"No Frills" SWG

[Beez]

Is Intex the only manufacturer that makes a "bare bones" unit without all the fancy schmancy electronics?

I'm thinking of a unit that wouldn't try to test the water for salt, temp, etc. for me. It would produce chlorine at a consistent rate when on, do nothing when off. As I understand it, that's what the Intex SWG does...any others?

 

[JasonLion]

The Intex SWG is the only one in it's price range that is any good at all. The next step up would be the Hayward Aqua Trol, around $450. There are several simple SWGs for around $800, but I am assuming that they wouldn't interest you.

By the by, any SWG is going to need to have some idea of what the salt level is in order to work correctly. The Intex unit measures the salt level, though it doesn't bother to tell the user what the salt level is.

 

[Beez]

The Intex SWG is the only one in it's price range that is any good at all. The next step up would be the Hayward Aqua Trol, around $450. There are several simple SWGs for around $800, but I am assuming that they wouldn't interest you.

I may not have made myself clear, the question was not about price, but simplicity. What I am looking for is the simplest units made by reliable manufacturers. And what I really had in mind was a unit that works similarly to the Intex, but better quality...

By the by, any SWG is going to need to have some idea of what the salt level is in order to work correctly. The Intex unit measures the salt level, though it doesn't bother to tell the user what the salt level is.

Why is that? Would it harm the unit if salt-free water ran through it while it was trying to produce chlorine?

 

[Beez]

Nevermind...

I can see that this was a naive question. The electronics are integral to these devices. I was dreaming of a more mechanical solution that wouldn't depend on sensitive electronics to work.

It started when I saw the Intex SWG, which I mistakenly thought didn't have the sensors and such.

Sorry...carry on!


Dave

 

[DBfan187]

Resilence

 

[JasonLion]

There are a number of elements to a SWG that invite failures. You don't want the cell running if no water is flowing, but flow sensors are inherently unreliable. The unit needs to know the salt level either to adjust the voltage to produce a constant amount of chlorine or to protect its self against high salt levels which can burn out the power supply (depending on which of the two major designs it uses).

There are more complex units, such as the AutoPilot, that have additional features and more complexity. And there are simpler units, like Compu Pool and Resilence, that just have the basics. But even the simpler ones aren't exactly simple. There is always a fair bit of electronics and a number of different ways they can fail.

 

[dmanb2b]

slightly off topic...but if you are considering a intex swg...just found it on ebay for $145shipped...item #350164547679

I just posted to others if interested as well...happened to be a seller I noted since I ordered mine from them a while back...must be clearance sale...

On topic...the intex is pretty reliable...I have had zero problems all season and if it breaks...I'm picking up a spare now for $145...since eventually the cell will go bad

 

[Strannik]

the simplest would be DIY

buy a cell, transformer which can handle suitable current and put a diode bridge in to rectify the current

put it in a nice box, and you got yourself an SWG

but be prepared that the output will fluctuate with temperature/salt level and if you go too high on salt the transformer will burn out.

if you want simplicity in terms of not having additional features like fancy displays showing you the weather on the other side of the world, there is a number of such units, like Autochlor, Resilience and few others