Compupool

[albeers]

Does anyone have any experience with Compupool? They are an Ausrialian salt water system. My local pool service guy stated that he has had the best results with Compupool. Any input or comparison would be greatly appreciated.

[PoolDoc]

Well, they do have a US location, which is good.

http://www.compupoolproducts.com/contactus.html

But, this is a killer, I think:
"5500-6000 P.P.M salt required"
on the "Compu-Chlor" units

The CPSC unit says
"CPSC series operates effectively from 3000 P.P.M salt to sea water"

But I don't know.

[zmachines]

I would suggest you check out AutoPilot Digital units. I love my system and have had trouble free and almost maintenance free operation for 3 seasons now. Once you install and "dial it in" for your pool, it automatically adjust chlorine generation based on water temperature. All I have added throughout the swimming season is a little muriatic acid to drop the PH as it creeps up (side effect of SWCG systems). People are amazed how easy it is for me to maintain my pool.

[waterbear]

Compupool is actually a decent SWCG. Another good Australian company with a US distribution channel is WaterMaid. The higher salt levels are common in Australian designs, btw, and have some advantages such as less stress on the cell and power supply (and disadvantages in terms of salt's effects on pool equipment) over the lower salt models which I learned from discussion with a WaterMaid representative that was very active on another forum (and at one time someone form WaterMaid posted on this one). Realize that these higher salt units have been in operation in about 80% of all pools in Australia for many more years than salt pools have been popular in the US so if there were major problems they would not be so popular over there. Many of the Australian companies have come out with units that work at lower salt levels because of the US market so they can compete with Hayward and Autopilot but still sell the higher salt level units. Realize that the older unis from Zodiac did operate at much higher salt levels closer to as what the Australian units require. Also, the Autopilot units can work in seawater according to their literature (2000 - 35,000 ppm) Of course, both Autopilot and Hayward are excellent units with proven track records also!

[BigTallGuy]

I own a compuPool CPSC-24 SWCG. I put this unit into an 11,000 gallon AG pool, and it has worked flawlessly for two full years. I am going into my third Summer with it. The Salt level is recommended to be 3500 ppm. I have had to take the unit apart twice (once after the first year and again after the second ) to clean the calcium build up. If you are looking at the Compupool CPSC series, take a close, hard look at the size of the unit versus the size of your pool. The 24 in the CPSC-24 title means the unit is rated for a 24,000 gallon pool, which in my case is more than double, which in my humble opinion is barely adequate. In order to keep my chlorine levels where I want them, I have to run my unit approximately 6-7 hours a day, which is a little longer than I like to run it. If and when I have to replace my existing cell, I will seriously consider the CPSC-36 unit assuming I stay with Compupool. I am also told that the CPSC-24 and the CPSC-36 use the same controller and the difference is in the internal settings and the actual size of the cell. In any case, My biggest suggestion would be to go with a unit that is a minimum of twice up to 3 times the rating for your size of pool. I would not have any issues recommending the Compupool CPSC series.

Hope this helps - BTG

[zmachines]

I agree with BTG that you should oversize the unit. I use the SC-48 for my ~22,000 gallon pool. I however work on the philosophy that less over a longer period is better. I run my pump on a split shift with 4 hours during the peak of the day to combat the UV rays destroying my chlorine molecules and 4 hours during the middle of the night for a total of 8 hrs every 24 hours. I find this is the perfect scenario for my pool. Of course everyone's situation is different. One thing that I have noticed is that I have had absolutely no buildup on my cell. My calcium levels are next to nothing, so I assume that is why, but the Autopilot (and probably most units out there) reverse the polarity going the cell every so often (user setting) to combat any buildup.

A colleague at work also has a SWCG (brand escapes me at the moment) and loves it. Only issue he has is dealing with the calcium buildup on the cell at the end of the season. He simply soaks his cell in a bath of Muratic Acid to clean it.

[BigTallGuy]

I also split my run time. I do three hours at dusk primarily so I can be up and around when the filter turns on to make sure all is well with the pump, filter, SWCG etc. this also replenishes part of the chlorine lost during the day. The system turns on again at 4:00 a.m. for another 3-4 hours for two reasons. A) it is cooler in the morning for running the pump motor. B) all the chlorine is generated during the night (or early morning) . That way the full amount of chlorine is present to sanitize the pool before too much sun hits the pool and starts the burn off.

[Spensar]

Isn't seawater around 35,000 PPM, so is even 3,500 PPM for a CPSC unit going to be a factor for swimmer's comfort? Looking at options for a salt system and the Compupool price points are very attractive.

[BigTallGuy]

Take a few minutes to read the FAQ Stickie at the top of the SWCG section. The answer to your question is in there.

[Jodester]

I have a Compupool CPSC36. It was installed at the end of the summer of 2010. Since then, it has had to be replaced twice. I first experienced problems when I was seeing widely erratic salt readings on the control board readouts, as well as wacky temperature readings (like 36 degrees F on a 90-degree day), which I noticed within a couple of weeks of opening the pool in 2011. Repeated visits by my pool company could not determine a problem, and the unit seemed to be producing adequate chlorine for our 25,000 pool, so we tried to ignore it. However, when the circuitry on the cell began to MELT, we really pushed things with our company and the manufacturer (see photos of it in the thread entitles "I'M MELTING... I'M MELTING." So we finally got the entire unit replaced -- cell, control board, everything, about a week before closing in the fall of 2011. Then, a week after opening this year (Spring 2012), all of a sudden every display light on our control board was on at the same time, but the LCD display screen was blank. Called the manufacturer, who said this meant the board was bad. They replaced the control board unit. Within two weeks of that, the percentage bars on the LCD unit all of a sudden did not match the percentage output I had selected, with the bars only registering at 10%, but the output set to 30%. No matter how high I set the output, the bars stay the same at 10%. Tested my water, and lo and behold, chlorine production is minimal, with free chlorine down to 1.4 and falling, and chloramines building up. I also noticed moisture building up on the blue plug contact inside the cell housing. Called the manufacturer again; they are sending a whole new cell. We'll see what happens. Needless to say, we are more than frustrated with our Compupool unit, since we have spent the better part of our ownership of it manually chlorinating our pool with liquid bleach!