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
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