorine. We put a valve in just downstream to the pool to prove it wasn't producing chlorine but their techs are like broken records saying if we see a cloud in the cell, it must be producing chlorine despite a 0 reading on all strips and at Leslie's . Even if the unit isn't big enough, a reading directly off the cell should show chlorine. They even replaced the cell which worked for 1 1/2 weeks only to go to 0 again. Now they say that even though it is a 7 year warranty, they will only give us an 80% refund after running it for 4 months and arguing with them 3 of the 4 months.

[PoolDoc]

Aggievet, you need to avoid posting further about Circupool SWCGs, until you've worked through the list of to-do items I gave you here:
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?21346

It's not clear, from the info that you gave me, that there's anything wrong with the SWCG you have. It's also not clear that there is NOT anything wrong. Until you work through that list, we simply don't know, one way or the other.

*ALL* of the SWCG manufacturers seem to market their product as if it will supply all the chlorine you need, even though none of them will. Circupool has some overblown sales hype, perhaps a bit worse than others. But it's not different in 'kind': the other companies do it too.

Please understand, I'm not trying to protect Circupool. I have had my doubts about them, before. If you follow through, with the testing and other items, and it looks like there ARE problems with your unit . . . I'll get the owner of Circupool involved. Without going into all the details here, it's rather likely he will take a personal interest, if I raise the issue.

But, you have to work the list I gave you, first.

Sincerely,