michael281

I usually run it at 70%, and I boost it once a month, although this summer for the first time, I went about 3 months without boosting it. I run my pump between 7-9 hours a day, 7 days a week, but a lot less in the winter. I'm guessing that this is a little on the high side? Thanks.. Michael

First, the person who posted the original question was clearly a do-it-yourselfer. With all due respect to MarkB, I didn't read anything that would suggest that he was "clearly a DIYer". I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that this person cleans his own cell. I also assumed, perhaps incorrectly, this person knew how to properly handle acid and if he could properly handle acid for half an hour he could do so for a longer period (thus, no service call). What is he paying you for, if he has to handle the acid and the cleaning? And if I am doing an extended cleaning on a customer cell it is in my shop not at the property, so no acid is left out as you assumed. (And yes I have efficient low cost ways of handling this.)[/color] So let me get this right, you have a way of covering the acid up at your shop? didn't you say that should not be done? Something about being a terrorist and going to jail? When I say acid left out, i mean uncovered, open to atmosphere. So its' another trip to the customers place the next morning = service call. So now I'm not sure what you mean. First you say customer can handle acid himself,(if for a half hour, then for 12 hours) then you say you'll take it with you to your shop. Which is it? There is nothing to think about here. It's unsafe, and It is of little or no use to a customer. You posted on another thread about knucklehead moves. I'm surprised this idea has come from you. How much use have you gotten from doing this? one week? Two? A month? Does it work every time? Be honest. "It is not unsafe, no more unsafe than a normal cleaning." How do you know this? are you there for the whole 12 or so hours that you are suggesting, watching it? When it comes to chems, especially acid, you should NEVER have that sort of attitude. Always respect the chems. Open Acid for a half hour is NOT the same as for 12 hours, especially if you're going to walk away from it for hours/ overnight! Does anything work every time? I have found many situations where an incompletely cleaned cell was restored to normal service with a more thorough cleaning. I'll pose the question again. For how long? And if the cell is under warranty the mfr is not inclined to replace a cell that is scaled and not cleaned, so it has to be cleaned to determine if the problem is the cell or the scale.[/color] So you clean the cell so its not scaled, then warranty it? sigh... You are just postponing the inevitable anyway. Chances are, the cell is dead already. Not necessarily. It wont save the customer any money. It often does. You'll be back out there eventually to install a new cell, plus a service call, plus the service call prior when you told him to soak overnight. So, two service calls compared to one? To many assumptions here. I don't think so... if you're thinking from a business standpoint. You have to take all this into account when it comes time to figure out the bill. That's a no brainier. Cells are expensive enough. I'll buy a cell now and not risk having open acid on my property over night. Customers in my area aren't interested in Home brew remedies that may or may not work. <sigh> They just want it to work as soon as possible. Yes, but at NO COST to them, esp for a new cell. You don't charge for service calls?? When you are a factory warranty station, you can't do things like this, regardless if it's warranty or not. It's a quality of workmanship thing. You wouldn't silicone an mip on the inlet to a pump to fix an air leak when the right thing to do is re plumb it would you? Very bad analogy. I figured you wouldn't get it Also, do you realize if anything happens over night with the acid, You are liable for it? Which is why you use proper precautions, see above. Hmm, didn't see anything about precautions above, only that you take it to your shop...Thats you're precaution? The original question involved an AquaPure cell That had nothing to do with a scaled cell but a bad cell code. and I stand by my original suggestion. Some other cell designs don't have the problem I was addressing. The Clormatic/AquaPure cells often do, just be sure the space between the outside plates and the cell walls are completely cleaned. Maybe you don't see many cells, I see it on several cell manufactures. Some times cleaning works, but all to often the customer has to buy a cell, It's not a very popular choice, but you can't help the fact that the unit was sold to them by some other company, that did not educate them on maintenance. Hopefully YOU will be the repair man now, and they are in better hands. Who knows, maybe your "trick" works. The main point I was trying express in this whole exchange is that anytime you are going to leave an ongoing chemical reaction alone, It leaves YOU the tech on the hook for ANYTHING that may occur. And rather than try to bring an "old" cell back to life after this kind of maintenance shortcoming, It may be cheaper in the long run to just sell the customer a new cell and be done with it. Hi Poolclown, forgive me for addressing you directly, but you obviously look like you know your way around pools. To get straight to the point, I have an Aquapure 1400 with a 121 code, and it only acts up after 3 hours of running time. I assume that's how long it takes to start cell reversing. I have cleaned the cell 3 times in the last 3 days, and right now the acid isn't causing any more bubbling inside the cell, so I think it's clean enough. I don't see anything wrong with my cable. A little background... my cell has been working fine for 3 years since new, and about 2 weeks ago I ran a 'boost' on my Aquapure, and went to sleep, not knowing that my plumbing got so clogged with leaves (I have lots of huge trees all around my pool) that it kept my pump dry for several hours while running at night. As stupid and irresponsible as this sounds, I'm dumbfounded as to how it got so clogged and why the pump didn't whine to alert me. I digress... so when I found my pump in the morning, running hot and dry, I hit the 'service' button and cut off the pump. After a while I finally got the pump flowing again, and while I saved the pump, I think I killed my cell. Based on what I've said (running the aquapure on boost with no water for hours) is that sufficient reason to say that's what is causing my problem, and that I need to replace my cell? If not, can you please help me get started on a troubleshooting path? Thanks in advance, Michael in SE Texas