Intellichlor questions

[jim_bo]

Firstly, what a great site. I've been lurking for a while, but I think this is the first time I've asked anything.

My pool started getting green. Hmm. Flow LED (IC40) red. Flow seems good enough, but backpressure is a little high, so I'll clean the filter. Backpressure went back to normal, but flow LED still red. Research suggests I replace the flow sensor (thanks, TFP!) which will be here tomorrow. I cleaned the cell for the first time in 3 years at the start of the season- no fizzing or sign of scale, so pretty sure that's not an issue.

I had a couple of questions after researching this, though:

1. What is the difference between the IC40 and IC60? The IC40 draws twice as much current as the IC20, per the current Power Center manual on Pentair's website, but the IC40 spec section is displayed twice. (On page 6, I think it's a typo). Is the plate array the same? (I'm just wondering if they're changing the chlorine output by simply changing the value of a current limiting resistor in the IC and charging you an additional $200 for the love- I've seen manufacturers do similar things plenty of times in the past.)

2. What's the purpose of the lifetime counter? Is there actually something consumable in the IC, or is it just a ploy to get you to buy a new one every 5 years or so? Will it refuse to work past 10,000 hours, or is it just letting you know? If the plates do erode, I really don't like the idea of having to drop $700 on a new unit periodically unless the plates are made of platinum or something- and, of course, the plates aren't replaceable, so they're making you needlessly pay for all the electronics and other stuff which are likely still good.

Thanks for any insight-
Jim

 

[ajw22]

Plates erode and wear out. Cell has a finite life of CL it can generate.

The cell plates are coated with some rare earth that makes them expensive.

I have never disassembled an IC60 but I would believe it has more plates to give increased CL output.

Other manufacturers like Hayward and Jandy separate the electronics from the cell. There are pros and cons to both ways.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Jim,

Think of salt cells like you do the gas tank on your car.. The bigger the cell that larger the "tank" and the further you can go.. But unlike your car, once the tank is empty, it can't be refilled.

Cells should last 5 to 7 years.. The larger the cell, the longer it will last on the same size pool... On the high end that is $100 a year for all the chlorine you need.. You are just buying the chlorine up front, instead of month to month.

The reason we always recommend a cell that is at least 2 x the pool volume is so that you can run them at a lower output level and allow the cell to last longer.

All brands of cells work the same basic way and as far as I can tell their goal is not to rip you off...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[jim_bo]

Plates erode and wear out. Cell has a finite life of CL it can generate.

The cell plates are coated with some rare earth that makes them expensive.

I have never disassembled an IC60 but I would believe it has more plates to give increased CL output.

Other manufacturers like Hayward and Jandy separate the electronics from the cell. There are pros and cons to both ways.

What would you say are the pros and cons? I'll have to replace this thing eventually... I can see how switching to a non-Pentair system would be difficult if you have the Intellitouch infrastructure installed, but a quick search shows that for just a generator (what I have currently) you can save quite a bit if you're using a system that allows replacement of just the cell.

Thanks-
Jim

 

[jim_bo]

Firstly, what a great site. I've been lurking for a while, but I think this is the first time I've asked anything.

My pool started getting green. Hmm. Flow LED (IC40) red. Flow seems good enough, but backpressure is a little high, so I'll clean the filter. Backpressure went back to normal, but flow LED still red. Research suggests I replace the flow sensor (thanks, TFP!) which will be here tomorrow. I cleaned the cell for the first time in 3 years at the start of the season- no fizzing or sign of scale, so pretty sure that's not an issue.

I had a couple of questions after researching this, though:

1. What is the difference between the IC40 and IC60? The IC40 draws twice as much current as the IC20, per the current Power Center manual on Pentair's website, but the IC40 spec section is displayed twice. (On page 6, I think it's a typo). Is the plate array the same? (I'm just wondering if they're changing the chlorine output by simply changing the value of a current limiting resistor in the IC and charging you an additional $200 for the love- I've seen manufacturers do similar things plenty of times in the past.)

2. What's the purpose of the lifetime counter? Is there actually something consumable in the IC, or is it just a ploy to get you to buy a new one every 5 years or so? Will it refuse to work past 10,000 hours, or is it just letting you know? If the plates do erode, I really don't like the idea of having to drop $700 on a new unit periodically unless the plates are made of platinum or something- and, of course, the plates aren't replaceable, so they're making you needlessly pay for all the electronics and other stuff which are likely still good.

Thanks for any insight-
Jim

Just a followup- I misread the Pentair Power Center manual. On the AC side it draws 1A at 220v, 2A at 110v. DC side is good for 7.3A at 22-39v.