Replacing SWG

[bruceanast]

I have a Monarch Ecomatic ESC 48 SWG. My pool is about 6 years old and have replaced the cell once. The second cell is rusting again. The leads going to the cell have a clear rubber coating, that after time begins to breakdown and allows the pool water to come in contact. I regularly clean the cell with an acid solution.

I am considering replacing this system with another manufacturer. My question is: Do all SWG's cells need to be replaced ~ 3 years? The Monarch cells cost ~ $200.

[mas985]

I regularly clean the cell with an acid solution.

That could be part of the reason your cells wear out so quickly. If you are getting a lot of scale on the cell that requires frequent acid cleaning, it could be you are not keeping your PH and TA low enough. I have very hard water but I manage to keep the cell fairly clean without much acid cleaning (once) but it requires keeping the pool chemistry in a tight balance. My cell is going on five years and it still looks in very good condition.

[bruceanast]

True... The PH is always high... I used to keep after it quite regularly. Never really tested the TA. The ecomatic cells have a rubber tubing that covers part of the leads for the cell. This rubber tubing cracks over time and the leads rust fairly quickly after that. I will try to post some pictures. My real question is before investing in another cell, should I consider replacing/upgrading the SWG? I don't see many postings regarding the Ecomatic. I do like the system, other than the weak point of rubber tubing covering part of the cell...

[mas985]

The acid can also degrade rubber so that could be why the tubing is failing so quickly. I can't speak to Ecomatic directly but if you were to keep the chemistry more in line, you probably wouldn't need to use acid so often and then the cell would last longer. Any cell will have a shorter life if the chemistry is allowed to get out of balance.