A am in the process of switching my pool from a regular chlorine pool to a salt pool. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which manufacturer makes the best system. I am considering Jandy, Pentair, and Hayward. Thanks for any help.
Best Salt Generator System
- Thread starter blkurtz
- Start date
Welcome to the forum. 
Impossible to answer....who makes the best car? As always, it depends.
Impossible to answer....who makes the best car? As always, it depends.
As Dave (the other Dave) said, it's pretty impossible to answer that specifically. They all make good units, and sometimes they make a bad one.
The best thing you can do is find out which mfg. has the best service and parts near you. Also be sure to buy a unit big enough for your pool. We recommend sizing the unit 1½ to 3 times the size of your pool.
The best thing you can do is find out which mfg. has the best service and parts near you. Also be sure to buy a unit big enough for your pool. We recommend sizing the unit 1½ to 3 times the size of your pool.
If you have automation then stay with the same brand. 3+ years with the Pentair IC40 have been great. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.
Saturn94
Bronze Supporter
- Mar 11, 2015
- 1,746
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I can't remember which one it is off hand, but one of the major brands (Pentair?) only allows adjustment in course 10% increments unless you also have their automation system.
It is Pentair that only allows 20% increments without automation. Mine is on a timer, so dialing in the percentage and the number of hours on it is not an issue to maintain the correct level of FC.
For what it's worth I plan on replacing my Compupool system with Aquarite when it fully dies. It seems all units have their issues. The Aquarite have a current limiter issue that is know and is an relatively easy fix. It's a $5 part. It seems more of an issue where there's lots of power-surges/lighting.
They all have the plus and minus I suppose. All in all though, all three that you mentioned enjoy a pretty good reputation.
The Pentair has all of the manual controls built into the cell itself, so a cell replacement is considerably more expensive than a Hayward one.
Hayward is pretty good unit, I dont know of any minuses except that the Current Limiter is subject to burn up. Its an easy 10 dollar DIY fix though, so this should not steer you away from one.
I dont know anything about any of the other makers, so maybe someone will chime in on that.
I fully concur with Isaac, get a unit rated for at least 1.5x your pool volume. Prefereably even higher. The bigger the cell is, the less wear and tear on it to produce x amount of chlorine. So, larger cells should last longer.
The Pentair has all of the manual controls built into the cell itself, so a cell replacement is considerably more expensive than a Hayward one.
Hayward is pretty good unit, I dont know of any minuses except that the Current Limiter is subject to burn up. Its an easy 10 dollar DIY fix though, so this should not steer you away from one.
I dont know anything about any of the other makers, so maybe someone will chime in on that.
I fully concur with Isaac, get a unit rated for at least 1.5x your pool volume. Prefereably even higher. The bigger the cell is, the less wear and tear on it to produce x amount of chlorine. So, larger cells should last longer.
Are you looking to add automation? What are the specifics of your system?
In general, I would consider Hayward, Jandy, AutoPilot and Pentair, in that order.
In general, I would consider Hayward, Jandy, AutoPilot and Pentair, in that order.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,379
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
My beef with Jandy is that the largest Aquapure cells top out at 1.4lbs of chlorine per day. With Hayward and Pentair you can get more output for about the same money. What bothers me about Hayward's cell is that they must know that the current limiter is their achilles heel and yet, in all these years, they've never bothered to change their system design to fix it. So you have to ask - why would a world-class manufacturer of pool and spa equipment allow a known design flaw to persist when other manufacturer's cells do not have this problem? To me, that's a big red flag. And yes, Pentair's cell is limited to only 20% increments of output when you use it stand-alone outside of a Pentair automation panel. That's a bit ridiculous and they could change that if they wanted to.
One thing to keep in mind is to check warranties. Often times, pool equipment manufacturers will severely limit their warranties when a person buys their equipment and installs it themselves. Pentair and Jandy have had some issues in this area where they have told customers that, because they self-installed their equipment, the warranty was only good for 60-days. So it's always best to call the manufacturer directly (even if you're going to buy it on Amazon or online retail) and ask them what their warranty policy is for self-installed equipment.
One thing to keep in mind is to check warranties. Often times, pool equipment manufacturers will severely limit their warranties when a person buys their equipment and installs it themselves. Pentair and Jandy have had some issues in this area where they have told customers that, because they self-installed their equipment, the warranty was only good for 60-days. So it's always best to call the manufacturer directly (even if you're going to buy it on Amazon or online retail) and ask them what their warranty policy is for self-installed equipment.
My understanding is that the newest AquaRite addresses the current limiter issue by using a relay to take it out of the circuit after a few seconds of startup.
James is correct. A relay that bypasses the current limiter has been incorporated into the design of the GLX-PCB-RITE board.
Hayward has the best warranty and is the simplest (IMO) of the big 3. I would not hesitate for a second to install one, but as others have said, go as big as your wallet will allow.
Hayward has the best warranty and is the simplest (IMO) of the big 3. I would not hesitate for a second to install one, but as others have said, go as big as your wallet will allow.
Jandy Fusion soft. Cells cheaper to replace, easy to clean and inspect. You can use a mineral cartridge if you want to. If you get a pro to install you get 3 year warranty. All systems should be wired to only come on when filter pump is on.
We never recommend running a mineral cartridge as it is not needed and can lead to staining the pool surface.
- Jun 12, 2011
- 3,761
- Pool Size
- 19500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pureline Crystal Pure 60,000
I have had an AquaRite system for over 10 years now. The cell gave me over seven years of chlorine before needing replacement. Cost of a new cell was about $400, making my chlorine cost less than $60 per year. The inflow resistor you hear about did fail at nine years, but a $2.50 part and 15 minutes with a soldering iron put that right again.
If the whole system blew up tomorrow, I would buy a new one just like it.
You can find an AquaRite AQR15 with the T-15 (40k rated) cell for less than $1,000. When you need a replacement cell they are under $400. I wouldn't buy anything else, but maybe my experiance makes my a little prejudice.
If the whole system blew up tomorrow, I would buy a new one just like it.
You can find an AquaRite AQR15 with the T-15 (40k rated) cell for less than $1,000. When you need a replacement cell they are under $400. I wouldn't buy anything else, but maybe my experiance makes my a little prejudice.