Salt water chlorine generator research

[sevver]

I am going to get one at the end of the season this year, I just want some opinions on what I should get. I have an 18' round pool, about 8000 gallons if I am not mistaken. For such a small pool I would imagine that the size of the SWG would not have to be too large. I see them on ebay, and I am going to look into it myself, but I also would like to tap into the knowledge here if I may.

What are some of the things I should watch out for? Are there bad ones to avoid? Thanks

[sevver]

So far the Pentair Intellichlor IC20 looks good to me, it is good for up to 20k pools. I also see the Hayward Swim Pure salt system which is good for up to 40k pools. I don't really need the 40k system, I feel that it would be a waste.

The Pentair is around $700 and the Hayward is like $1200 or so, $850 on sale now. I would probably ultimately look into getting one off of ebay anyhow though. That is how I got my 100k heater and I am happy with it.

Are there other models to keep in mind?
Anyone have either of these?
How often do you have to replace the cartridge? (they seem to run around $300ish)

[hulla]

I am no expert but I just went through the same thing. I got the IC40 for a 15-20k gallon pool. That way I can use the cell on low and it will last twice as long as the IC20 on high.

Got the IC40 with generator on ebay for around the same price as what you are quoting for the IC20.

As far as brands go. I went with Pentair because I have the Pentair Intellitouch controls already.

[sevver]

Does it not come with the controls? What else do the controls control? Doesn't the unit go inline and get plugged into the ac and that is it?

Here is where I was led to believe that. (http://www.aquapoolstore.com/chlorine-generators/Pentair-IntelliChlor-chlorine-generator-specifications.htm) Or are you refering to the timer? That is another thing I am interested in but how lazy can I get? :D Well...;)

[waterbear]

I am going to get one at the end of the season this year, I just want some opinions on what I should get. I have an 18' round pool, about 8000 gallons if I am not mistaken. For such a small pool I would imagine that the size of the SWG would not have to be too large. I see them on ebay, and I am going to look into it myself, but I also would like to tap into the knowledge here if I may.

What are some of the things I should watch out for? Are there bad ones to avoid? Thanks
If you oversize the cell you can run it at a much lower output and thereby lengthen it's useful life. Cells are expensive to replace and the price differential between a smaller cell and a larger one is usually much less than the price of a new cell.

[hulla]

The Intellitouch is a fancy timer that is compatible with the Intellichlor. You don't need it but if you already have one, you can change the chlorine output percentage and view salinity levels on it in the house. If you don't have one, you can just go out to the pool equipment and do everything there.

It will likely be wired so that it turns on whenever the pump is on.

[sevver]

Do they sence flow like the heater? Or would I wire it in to the switched outlet that the pump is tied into?

[Poolsean]

It is required to have a flow protection device. You should wire it on a switched line (actually called the load side). In fact, you should wire it to the same relay that the pump is controlled by, on the same terminals!

[sevver]

My pump is connected to an outlet that I have switched with an outdoor switch. I was thinking of connecting it to that outlet, then when I turn the pump on the SWG will also go on, right?

[Poolsean]

I believe you're saying that you're thinking of connecting it directly to the outdoor switch, instead of the outlet, right? If you connect it to the outlet, it will be powered all the time. If you connect it to the switch, it will only get energized with the outdoor switch is flipped on.

[sevver]

I have an outlet at the pump area that the pump is plugged into, this outlet only recieves power when I switch it on. There is a switch directly on top of the outlet in a separate box. I ran a wire to the outlet box, and the hot one I pulled through the box and connected it to the switch, from the switch I went back down to the outlet box and connected it to the outlet. The other wire I have connected to the outlet. If you think about it, it is the same as wiring a light, except I used an outlet. So I could power it from the same outlet that the pump is on and it would thus recieve power only when the pump had power, ie. when the switch is on.

[tenax]

kind of like what i have for my pump right now...my pump was wired to a wall switch in my pool shed. i wanted to put in a timer before i get the autopilot SWG. so, i wired the power that went to the pump wall switch to the timer, the load out on the timer goes to the wall switch now to the pump so i have the option to turn off the pump without shutting the switch off in the timer. (convenient if i need to turn off the pump for a minute during timer cycle to clean the basket, switch my filter multiport valve from filter to backwash, etc). the SWG will be fed off the same "line in/load out" circuits as the pool pump. only thing i plan different for it then the pump is that the SWG will not be wired to the "2nd" on/off switch. i know it's not advised to rely completely on the flow valves on the SWG's to shut them off if the pump is off, but the rare time i'll use the wall switch to turn off the pump rather than the timer switch, i'm in the shed anyway and could turn off the timer switch so everything is killed , if i needed to.