If it is the two plugs on the sides of the water chamber then NO! Those are what makes the SWG make chlorine!
How to remove copper bars in Intex SWG
- Thread starter cheddar85
- Start date
I second that. Worked beautifully - no leaks. I applied it to the inside/water side where the bars were attached, let it cure for 24 hours, and then as a backup seal applied to the holes on the side where the power plug connects. Here's a link for Marine Goop at Amazon.
And thanks to the original author for the great tutorial. Very helpful!
Neither. Those are the SWG portion. The one you want is the one in the middle on top of the chamber.
Are you sure that model even has copper? Looks like my mine that has the ECO instead...
Edit: The middle is the flow sensor. I am pretty sure that model does not have copper.
Well it seems to have the same chlorine production from what I read. The ECO feature has little known about it, but from what I have read in one thread around here (I believe the only thread with real info) it should be beneficial. Sorry I dont have the link handy. The biggest advantage is that it does not have the copper feature.
Wow, surprised to see this post back up here after all this time! I'll admit, there are better ways to remove the bars than what I did, it's what I had to work with at 2-3 a.m. when I couldn't sleep one night. I just said, 'Hey, while I'm up, let me go pull those bars out!' They probably don't even need to be removed, but when you struggle with metals in your source water, you tend to want to keep any of them as far from your pool as possible!
I'm glad it seems that Intex isn't putting copper in their SWG's anymore!
I'm glad it seems that Intex isn't putting copper in their SWG's anymore!
Someone linked me to your post to remove the copper bars. Thank you! It worked. I removed the "post" with a small nut driver. I found that 8/32 flat nuts (.07 cents each at the local hardware store) worked great to screw the post back in using the same small nut driver, I did not have anything to seal the holes with. I was then able to "plug" everything back in.
Thank you for this! Had no clue they had copper ionization in my unit until I read through the manual. I was like "wth, they don't say anything about this on the outside of the box! I don't want copper in my TFP."
They must have started putting the copper generators back in the Intex SWG.
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They must have started putting the copper generators back in the Intex SWG.
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Thanks, I did everything just like you described but the copper bars are from a brand new intex SWG. I can't get either of them to budge after taking out the screw, It's almost like its also welded into the plastic. Any ideas how to get the copper bars out. Thanks
Pretty sure you can just unplug the power source to the copper bar. That's what I did. Mine is last summer's model with the ECO. Works perfectly.
Interesting..... but the water will still flow through the copper bars and touch them. Does that matter? Or does copper just get into the pool if its plugged in due to some electrical charge.
Copper won't get in in any measurable amount unless it is electrified. I've had mine like this for 2 years and no increase in copper.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,407
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
The copper will only be a problem if the water becomes unbalanced and acidic. Just like a copper heat exchanger, you need to keep the water from becoming corrosive in order for the copper metal to not dissolve. So long as you don't plan to have the pH any lower than 7.2 or you don't do any kind of acid treatments (like ascorbic acid to remove metal stains), then the cooper bars should be ok. It would be best to remove them if you can find a way but I know that some of those units are designed to not be removed and require physical destruction of the housing to get them out.
I would say that if you have the water bonded to the pump and electrical system (not sure if bonding is required in Intex pools), then you might hook the copper bar up to the bonding wire so that it can not float at a potential different than the water...but I would only do that if you're absolutely sure the water is bonded.
I would say that if you have the water bonded to the pump and electrical system (not sure if bonding is required in Intex pools), then you might hook the copper bar up to the bonding wire so that it can not float at a potential different than the water...but I would only do that if you're absolutely sure the water is bonded.