Intex 8110 Chlorine Generator Fix

[Bacon_boy]

Try cleaning the cell plates whit muriatic acid diluted with water.my free chlorine level wouldn't rise no matter how long i would set the chlorinator. it worked for me wile pouring the acid on the plates I could hear it fizz like a cola drink I repeated until it stopped fizzing.

[Mikey785]

I have the Intex 8110 which has been running for 4 years now. Last year, I started getting the dreaded Code 91 alarm. After checking my salt level (which was fine), I tried the resistor adjustment mentioned previously. This seemed to work fine last year, but the alarm came back again this spring and no amount of resistor adjustment would work. So while taking off the cell to clean it with CLR, I noticed that the two pin contacts had more rust than a 71 Civic! It looks like there is a pinhole leak around the pins and the salt water gets in there and corrodes them. Anyhow, I cleaned the pins and the plates (which were pretty clean anyhow), and the whole thing came back to life and is working perfectly now. Hope this helps someone!

[chirozom]

I have owned 3 intex model 8110 units. (they do not deserve to be capitalized)
The first was purchased in 2006. It was replaced under warranty. It's replacement had a leak around the cell post (and is not under warranty) The leak caused rust to develop in the connector. After cleaning the connector and putting dielectric grease on the contacts, the unit worked for a short time, but code 91 returned. After reviewing ALL the previous posts, here are my conclusions on the 91 code fix, given in order of importance and ease.

1. Start by reading the manual and following the cleaning instructions for the cell. Clean the cell in kitchen grade vinegar for 2-3 hours and flush with a water hose afterwards. Do not use any metal objects to clean the electrodes. (I did this on a "clean" looking cell, and got out deposits that were not visible)
http://www.intexcorp.com.hk/proifv/proifv_dl_client.jsp?lst_docsea=2009&source=intexstore&gid=2&lid=9536

2. Reverse the plug on the cell (put the plug on upside down)

3. Open the case and adjust the resistors

4. Rewire the unit

Steps 1 and 2 have worked for now, so I have not bothered to go onto 3 or 4.

[320hal]

God bless America, this site and the wonderful people with their answers. My husband suggested i search for a fix and this is where i wound up. i did the rv1 1/4 turn and "bingo!" my saltwater system is golden. i have to admit it took me almost 10 min to find the rv1,2,3 things. they are right in the lower middle of the circuit board behind stuff so ...i guess i'm a little slow on the uptake. none the less, thanks for saving me the cost of a replacement unit. this is my 3rd or 4th summer with the intex saltwater unit and i couldn't be more thrilled. 2 of my neighbors have them now per my urging. they also are thrilled. other than this years startup, i have not had 1 single problem with my unit and it has saved us so much $ in chemical and our skin from the alternative severe clorine system. God bless you all.
thanks

[Tommyboy]

Hey , the "CODE 91" fix was said a while back regarding resistors. pull off cover carefully, both the flow sensor and cell power cables exit the case making lifting the plastic case difficult but manageable. look for three adjustable resisters, one above the other. They are marked (or mine was) VR1, VR2,and VR3 on the circuit board. they were black and about the diameter of a pencil eraser with a small Philips (+) adjustable head. The head was locked with glue? but it can be scraped off. The original suggestion said to turn the VR1 resister a quarter turn CCW. This did not work for me but I added an additional quarter turn CCW (now half a turn CCW) and it is back working as it did originally. I will keep an eye on my salt content to keep at 3000ppm as suggested in manual.

NOTE: I have now taken it apart and scrapped off the glue - but seems that the screw is plastic and I have destroyed the screw in an attempt to turn it. Not good - I'm attempting to get a 1/4 turn on a destroyed plastic half glued screw... aaaahhhhh

[Guest]

I have one that I have set and I don't get a green light. It remains orange... it is no longer beeping codes at me but I'm not sure if it's doing what it is supposed to be doing. any ideas.

[phxerik]

I think i may have a good explanation to the 91 or 92 codes. The 8110 measures the salt concentration through the conductivity of the salted water. And obviously, the conductivity of salted water - as any other solution or solid - is linked to the temperature of the solution or the material. As a result, the same salted water will feature a lower conductivity at 15C than at 25C. For reference, a salted water is twice more conductive at 37C than at 5C!

I have not seen anything about this from Intex or in any other place. your thoughts?

I was thinking the same thing. I have a code 91 that activates after a minute or two after it starts running. So far I started testing parts of it.
First I tested the water coming out to see if it is making Chlorine for the minute or two that it was running. It indeed was making Chlorine.
Next I unplugged the electrolytic cell to see what it would do for codes. Again it gave me a code 91. So I plugged that connector back in and unplugged the connector to the copper electrodes. And Success. I ran for over an hour with no error codes and I made some Chlorine. After it ran the short cycle I went out and saw that is came up with an error code of 91 again. Bummer. Anyways, I thought I would do some readings of voltage and such on the leads going to each device. I got 13.5v on my electrolytic cell and on my copper electrodes I got 0.
So thinking it through a little I'm now thinking all the copper electrodes are there purely to test the amount of resistance there is in the water. Which is where "8110 temp" is going with this. Any who's to make this long winded message come to an end. Is there anyone out there with a working unit, with a pool that is in perfect shape (as far as the water is concerned), and that has a good meter that is willing to unplug the copper electrodes and measure the resistance between the two poles. I would like to see if I can substitute a resister in place of the copper electrodes.
At this point I have only owned this thing for 10 months and already have a flow switch that went out and now a code 91 issue.
Why didn't I return it and get parts under warranty you ask. Well living in Arizona receipts that see the heat tend to erase the writing on them. So they refuse to give me the parts under warranty. Sweet. Intex is a horrible company when it comes to customer service and satisfaction.
Thanks for all the information given thus far on this thread. All great help..

[jccheif]

After reading every single post on this code 91 issue I tried a few of the solutions that were offered. After making chlorine with a 12 volt battery I decided to take a slightly different approach. I simply disconnected all wires from the screw terminal and connected the cell directly to the transformer. After putting it back together I tested the voltage at the two pin connector that slides over the cell pins. I was getting 24.5 volts. I am making chlorine and all seems well.

Question for you pool tech people; Can I just leave the thing on 24/7? It does not use that much energy and would probably help to keep the pump running and keep the water filtered better. Wold this make too much chlorine?

If needed I will instal a timer and be happy.

Thanks again for all the help.

[flyboy9503]

just hookup a 12 volt battery and bypass the transformer

[Philo]

Question for you pool tech people; Can I just leave the thing on 24/7? It does not use that much energy and would probably help to keep the pump running and keep the water filtered better. Wold this make too much chlorine?

If needed I will instal a timer and be happy.

Thanks again for all the help.

Depending on your pool size, this will most probably raise the chlorine level way too high. Refer to you owner manual for the duration you should program according to your pool size (water volume in fact). You could then use a regular timer to control your modified chlorine generator to have it work only for this specific duration per day.

Note that if the chlorine generator keeps working while your pump goes off (off water flow stops for any reason), hydrogen will accumulate in the cell. Hydrogen + electrical current would probably mean a good nice explosion, and if your swimming pool is a ground one, your pool empying through the hole...

Do it at your own risks.

This is why the unit has a protection system that ensure there is water flow at all time when the cell is working.

OTOH, I'm really glad I found this site. As recommended, I will clean my cell, even if I don't see any deposit, then trying the resistor adjustment. I'll first have to dump water and bring some fresh water in to lower the salt level that is most probably way too high...

[Philo]

After three seasons with no issues with the 8110 model, I've had the code 91 for a few days. I've added more salt than I should have and it still won't work.

Today I've followed the recommendation to reverse the electrolytic cell connector (to reverse polarity) and it worked.

[bdhurt]

I have an intex saltwater system. One morning upon inspection, the electrolytic cell was charred and burned and I kept getting the low salt error. I called intex and they approved my warranty claim and told me I would receive an email when the part shipped. A week later I had not received and email so I called intex. The part is "out of stock" and they had no idea when it would be in. They weren't planning to notify me of this. I wonder if I try to buy one, if they will have them then.

[jryan]

i do not see the little black resisotrs that you were talking about to adjust. mine is brand new and the low salt keeps coming on no matter how much salt is added. i have done everything i know to do and found this site but i cant figure it out. help please!!

[jryan]

I have been battling the "91" demon for a couple of weeks without solution. I have checked and double checked my salt level, cleaned my plates, and tested the plates with a battery charger. I decided today to bypass the onboard controls and make it work by just plugging it in and I think I succeeded. I tried adjusting the resistor as mentioned in a previous post without benefit. When I pulled the cover off the control housing there are four screw connections on the left side of the circuit board. With my Fluke meter I determined two screws to be the entry point to the printed circuit of approx. 42-44 volts from the transformer, capacitor, and rectifier. The other two are easy to trace to the cell plug to power the plates. After verifying polarity, I moved the in coming 42-44 volts to the same screws with the leads going out to the cell. I am currenty generating chlorine. I do not know what this will do long term but I had nothing to loose. Tomorrow I will go in search of a good outdoor GFI timer to control the unit. This is a simple change that is also easy to undo. Also, I noticed the plug to the cell will fit both ways. That makes cleaning the cell a simple plug flip and a little run time. This thing is simply over engineered for what it does, I feel. They could leave out the salt detecting circuit and just go with a timer and an overload breaker. I can test my own salt.

which wires did you move? color? were they te top ones or bottoms ones??

[jryan]

has anyone eve used the chlor ease system? is it better or worse han intex?