Can I put a different brand's cell on my system?
Sometimes, and it is a real market rather than a bodge. Several makers here build cells specifically to run on another brand's power centre, and they say so outright: our shelf carries cells described as replacing a Hayward T-Cell-15, a Pentair IntelliChlor IC20 or IC40, and Jandy AquaPure port cells. Roughly half the cells on this page are from those cross brand makers. What you cannot do is assume: the plug, the housing length and the way the power centre reads the cell all have to match, so buy one that names your system.
How do I tell which cell I need?
Read the power centre, not the old cell. The box on the wall carries the system name and that is what every cell here is described against, whereas the label on a cell that has been in chlorinated water for five years is often unreadable. On a Jandy also count the ports and the blades, because AquaPure cells come as two port and three port and with seven or fourteen blades, and the blade count is what sets the gallon rating: seven blades is a 12,000 gallon cell and fourteen is a 40,000 one.
What gallon rating should I buy?
At or above your pool's volume, and there is no penalty for going over. A cell rated for more water than you have simply runs at a lower output percentage to hold the same chlorine level, which means fewer hours of actual electrolysis and a longer life out of the plates. A cell rated under your pool runs flat out all season and wears quickly while still struggling in August. Ratings on this page step through 15,000, 20,000, 25,000, 40,000 and 60,000 gallons.
How long should a cell last, and why did mine stop?
Life is counted in running hours rather than seasons, and a maker quoting over ten thousand hours means something quite different on a pool that runs twelve hours a day than on one that runs six. When a cell stops early it is usually not worn out. Scale is the common cause: calcium builds on the plates, insulates them, and output falls away. Low salt, cold water and a dirty flow switch all produce the same symptom. Inspect the plates before buying, and if you clean them use the ratio your maker publishes, because too strong strips the coating that does the work.
