Is the Pentair IC 20 the same size as an IC40?

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bassman2

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Jul 14, 2014
6
Camas - WA
We currently have an IC20 and I think the unit is failing.

I've cleaned it twice and I still have a flashing green light. I've been told to just replace it....after doing a bit of searching, I think I'll try an IC40.

Does anyone know if the units are the same physical dimensions? Or do I need to be prepared to modify my pipes?

Thanks!!!!
 
What size is your pool? How old is your IC20?

IC20's are designed to treat up to 20k gallon pools, IC40's up to 40k gallons.

You mentioned you think the cell is failing. Can you post some more details on how you ran your cell (run times and % settings)? How is your water chemistry, what are your values for FC/CC, pH, TA and CH. Did you use Boost Mode or Superchlorination a lot?

I only ask because your going to double the size of your SWG and spend more money on a larger SWG but the failure could have been the result of water chemistry issues leading you to run your cell a lot.


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We have a Viking fiberglass pool -I'm pretty sure its the Cancun...specs say 14k gallons.

The IC20 is almost 3 years old. The % settings say 40%. Run cycle is approximately 12 hours a day. Chemistry is good. We routinely check and just took samples into the a store. We never use boost mode.

The first cleaning (hose only) took care of all the calcium. I then acid cleaned it and no bubbles formed. It's clean. The only thing I've read is that the sensor may be malfunctioning?

The reason for thinking about the ic40 - is longer life? and I can get it online for about $50 more than the ic20.
 
The IC40 is certainly a better value long term. It will last roughly twice as long but only costs a bit more. The one disadvantage is if you are using it without a Pentair automation system. Without automation Pentair only allows the percentage to be set is steps of 20%, which can get awfully coarse with an oversized SWG.
 
The IC20 is almost 3 years old. The % settings say 40%. Run cycle is approximately 12 hours a day. Chemistry is good. We routinely check and just took samples into the a store. We never use boost mode.
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3 years is the low end of a cell's life (3-5 years is typical). Running the pump 12 hrs per day seems like a bit much to me. You probably could have run at a higher % and lower pump runtime. However, your stuck with the course settings on the IC unit which makes fine tuning difficult.

I see you're new to this site so you're probably just learning this but few people on this forum trust pool store water analysis. It's apparently been working for you so I won't get too deep in the weeds with you on this. If you want detailed help on water chemistry, then you'd need to post test results from one of the test kits that TFP recommends.

Obviously an IC40 will work for your pool and as Jason stated it is better value for your money. But I agree with him that without Pentair automation (EasyTouch / SmartTouch panel), your stuck with the course settings on the front of the IC40 unit.


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Can I also ask you a follow on question - how long is your pool open for? Is it open all year or only in the summer months?

The reason I ask is because 40% at 12 hours per day only gave you a 3 year cell life. That seems awfully low to me as the Pentair manual states that you should have gotten 10,000 hours of run time out of the unit.

Did you get 10,000 hours out of the cell? The IC20 actually has an internal counter in it. If you press and hold the MORE button for 3 seconds the LEDs will scroll across to the number of hours of usage - 20% = 2000 hours, 40% = 4000 hours, etc.


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Thanks for all the help guys! The number of hours on the IC20 is also 40%.

I should clarify on my system. I have the intellitouch panel and I just recently upgraded my remote control system to use the screen logic software / Ap for my computer/ipad/iphone. I can control the chlorinator output with it... I now have it set at 27%...for some reason...it must have defaulted to that level, because I didn't touch it!

Since we live in WA and we've owned this pool for 7 years... we usually keep it running year round. We don't really winterize it, but just turn the heat down and run the pumps during the winter.

I know I'm not generating chlorine so I'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy a new unit!
 
I agree you need a new unit and IC40 is the way to go.

However, if your IC20 is right, then you only got 4000 hours at most out of it in terms of run time. That's only 40% of the maximum life span the Pentair quotes (10,000 hrs lifetime). And I suspect that run time number is actually lower since, in Winter, the automatic Cold Water Cutoff means that the cell does not generate when the water temp drops. All in all, 4000 hour seems awfully low to me and suggests either the SWG was somehow defective or there is some other issue at play like high CH water.

My only other suggestion, and this my opinion, is that you do your own water testing and you see if your pool water is ok. That also means stop using the pool store for analysis as they are well known to be way off on their analyses, especially CH.

Again, only my opinion here but you have to ask yourself why you would spend thousands of dollars on a brand new unit only to potentially put it in bad water or subject it to something that is only going to shorten it's usable life.


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bassman2 said:
The Cell light is flashing....

And the water test at the pool store was to confirm our findings... my wife doesn't trust her tests...

I can get an IC 40 for $500!
Click to expand...

Wow! An IC40 for $500....sounds like a "fell off the truck" special to me ;) but I do see it listed on Amazon that way.

One thing you might consider doing over winter is getting one of the thru-pipes that Pentair sells (you can probably even make your own for cheap). That way you can clean and remove your salt cell over winter. Just use a little Clorox bleach to keep the pool water's FC up. Might cut down on the wear and tear given your cold WA winters.

As for testing, what test kit are you using? The TFPC method is all about reliable self testing using either a Taylor K-2006 or TFTestKits TF-100. Strips, OTO Cl testing, ColorQ's are all problematic and/or unreliable. And pool stores are even worse than that; most of the time they are just flat out wrong.


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