Some questions about SWGs

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J

Jarwulf

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Sep 8, 2014
40
Los Angeles CA
I'm thinking about getting a saltwater chlorinator for the 18K pool. Of the ones on amazon people seem to like the Pentair Intellichlor and the hayward goldline ones the most. Are these the favorites on here too? What about the Solaxx CLG10A?

Around the cheapest I could find the intellichlor IC40 is for $745.00. Is this a good price? Is the power center and cell all you need? Is it best to leave it up to a pro installation and if so roughly how much would it cost to get it installed? If you decide to switch systems say between a hayward and the pentair could they be more easily swapped once one is installed?
 
I have had a few Hayward SWGs ... there are nice middle of the road SWGs that are very common which means you can find help more easily.

The Pentairs have a few downsides. 1. Without their automation system, you can only change the SWG output in 20% increments. 2. Since there are electronics in the cell, the replacement cells cost more.

Installing the SWG is pretty easy. Just hook up power and a little bit of PVC work. Swapping between systems would not be "easier" since the cells are going to be different sizes and may in fact require more PVC work than the first install.

I would recommend you look for a SWG that is 1.5-3 times the size of your pool. So, a 40k cell is the right option.
 
The power center and cell is all you need for it to function, but the pentair only has 20% increments if you don't use their automation system. The Hayward gives you smaller increments, but I don't know what percent they are. I installed a circupool si60+ earlier this year. If you are handy with plumbing and electrical, you can tackle it yourself. If not, have it installed. Not sure what that would cost. Depends on your setup and whether they have to run new wire or anything. If everything is there and they are just installing the swg, I would expect $300-500. The systems usually don't directly replace another brand. The cells are usually different lengths, so you would have to do a little plumbing rework to swap brands.


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I have an 18k gallon pool built 10 years ago. Installed an Intelliclor IC40 back in May. Went with the IC40 considering the flow switch is built into the cell thus taking a few less inches of pipe space. It has reduced maintenance 50% at least and the water is perfect. I should have bought one years ago. No more cracked skin on fingers from Handling chlorine pucks. The price you mention is a good one. We paid right at that on eBay. Pentair warranty is less if you don't have a pool installer connect it. We have a friend that we used when registering the warranty.The incremental adjustment 20% at a time has not been a problem for me. We set it at 40% and run the pump about 8 hours per day due to an increase in water temp due to the recent hot weather.
 
I have a pentair and it works great. But jblizzle is right, it has a couple of minor downsides.
The Hayward works just as well, and if something goes wonky, its not as expensive to replace a part, or the cell.

go with a cell rated for at least 40K gallons.
 
The Hayward has a common problem where a current limiter on the board burns out making it stop working. A pool guy or Hayward will try to get you to replace the board for $100s ... or you follow the threads in the forum or YouTube videos and solder on a new part for < $5 ;)

Honestly that is the only downside I know of ... and this has not happened to either of my systems.

The Hayward has a knob you turn to set the % output in down to 1% increments and the replacement cells are cheaper.
 
Pentair makes IC20, 40 and 60 for 20k, 40k, 60k. It is recommended to get SWG with 1-1/2 to 3 times the capacity of your pool. I have 20k gal pool and IC49. Can't help with the other billion! :)
 

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Okay so I found an aquarite system for 850 on ebay. They don't say the cell but it appears to be a T-15 based on the output of 1.45lb/day. Do you think its worth it vs the pentair ic40 for 745? Does the aquarite control work with the different aquarite cells and are they the same size to swap out? What about getting a generic cell and the control panel seperately? Regarding autopilot is the ability to work at cold temps all that big a deal?
 
Look at this link:

Full Market Comparison of Salt Chlorine Generators

I bought a Circupool Si-30 Plus (no longer available) early this year and love it. It is easily adjustable in 1% increments. Their staff is very professional and were able to all of my answer questions over the phone. The equivalent to the one I bought is the Si-30. It has a 4 year warranty vs a 7 year warranty that mine has. Replacement cells seem to be compatibly priced to Hayward replacements. I give my SWG 2 thumbs up.

Discount Pools is also currently running a sale that includes a free size upgrade.
 
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