Pentair iChlor 30 dead after 3.5 years. 😭

CattleDog

New member
Feb 6, 2021
3
Cincinnati
Pool Size
12500
Surface
Fiberglass
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
Several days ago my chlorinator started throwing a low salt light. Its not. In fact, its a little on the high side at 4000ppm (checked a few times with a drop test). Then today I noticed it was dead. After some troubleshooting, I noted the 10a fuse in the power supply was blown. After replacing it, I get the green light inside the power supply. But soon after the pump kicks on, the fuse blows. My assumption is, once the chlorinator sees flow and tries to kick on, it blows the fuse. I tried doing an acid clean, but it changed nothing. The blades looked perfectly fine anyway. They always have as my calcium is typically around 150 (fiberglass).

I only have a 13,000 gallon pool. The ichlor 30 is a little oversized for my application and has a estimated lifespan of 10,000 duty hours. My pool season is mid April to Mid Oct. I set the duty cycle, typically, 15% in the spring and fall, and peaking at 25% in mid summer. I never use the 100% super chlorination setting. So 6 months X 30 days per month X 24 hours per day X 20% average duty cycle is about 864 hours per year. Or just over 3000 hours in my case for this chlorinator.

That is less than 1/3 the estimated lifespan. I have come to terms with I will need to replace it ($$). But I’d really like to get a little more life out of the next one. Is there any reason to believe I did something wrong? Pretty much the only thing I add to my pool is replacement water, shock, salt, acid, and occasionally CYA.
 
Welcome to TFP.

The iChlor has proven to be a low quality cell. I think that is why Pentair has replaced it with the LT25 and Plus30 cells.

Get one of the new Pentair cells that should be more reliable.

 
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I’d really like to get a little more life out of the next one. Is there any reason to believe I did something wrong?
Nope. Its the budget model and if they performed like the flagship models (of any brand), nobody would buy the expensive models.

Pentair kept the distinction between the two models with the new line, although they appear to share more parts now. Time will tell if they are still lesser quality or just smaller versions.
 
had no idea the ichlor30 was problematic, or even a budget model. Live and learn.
My PB gave me the 60 because he was a spare no expense kinda guy. I could have had an entirely different experience with a 'properly sized' cell that looked better on paper and cost.