Pentair SWCG install (IC40). Need help with plumbing design

[andrewsimmering]

Hi all,
My second iChlor 30 bit the dust and I'm replacing it with a Pentair IC40 that is slightly longer than the iChlor 30 and will require me to re-plumb the section between my heater and splitter/ball valves back to the pool where the generator is located. Looking at the installation documentation, I see the following requirements for its location:

• Install IntelliChlor SCG cell vertically for best performance. (It also should be on the upflow rather than downflow)
• The IntelliChlor SCG should be at least three (3) feet away from the heater outlet.
• For best flow sensing, provide at least 12"-18" of straight pipe in front of the cell inlet.

Without really getting crazy with the plumbing, I don't think there's a way I can meet all those requirements. Right now, none of those are met with my old generator but they both died prematurely. My question, does anyone know why it says to mount vertically and also why 3' from the heater? I want to capture as much as I can but what to know which are the most important and why.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Andrew,

I have three pools with IC40 cells and they are all installed horizontally and they seem to work just fine. If you do mount it vertically, then the water needs to flow up through the cell and not down.

The pool at my house has a 90 degree turn right before the cell itself, and it works as well as the other two, that have the recommended 12".

I do not have a heater, but you really don't want it to close the the output of the heater.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[TinFoilHat]

Hmm, mine is located vertically on the downward leg back to the pool. But I do make sure the cell is not on if the pump is off.

 

[ajw22]

Horizontal mounting works as well as vertical mounting.

The cell has a temperature sensor and running hot water from the heater into the cell can skew the temperature reading and its salinity calculation. Having a bit of pipe for the water to cool down a bit is preferred.

The cell works fine if it does not have "the best performance" or "the best flow sensing".

Do the best you can to satisfy the guidelines.

 

[andrewsimmering]

Thank you everyone that chimed in. I think I'm going to make sure to satisfy the 3' requirement for the heater (my current cell is probably 8 inches away) and the rest will just be what it ends up being. I'll probably go horizontal as that makes it much easier to plumb.