My IntelliChlor has been fully functional for just 2 seasons (oklahoma) and has worked great. I have not cleaned it or anything in that whole time. We are rural, on a well and do not have hard water. After cleaning then balancing my pool chemistry, my Intellichlor now says that I need to ‘inspect the cell’. Through some online research, I used Muriatic Acid (3 parts water, 1 part acid) and cleaned the cell. I did not see any calcium buildup at all before the bath and it only slightly bubbled while in the bath, nothing like some of the online video showing the almost foam like bubbles. Re-installed but it still says ‘inspect the cell’. I thought maybe it was at the end of its life cycle but when I put it in Diagnostic mode, it shows only 2000 hrs. I have good flow and water temp is 73 with all my chemistry & salt levels in the normal ranges except for my free chlorine obviously.
Should I replace? Is there something else wrong that can be replaceable?
We expect a salt cell to last about 3.5 seasons in Michigan, give or take. A cell being two years old and needing replacement is not out of the question since there are so many factors that can differ from pool to pool. I’d expect you are at about 70-80% of the cell’s life at two years of use (if your climate in Oklahoma is anything similar to Michigan), our pools open in April/May and close in August/September. If you don’t close your pool down and the pool runs continuously – which I’m not guessing is likely – that water running through the cell also shortens its life. It may just be time to replace.