Wondering how to take care of a salt cell? Many people ask us how to keep their salt cell working well and lasting longer. We have complied a list of some steps that can be taken to ensure it lasts its full life.
How to Make your Salt Cell Last Longer:
- During a pool closing you should remove your cell and store it inside over the winter. You can do this by unscrewing the unions with large channel locks. Salt cells are not made to withstand a Canadian winter. We recommend storing them inside where it is warm. This is especially true if the cell is low to the ground where snow can cover it. Please Note: you should tape or bag the ends (where the salt cell was) so water does not go into the lines over the winter.
- Look inside the cell to check for scaling. Calcium build up can happen over the course of the summer. When you look inside the cell you should see the blades. If those blades have white calcium spots on them you should clean the cell. There are cleaning solutions you can buy for under $20 to do this. If you don’t see any calcium build up that means you have done a good job balancing the water over the summer and the cell does not need to be cleaned.
- Run the cell at a lower setting. During the summer, the higher you set the cell to run at (60%-100%) or (4-5 lights) effects the life of the cell. When it is set higher the cell has to work harder, this will shorten the life of the cell. To help with this we recommend that you keep your stabilizer level in range. Stabilizer helps hold chlorine in the water over the summer. This means the chlorine will burn off slower (don’t need to produce as much) allowing you to run your cell at a lower level.
Bonus:
- If you have a Hayward salt system and you notice the “inspect cell” light has come on. This is often not something you need to be concerned about. These cells are made for pools in Florida and California where people run their pools year round (wouldn’t that be nice eh). These lights come on automatically every 3 months for people to check the cell because they don’t remove them during the winter. If you test the water and the cell is producing chlorine your cell is most likely working properly. To stop the “inspect cell” light from flashing, hold the black diagnostic button for 5 seconds and the light will turn off.
