Pentair IC30 - Replace or wait

[611Manetta]

I have a 12,000-gallon saltwater pool in NJ which has a Pentair IC30 SWG. I purchased the house in August 2020, at the time the Owner told me the pool was converted to salt water back in 2017. Therefore, my Pentair IC30 SWG is around 6 years old. The SWG has been working fine, last season (2022) I kept it at 40% and never had an issue. Reading TPF forums, many say that a cell will last 5-7 years. Question is, do I wait for it to fail since I am within that 5-7 year timeframe, or just replace it now before it fails? If the recommendation is to replace it, should I go with an IChlor 20 or 40? My pool guy is suggesting I wait, and when it's time to replace it, go with the IChlor 20. He said the IChlor 40 is way oversized and the SWG will need to run at a very low output (10-20%) which can be bad for the cell. What are your thoughts???

 

[mknauss]

I would wait and replace with the IC40. The IntelliChlor cells are much more robust versus the iChlor cells.

I would NOT get an IC20, unless you run the pump 24 hours per day during swim season all ready.

 

[Newdude]

Reading TPF forums, many say that a cell will last 5-7 years. Question is, do I wait for it to fail since I am within that 5-7 year timeframe, or just replace it now before it fails?

We are the shorter season people bringing the average up. You very well could get 9 years.

The IC15 and 30 are the budget models which aren't even budget friendly. Today's price has the more robust IC40 cheaper than the IC30.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

You could always buy the cell and keep handy for whenever your current cell goes kaput.
I had posted this just the other day.... Sale at Marina on IC40 Cells
A big cell means you run it an hour or so per day at 100%, or more hours per day at a lesser percentage. The cell doesn't care, but the fewer hours its run adds to its lifespan.

Remember that any time your SWG is offline, just use Liquid Chlorine instead. That'll hold you good till the SWG is up and running again. You never want to leave the water to go stagnant.

Maddie

 

[Mdragger88]

If you buy a new one & don’t use it for a while you will have wasted some of your warranty. I would use the new one & keep the old one in reserve in that case. Most name brand swg cells like pentair have a finite lifespan of roughly 8-10k hrs if run @100%, not necessarily a certain number of years.
There’s no harm in running a larger cell on a lower percentage, it just means you won’t burn through your 8-10k hrs of life as fast. This is what TFP recommends to get the most for your $$ when it comes to swg’s. The cell doesn’t care, it just does what you tell it. Many folks here run @ a low % 24/7 if they have a variable speed pump. The larger the cell, the less you will need to run your single speed pump allowing for reduced energy costs.
Sounds like you need a new pool guy.

 

[ajw22]

The Pentair IntelliChlor has IC20, IC40, and IC60 cells.

The Pentair iChlor SWG is a lower end chlorine generators for pools with 15,000 gallons or less. TFP recommends that SWG capacity be at least 2X the pool volume.

The iChlor has two available models:

• iChlor 15 (0.6) for pools up to 15,000 gallons Pentair says (TFP 7,500 gallons)
• iChlor 30 (1.0) for pools up to 30,000 gallons Pentair says (TFP 15,000 gallons)

Pentair Intellichlor ICXX SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Pentair iChlor SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com