Venomous

Ok, I run the pump 9 hours a day. I keep the salt in the 3000 to 3200 range. Although the original Autopilot paperwork said 2600. Check that again, the recommended level is 3000 ppm. It will run with salt as low as 2600 ppm but this will shorten cell life. It's better to run the salt around 3200 ppm or slightly higher. When I brought in the first cell to Autopilot they asked the same questions you are asking and said they changed the salt level and I should run higher than 2600. My PH always runs in the 7.4 to 7.6 range More often 7.4 How are you testing this? Calcium is always around 250 - 260. Except when the new diamond brite went in. The calcium was a little higher then but I was able to keep it from raising to high. That was 5.5 years ago. The CY is always between 40 - 50. More often 50. This is too low and is directly linked to your problem of short cell life. That is why I was interested in what power level you are running at and what output percentage. You want your CYA to be about 70 - 80 (I assume you live in cental or south Florida since you made the comments about autopilot being near you. Their facility is located in St. Pete and their parent company, Team Horner, in Ft. Lauderdale.) Autopilot, as do most manufacturers of SWGs recommend a CYA between 60-80 ppm for the majority of bipolar cells (self cleaning). Free Chlorine is always 1.0 0 2.0 More often a little higher than 1.0. This is actually a bit low for a SWG to maintain the water without any problems once you get your CYA to the proper range. Practical experience indicate that running the CYA at about 70-80 ppm and the FC around 4 ppm gives you very problem free water (except for the pH rise that is common with SWGs because of the hydrogen bubbles causing CO2 to outgas--this can be miniized by runnign the TA at around 60-80 ppm. Much greater pH stability and much less acid usage. Adding borates to the water to 50 ppm will give you even greater pH stability.) As far as power level and output percentage, I let the Autopilot do it's thing. Once I enter the pool volume and adjust other settings it runs on it's own. I have only used the Super Boost Mode maybe 4 times in all the years. It's actually better to shock with liquid chlorine then to boost if you need to shock the pool. Reason are a bit technical so I won't get into them here. TA is usually 90 - 105. Usually 105. Actually a bit too high for an unstabilized chlorine source...you will have better pH stability if you run it at 60-80 ppm. Also, don't drop the pH below 7.6 and when it gets to 7.8 add enough acid to bring it back to 7.6 and not lower. A bit of trial and error will soon get you there. Lowering the pH below 7. 6 actually cause a faster outgassing of CO2 and hence a faster pH rise. Without knowing what power level you are operating on (there are 3 and they need to be set--read the manual) and knowing what your output percentage is it's really hard to say for certain but I am going to suggest that much of your problem is because your CYA is not high enough. I have seen this on more than one occasion. (if you are running at about 75% TO 80% you need to move to the next higher power level and if you are running at about 20% to 25% you need to drop down a power level. The default is power level 2. This is all documented in the manual.) This link might be helpful to you. Thanks for the help. I will get my levels as you have listed. So I assume you recommend getting another Autopilot cell and with the corrected chems that you state above it will last longer? What kind of life span should I get? I will also check the power level. It is still the same as the tech from autopilot set it at.

Ok, I run the pump 9 hours a day. I keep the salt in the 3000 to 3200 range. Although the original Autopilot paperwork said 2600. When I brought in the first cell to Autopilot they asked the same questions you are asking and said they changed the salt level and I should run higher than 2600. My PH always runs in the 7.4 to 7.6 range More often 7.4 Calcium is always around 250 - 260. Except when the new diamond brite went in. The calcium was a little higher then but I was able to keep it from raising to high. That was 5.5 years ago. The CY is always between 40 - 50. More often 50. Free Chlorine is always 1.0 0 2.0 More often a little higher than 1.0. As far as power level and output percentage, I let the Autopilot do it's thing. Once I enter the pool volume and adjust other settings it runs on it's own. I have only used the Super Boost Mode maybe 4 times in all the years. TA is usually 90 - 105. Usually 105.

I have been using the Autopilot Digital 36 for over 5 years. During those 5 years I have had 4 Suoer Cells. Each sell lasted less the 18 months. Some as little as 9 months. I live not to far from Autopilot. I would always take the cells directly to them to be looked at. The first cell died fairly quickly maybe 9 months, They replaced it no question and did not say what was wrong. The second cell burned the harness so badly it was permanently attached to the cell. I was told they had a new manufacturer making the cells and it was a bad cell. They had seen this before and many recently. The third cell died about 10 to 12 months later. I was told it must have been form the same batch and it was defective. This time when they replaced it they wanted to come out and check the whole system. They sent out a tech who looked at my install, checked the pool chemicals and put in another new cell and tested it. He determined I was taking care of my pool and Autopilot system correctly and could not understand why so many cells were failing so early. Now the fourth cell has died. I went to the Autopilot web site and see they are now located in Tampa. I liked the fact that they were close by and that had influenced my original purchase. I also noted that as of January 2008 the warranty policy has been changed. I would rather buy a new system then gamble on another cell that I pay for. Anyone have any ideas why the cells go bad early? I am thinking about changing to another manufacturer. Do any other manufacturers make a cell that would screw into the autopilot plumbing? I would just like to change the main unit and screw in the new manufacturers cell. Also what brands would anyone recommend that should have a longer cell life. My pool is 15,000 gallons. Thanks for any help.