Aquarite problems

[Fargorad]

Have an Aquarite chlorinator. This will be the third summer of use. Have had black algae which is now cleared, but am having trouble getting chlorinator to work. It registers 2000 for salt, but test strip shows 3050. "Low salt" light and continuous "inspect cell" light on . Have some minor dust-like covering on the cell elements, but no placque build-up. Have added 10 pounds of stabilizer before the black algae, now another 5 (29,000 gal pool), but still have almost zero registering stabilizer. Am worried about adding too much stabilizer...can levels be masked by something ? Aquarite problem vs other?

Any suggestions would be great!

[Theusla]

http://www.goldlinecontrols.com/PoolProfessionals.aspx

This might help with some of your questions.

[Ozzzz]

I also have a similar problem with my unit. Strips and drop kit show 4400ppm but Aqua-Rite shows 2600. I have cleaned the cell 3 times already this year.

Does anyone have any idea what the "Lock in Salt PPM" option does as described on the aqua-rite website. Is this some sort of calibration procedure ?

[waterbear]

Does anyone have any idea what the "Lock in Salt PPM" option does as described on the aqua-rite website. Is this some sort of calibration procedure ?

no, this is not a calibration procedure. the goldline units ususally show an average salt reading of the on times of the cell. This option will show the the 'instant salt reading' which is the reading of salt in the cell at the moment you press the button. This could be differetnt from the average reading because the reading is somewhat dependant on the temp in the cell when the reading is taken. The average reading will be over different temperature ranges becuase the cell heats up as it generates chlorine.

[sw_stupid]

Same problem here. I finally got everything cleared up with bleach (thanks to everyone here), but I think I am headed back down the tubes because the Aquarite won't produce anymore. It thinks the salt level is low so it shut off. I added salt and it came up for about 3 weeks and now it is back down to 2500. The "experts" at the pool store said it was around 3600. Anyone now how to help us out? Don't mean to hijack a thread, but there seems to be a pattern here. I don't know about the "Lock in Salt PPM", but would love to know about it if anyone has any ideas.

Brad

[sw_stupid]

I know how to scroll to the instant salinity rading, but what does it mean to "Lock" it in? I hate to start my own thread, but this is what I was going to post on anyway. Waterbear, any clues as to why the cells are so far off?

Thanks in advance,
Brad

[waterbear]

if the unit is reading a much lower salt level then a reliable test then the cell might need cleaning or it might be going bad. Cells are rated in hours of use and several factors can shorthen their life such as running the cell with low salt levels which makes it work harder to produce chlorine, running the cell in cold weather, high calcium in your water leading to severe scaling in the cell, 'shocking' the pool with the superchlorinate setting on a regular basis.

[kevinm]

I had the same problem a few weeks ago when our pool was opened, you can see the post http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=1260

Mine was only a couple of seasons old, and I ended up buying a replacement cell. Everything is working fine now. Unfortunately, I had to partially drain and refill becuase I added too much salt.

I would try cleaning the cell first (I did it three times even though it looked clean).

Kevin

[PatL34]

Post deleted.

Pat

[Ozzzz]

I have an update to the issue I was having.

Salt Levels from various sources
Aqua-rite - 2700ppm and varies a lot.
Salt Test Strips - 4200ppm
Taylor Drop Test - 4200ppm
Leslies - 3500ppm

I called Goldline today and talked to a tech. They walks me through a procedure where I turned the unit off and on, waited for the panel to click then read the voltages and instant salinity, then repeat the procedure again. The 1st time the instant salinity was 2700ppm, the 2nd time through the reading was 1600ppm. The tech said that my cell has gone bad. Apparently the unit switches polarity on the cells automatically, and should probably read the same salinity regardless of the polarity but mine isnt.... So a replacement cell (mine is still under warranty.... by 2 months) is on the way.

So hopefully this new cell will give me a better reading of the salinity which will agree with one of the "independant" levels that I have right now.