Time to replace the cell?

[semenzato]

Hello fellow pool owners,

first of all I'd like to report that so far I got 4+ years of trouble-free use out of my original Pool Pilot SWG. Excellent use of my money. I am only sorry I didn't do it earlier.

Recently though I noticed that the "low amps" warning was coming up, so I removed the cell and cleaned it twice with muriatic acid diluted 4:1, for 20 minutes each time. Both times the water in the cell was fizzing, more at the beginning, but still fizzing some at the end. When rinsing the cell, a few black specks came out each time.

I replaced the cell and for a few days the light didn't come up, but the amperage was lower than normal (about 3.9 instead of the usual 6 or so). Now the light is on again and amps are between 2 and 3. Is it time to buy a new cell? I wouldn't be surprised.

Has anybody tried the aftermarket cells? The main issue is the price difference, $270 for the Compupool cell versus over $400 for the original cell.

Thanks!
Luigi

[Charlie]

I have the same setup as you, and my cell is ~5 years old. I noticed this year that I've had to add liquid chlorine to keep it above 3 ppm. Since I had very good luck with the cell, I'll probably get an exact replacement. Mine says on the side that they offer a $75 trade in for the old one, so I"m assuming that a new one costs just under $500?

[semenzato]

I have the same setup as you, and my cell is ~5 years old. I noticed this year that I've had to add liquid chlorine to keep it above 3 ppm. Since I had very good luck with the cell, I'll probably get an exact replacement. Mine says on the side that they offer a $75 trade in for the old one, so I"m assuming that a new one costs just under $500?

Actually, I searched more carefully, and there are places that sell the original part for around $400, and in addition there is a $50 trade-in rebate, so I am leaning towards the original part now.