Pentair Intellichlor Bypass (Custom Made)

[eostrike]

Hey everyone, I have not posted in quite a while but I wanted to share this bypass that I made yesterday. I originally purchased an Impresa bypass by a big online company and it arrived cracked. This brand felt really thin and cheap, not something that I felt could last long term. I ended up and sent it back and decided I will just pony up and pay for the original Pentair bypass from the same company but different seller (I am sure you'll know who I am talking about). This seller listed it as a Pentair product, even posted the original Pentair picture, linked it to Pentair's website etc. At over twice the price as the Impresa I was getting the original one right? Well once it arrived I was shocked to see I was sent the another Impresa from a different seller. At this point I was fed up. I sent it back and then decided to make my own. I took a chance and looked for 2" male unions online and compared the threads to my Pentair IC40 and took a gamble on ordering them once I felt I had the correct unions. These arrived yesterday and they were the correct part to make my bypass.

I found that my 7" miter saw along with an aluminum blade cut through the 2" PVC with no chipping and smooth as butter, way better than using a hacksaw. But if you do not have a miter and most people do not a hacksaw or PVC cutter will work just fine. As you will see this turned out very well and the total cost for me was just under $12.00. This was due to the fact that I had a piece of 2" schedule 40 PVC laying around from a previous project as well as the paint. If I did not have the 2" PVC and the paint then the total cost would have been more than the Impresa but a higher quality that should last for many years if not more since this is the same PVC used on all the pool plumbing. You will also have left over 2" PVC and paint for a future repairs, etc.

I purchase the male unions online at Leslies and being a pool perks member I received free shipping. No way you can go wrong here.

I have attached photos and if this helps out just one person I have done my job here.

 

[Newdude]

NICE job !!!! For PVC, you're supposed to flip the miter saw blade so it cuts backwards in relation to the teeth. I've found that most the time I don't need to. I do a test cut like you, and go from there.

 

[eostrike]

NICE job !!!! For PVC, you're supposed to flip the miter saw blade so it cuts backwards in relation to the teeth. I've found that most the time I don't need to. I do a test cut like you, and go from there.

Good tip there Newdude and thanks for the comment, in my case I performed a few test cuts with the blade in the correct rotation and since the aluminum blade has many teeth there were no issues with chipping etc. This was my experience but may be different with someone else using a different blade.

 

[ShallowWater]

Why the bypass?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

In case anyone is wondering - you can buy the "official" Pentair spray paint (yes, they have their own spray paint can) for really ridiculously expensive markup OR, if you're a value shopper, you can just buy standard Rustoleum spray paint (or whatever brand is available). Pentair's "official" color is KHAKI tan -

HTML color code - #c3b091

or

RGB Color index - rgb(195,176,145)

 

[an1vrsy]

I didn't know Pentair even sold spray paint. What I wrote down from this thread thanks to @eostrike is the can of Rust-Oleum from the post above. Now I can refresh my equipment pad PVC pipes. This Las Vegas uv is brutal.

 

[eostrike]

Why the bypass?

In my case my SWG failed after 7 years. I could have left the dead unit in place however I decided to take it apart to see if it could be repaired. For me the bypass was so my pool would still function while I was attempting repair. I have another post on that on the forum. These things are not repairable so anyone thinking of buying a non-working unit to try and get it to work, take my advise and save your money.

But my post here was for people that take theirs out in the winter and put a bypass in its place while they store their SWG inside during the winter months. Other possibilities are that they no longer want the SWG.

 

[eostrike]

I didn't know Pentair even sold spray paint. What I wrote down from this thread thanks to @eostrike is the can of Rust-Oleum from the post above. Now I can refresh my equipment pad PVC pipes. This Las Vegas uv is brutal.

I had no clue either that they had their own paint. When our pool builder built our pool in 2015 what I shared is what they used so I purchased a can and it matches up with ours pretty well.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Everywhere online will quote Pentair color as ALMOND. But, I was told by the Pentair rep for my area many years ago that it’s actually KHAKI and not almond. However, if you look at Pentair equipment that’s been sitting out for a few years getting bleached by the sun, it’s probably closer to ALMOND.

I think we’ll need the help of the fashionistas at Versace to give us the official call -

 

[eostrike]

I found paint by Pentair and it is shown as Almond as well. At what they are charging plus shipping I will stick with HD or Lowes for this.

Pentair Spray Paint Almond | VP00020000

Pool Supply Unlimited has some of the best prices when shopping for Pentair Spray Paint Almond | VP00020000

www.poolsupplyunlimited.com

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Oooo. So Pentair’s “official color” is ALMOND but they secretly use KHAKI … sneaky. That’s how you tell all the fake knock-off Pentair stuff from the real deal. If it’s ALMOND, it’s a fake!!!

 

[eostrike]

Oooo. So Pentair’s “official color” is ALMOND but they secretly use KHAKI … sneaky. That’s how you tell all the fake knock-off Pentair stuff from the real deal. If it’s ALMOND, it’s a fake!!!

Haha!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I actually looked at spray paints today when I was in Ace. In reality, either almond or khaki would be close enough in terms of matching Pentair’s equipment. So I say get the cheapest can you can find.

 

[blakeusa]

I just use an old dead cell and cut the cord off. too lazy to buy or make one. but nice job.

 

[eostrike]

I just use an old dead cell and cut the cord off. too lazy to buy or make one. but nice job.

Thanks for the comment. I could have done the same with leaving mine in place but what's the fun of that .

I have another thread that shows what is inside these cells in hopes that someone looking to buy a broken one on line thinks about it and saves that money. They are non-reparable yet I see people buying them on a popular auction site in hopes to fix it. They will soon know they wasted their money.