more of a user's opinion of the autopilot below..hope you don't mind

Quote Originally Posted by Psyclone View Post
Thanks for the info.

1. Whoops. I must have had the Pool Pilot cell size on the brain. My pool size is 14,000 gallons, so I'm guessing the smaller size would work if I chose to go that route. fyi, i have a 12,000 gallon pool and even in the hottest weather , i've never had to use it's full capacity. it's simply how much chlorine output that each cell has. i considered a bigger cell but i factored in as well that i need to run my pool pump 10 hours a day (or 2 -5 hour cycles is what i do) to get 2 turnovers of the water in hot weather. i find running my cell for one of those 5 hour cycles puts out enough chlorine to maintain the chlorine level i want (3 to 5ppm at 60 cya level). i also considered if the life of a cell is 3 to 5 years under normal condition and given my pool season in canada is only 4 months, i bet that cell will last a good long time! i use chlorine for shocking..you can use the cell to do so, but it of course shortens cell life relative to never using for shocking. 99 cent jugs of chlorine work fine for the 1 or 2 times a season including startup that i need to shock

3. My mounting location would be on the side of the house next to the timer, so it should be okay although I may consider some options to protect it. I assume I would need to adequate maintain air flow if I shielded it somehow.

i have mine mounted to 2 -2 x4's which allows ventilation behind it. 1 x 4's would give ventilation space as well and be more pleasing to the eye possibly. if a person could figure out some kind of "hood" that would work. what i considered when i was thinking of mounting it outside was about a 10 inch wide kind of hood (like a metal or plastic outside dryer hood but wider as the slot is say 2 inches less than the width of the unit. easy to prefab.

4. I suppose I would replace my timer since it has that capability. But does it have also have a switch to shut the heater off to allow it to cool prior to shutting down the pump? can't confidently speak to that given the way my system is wired

Again thanks for the info. This is really making my decision tough. The Intellichlor looks like it would take almost no time to install. The Pool Pilot appears to be technically superior, but the installation is a little more involved. The PoolPilot has a field track record; the Intellichlor not so much. Advantage PoolPilot on cell replacement cost. Advantage Intellichlor on initial acquisition cost.

Having someone on this forum is a big plus for the Pool Pilot. On the other hand, prior to posting these questions yesterday, I sent emails to both Intellichlor and AutoPilot. I got a quick response today from Intellichlor, but have yet to hear from AutoPilot. (Having you here to answer questions beats email anyday, but I thought you might want to know that.)