Is Platinum Edition Salt Cell worth it? Keep reading to find out our take on reviewing the Platinum Edition Salt Cell.
Generally speaking, generic salt cell replacements are always a hit or miss, which leads to a lot of debate about their reliability. The Platinum Edition Salt Cell by Salt Pool Store is one of the many generic T Cell 15 replacements with a controversial reputation online.
So let’s get into a bit more detail and find out if this T Cell 15 replacement is worth a shot and how it compares to the genuine T Cell 15 by Hayward. You can also read our generalized review of Generic T Cell 15 Replacements.
Is Platinum Edition Salt Cell Legit?
As a matter of fact, the Platinum Edition Salt Cell is legit but whether it is reliable is certainly another question.
The Platinum Edition Salt Cell is sold by Salt Pool Store as a replacement cell for the original Hayward T Cell 15. It is significantly cheaper and comes with a longer warranty than Hayward, which sounds like a deal that’s too good to be true. But anyway, the Platinum Edition Salt Cell is a legitimate replacement salt cell.
However, you should keep yourself prepared for some not-so-pleasant revelations as you continue reading.
Reliability And Performance
The Platinum Edition Salt Cell is an alternative to the OEM cell by Hayward. It is compatible with Goldline, Aqua Rite, AquaLogic, AquaPlus, Mineral Springs, NatureSoft, and Swimpure salt water chlorine generator systems. This generic replacement cell is designed for pools up to 40,000 gallons.
So the salt cell does function right out of the box. It produces sufficient chlorine and hence, maintains a steady chlorine level in the pool. It also helps in sanitization, for that matter. But things start going south sooner than you may expect.
The problem with this generic replacement cell is its inability to maintain a consistent performance. The salt reading starts going off within a few months and even a few weeks for some unlucky fellas. And with that, the salt cell fails to perform how it should, leaving this generic replacement cell totally unreliable as compared to the OEM cell, which lives up to nearly all of its claims.
This was one of the reasons I did not include it in my list of Best T Cell 15 Replacements.
Construction and Build Quality
Construction wise, the Platinum Edition Salt Cell is quite impressive. It consists of high-end component parts designed for the long haul.
The titanium electrodes of this salt cell are coated with a highly corrosion-resistant coating. A blend of platinum and iridium oxides is used to cover the electrodes to enhance the performance of the cell and make it long-lasting.
Apart from that, the housing of this salt cell is transparent unlike Hayward’s T Cell 15, which is definitely a plus point. The transparent housing in this generic version allows easy monitoring of chlorine production inside the cells.
Finally, the installation of the Platinum Edition Salt Cell is just as simple as that of the genuine T Cell 15. The cell can be installed within minutes as the components are a direct match, involving no hassle of cutting or glueing, whatsoever.
Durability
Moving on to the most terrible part, the lifetime of the salt cell. This replacement salt cell is quite disappointing in terms of durability which can be said about most other generic options as well. I, specifically, pointed this out in my review of Generic T Cell Replacements.
So while the performance and construction of this salt cell may be satisfactory, it does not last. The biggest problem with the Platinum Edition Salt Cell is that it fails too soon. It is not long lasting like the Hayward T Cell 15, which can even serve for over 8 years if maintained nicely.
This replacement salt cell, on the contrary, barely lasts for 6 months or a year (if you’re lucky). I tried searching for generic T cell replacements that last longer and did find some options that last 3-4 years and have an year’s worth of warranty. You can find four such great options in my recommendation list of Best T Cell 15 Replacements.
Warranty
The Platinum Edition Salt Cell comes with a 5 year warranty, which is quite surprising because most generic salt cells offer a 1-2 year warranty, at most. And it gets even more surprising because the genuine Hayward T Cell 15 itself comes with a 3 year warranty only.
So clearly the edge goes to Platinum Edition Salt Cell in terms of the warranty policy, but only if they honor it, of course.
Customer Support
Let’s just say we’re not amazed by the customer support of Salt Pool Store either. Their customer support team is not responsive and not good at assisting their customers. Most people wait for days to get in touch with them.
So you can only imagine how terrible it’d be if you ever have a problem with your replacement salt cell. Although a few people have managed to claim their warranty, like this one:
But overall, it is not easy to reach out to them.
Price
The Platinum Edition Salt Cell is twice as cheap as Hayward’s T Cell 15. It is available for $359 only, at the Salt Pool Store, in contrast to the OEM cell, which costs around $900.
For us, this price cut is not quite promising because there’s no point in buying a cheap knockoff that’ll have you spending money on maintenance or replacements again and again.
In short, we don’t consider Platinum Edition Salt Cell worth a shot because not once have we heard a good thing about them. If you want to purchase a generic replacement cell, there are plenty of great options in the market.
If you want actually good generic T Cell 15 replacements that don’t cost a fortune, you can read my article Best T Cell 15 Replacements where I have recommended four, not one, good options.
Or you can check out some of my other equally helpful product reviews: