Has anyone ever heard of this Salt Water Chlorinator.

http://www.poolthing.com/pages/index.php

I've never been a big fan of the "contact us or we won't give details" kind of companies. I want to see a picture of the unit, prices, etc. BTW, from their site, I don't see anything different or that sets them apart from all other SWG, except that they don't provide details on their product....

That was my take, I am going to order the AutoPilot. The pool store that I purchased my other equipment from is selling this unit. The Cost is under $600.

This unit reminds me very much of the Pool Ex chlorine generators, also from Arizona. They look like copies of the WaterMaid SWGs from Australia and they use a higher Salt and CYA level then most of the other units on the market. Also, this is not a self cleaning system so it is based on older designs.

NWMNMom - they have manuals with pictures of the product on their site.
A lot of testimonials. Camelback Resort Scottsdale uses it. I'm familiar with that resort. It's one of Scottsdales oldest resorts. Not the biggest nor very fancy by todays standards but well kept and is mostly time share villa's. There is another resort in Las Vegas listed - Fairfield Grand Desert - Looks decent. Nice comments about the product by the GM and Operation's Mgrs. of the resorts.

It has a fairly decent warranty. The unit isn't the most attractive one I've ever seen but, if it works.

It's American made (although, I bet with all parts from China - but what isn't, these days?)

They do make some self cleaning, reverse polarity units as well as manual clean units.

I do believe that PoolEx and PoolThing may be the same company or use the same parts, anyway. Their replacement cells look the same. They also look the same as the Crystal Clear SWG manufactured in Australia.

I wonder why they recommend a higher salt level? 4000 - 5100 and I wonder if that is good or bad other than what has been mentioned about corrosion etc on that other thread.

Anohter thing I found interesting is that the manual says to use Rock Salt.

The cell will be a little more efficient at higher salt levels so they can sell a smaller cell and still handle a reasonably sized pool. At various points between 5000 and 6000 ppm a couple of additional materials are said to become vulnerable to salt, while the changes between 3000 and 5000 should be more gradual. Of course no one seems to have done any rigorous testing so it is hard to be sure.

So, they are smaller cells, for sure?

Based on your explanation, I'm also wondering if they are designed for higher output because the company is in Arizona and with the hot sun depleting chlorine so fast. So they designed it to compensate. Could that be a consideration.

It is difficult to judge plate size, it looks a little smaller to me but I can't say for sure. They could use the same size cell and generate more chlorine; but I would be very surprised if they did.

Increasing salt above the recommended levels do not equate to more chlorine output (or being able to use a smaller cell). It does allow the cell to be more efficient, but mostly because it allows the Control unit to run cooler (less heat on the transformer).
Also, ALOT of systems come over from Australia and very little from China. (In fact, there are no salt systems from China that I know of).

So that would mean a smaller transformer?