Emaux SSC Chlorinator -Best/Cheapest repair

[FarangRimPing]

I've been a bad boy and ignored adding salt to the pool for a long time and now my SSC chlorinator seems to be kaput (the electrode cell). 2 red lights on, which says service required. Display shows 63, which I assume means that it's running at 63% efficiency.

 

1. What is the best way to fix this?

2. What is the cheapest way to fix this?

 

I assume the answers will differ.

 

Thank you.

[jonny5]

Not sure what the 63 means... But on my SWG the display had 2 red led lights for about 2 days when I first added salt to the pool... 

I would add enough salt and just turn the pump on without the cell for a couple of days... 

Also take the cell out and clean it. 

[Bagwain]

One of the worst made chlorinators on the market. Massive warranty problems. Plus they don't produce what they are rated at! 

[FarangRimPing]

1 hour ago, Bagwain said:

One of the worst made chlorinators on the market. Massive warranty problems. Plus they don't produce what they are rated at! 

So what would you suggest for each scenario?

 

For example:

1. Buy a generic replacement cell from ...

2. Replace chlorinator with Harward, BSV, Zodiac, etc?

 

Thanks.

[Bagwain]

36 minutes ago, FarangRimPing said:

So what would you suggest for each scenario?

 

For example:

1. Buy a generic replacement cell from ...

2. Replace chlorinator with Harward, BSV, Zodiac, etc?

 

Thanks.

Depends on how old the machine is. Pretty sure you need to use the same brand. Take it to the shop that sold it to you. It would need to go to Pool & Spa in BKK. They are the main importer of that brand. (I had 10 machines all die on me in one condo complex. "Multiple pools" Brown outs stuff the lot of them)

 

You would need to put in a By - Pass & use chlorine till you sort it!

Edited March 26, 2020 by Bagwain

[FarangRimPing]

4 hours ago, Bagwain said:

Depends on how old the machine is. Pretty sure you need to use the same brand. Take it to the shop that sold it to you. It would need to go to Pool & Spa in BKK. They are the main importer of that brand. (I had 10 machines all die on me in one condo complex. "Multiple pools" Brown outs stuff the lot of them)

 

You would need to put in a By - Pass & use chlorine till you sort it!

It's only about a year old but it was my fault that it crapped out. (I neglected the pool because I wasn't using it but let the pump run.)

 

On ebay, I saw some generic cells from Australia that are supposed to fit and are considerably cheaper (11k THB) than an original Emaux replacement cell from Lazada (18k THB).  I don't know how long it will take for shipping, considering the Covid-19 situation, though.

 

I bought cleaning solution and will try to clean the cell as suggested to see if that helps.

 

Sincere thanks.

[FarangRimPing]

Update... I added a lot of salt to the pool and let the pump run for 24 hours. Bought cleaning solution and cleaned the electrode cell. Ran the pump for several more hours before I turned on the chlorinator.

 

All is now working correctly and the chlorine level in the pool is good, and actually a bit too much chlorine. (I'm currently running only 1/2 of the system, the pool itself, to clear things up quickly. I have an infinity pool and did not yet run the balancing tank through the pump/filtration/chlorinator system.)

 

Thank you for your help.

[Bagwain]

Glad to hear!!

Cells should be cleaned regularly. As you are not using the pool much, I would suggest yrly.

1st a bit of dishwashing liquid & water. Shake around to take of any grease. Then soak in a 20% acid 80% water solution to take of calcium build up. 3 - 5 minutes is fine. Then rinse with clean water.

 

In tropical conditions you need to keep your salt levels around 4,000 ppm or a tad above. Consistently low will short tthe life of the cells

Hope you pump room is well ventilated as the boards on all the main brands don't like the consistant humidity and or acid & chlorine fumes! Keep them stored elsewhere! 

Edited March 28, 2020 by Bagwain

[FarangRimPing]

22 hours ago, Bagwain said:

Glad to hear!!

Cells should be cleaned regularly. As you are not using the pool much, I would suggest yrly.

1st a bit of dishwashing liquid & water. Shake around to take of any grease. Then soak in a 20% acid 80% water solution to take of calcium build up. 3 - 5 minutes is fine. Then rinse with clean water.

 

In tropical conditions you need to keep your salt levels around 4,000 ppm or a tad above. Consistently low will short tthe life of the cells

Hope you pump room is well ventilated as the boards on all the main brands don't like the consistant humidity and or acid & chlorine fumes! Keep them stored elsewhere! 

Thanks for the advice. Very good info.

[Valentine]

The titanium coating on Emaux cells is thinner than some of the more expensive brands. I assume the cheap generic cell is the same

[SantiSuk]

I have a 3yo cell unit off tEmaux chlorinator. Saw you advice before Bagwain about cleaning and therefore took the cell unit off with the intention of cleaning a couple of months ago. Looked inside and the cell was pristine - absolutely no sign of any whitening, so didn't bother to clean it. In contrast with my previous Astral pool unit that needed a dose of one part 35% hydrochloric acid to 4 parts water every few months to clear off obvious traces of calcium.

 

The Emaux I have says it is self-cleaning and the manual does not talk about a requirement to do additional work; also it performs well in chlorinating the pool, so unless you are convincing in the need to regularly clean a supposedly self-cleaning unit Bagwain I'll probably check it every couple of years or if it starts to underperform but not do anything if everything looks fine.

 

Stop press though is that you are probably right about the wall unit's weaknesses which I've seen you voice before. The timer clock has started sticking 'on' - so that the pump stays running - at the end of my late afternoon pump run (but not after my wake up morning or late evening pump run). Stuck for the first time yesterday at 3pm - so I moved the one hour segment to switch on an hour later and it stuck at that time too today, Very curious that it sticks on in one of the three segments only; perhaps it's a heat thing. More experimentation to come!

[Bagwain]

On 4/4/2020 at 7:30 PM, SantiSuk said:

I have a 3yo cell unit off tEmaux chlorinator. Saw you advice before Bagwain about cleaning and therefore took the cell unit off with the intention of cleaning a couple of months ago. Looked inside and the cell was pristine - absolutely no sign of any whitening, so didn't bother to clean it. In contrast with my previous Astral pool unit that needed a dose of one part 35% hydrochloric acid to 4 parts water every few months to clear off obvious traces of calcium.

 

The Emaux I have says it is self-cleaning and the manual does not talk about a requirement to do additional work; also it performs well in chlorinating the pool, so unless you are convincing in the need to regularly clean a supposedly self-cleaning unit Bagwain I'll probably check it every couple of years or if it starts to underperform but not do anything if everything looks fine.

 

Stop press though is that you are probably right about the wall unit's weaknesses which I've seen you voice before. The timer clock has started sticking 'on' - so that the pump stays running - at the end of my late afternoon pump run (but not after my wake up morning or late evening pump run). Stuck for the first time yesterday at 3pm - so I moved the one hour segment to switch on an hour later and it stuck at that time too today, Very curious that it sticks on in one of the three segments only; perhaps it's a heat thing. More experimentation to come!

Install a external timer & turn the machine to on not auto! Chepa fix!

[Bagwain]

On 4/4/2020 at 7:30 PM, SantiSuk said:

I have a 3yo cell unit off tEmaux chlorinator. Saw you advice before Bagwain about cleaning and therefore took the cell unit off with the intention of cleaning a couple of months ago. Looked inside and the cell was pristine - absolutely no sign of any whitening, so didn't bother to clean it. In contrast with my previous Astral pool unit that needed a dose of one part 35% hydrochloric acid to 4 parts water every few months to clear off obvious traces of calcium.

 

The Emaux I have says it is self-cleaning and the manual does not talk about a requirement to do additional work; also it performs well in chlorinating the pool, so unless you are convincing in the need to regularly clean a supposedly self-cleaning unit Bagwain I'll probably check it every couple of years or if it starts to underperform but not do anything if everything looks fine.

 

Stop press though is that you are probably right about the wall unit's weaknesses which I've seen you voice before. The timer clock has started sticking 'on' - so that the pump stays running - at the end of my late afternoon pump run (but not after my wake up morning or late evening pump run). Stuck for the first time yesterday at 3pm - so I moved the one hour segment to switch on an hour later and it stuck at that time too today, Very curious that it sticks on in one of the three segments only; perhaps it's a heat thing. More experimentation to come!

They only self clean calcium build up by reversing the polarity on the cell. This doesn't clean body fats & oil off. So if the pool is heavily used then I recomend a wash with dishwashing liquid to remove these.