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fl_countrybumkin

IntelliChlor broken

17 years ago

My Pentair IntelliChlor failed after 3 years (just out of warranty). The Red LED for PWR is on (should be green). All the other lights are Green (flow, salt, cell life, etc.). I called the pool company and was told that the Red power light means the internal temp sensor is bad and it can not be repaired.

I ordered a new IC40 cell at $500+.

Does anyone know why the unit failed? Is this a comon failure, and is there anything I can do to make the new cell last longer?

Also, how long are these cells lasting?

Lastly, do any of you pool pros know if the cell can be disassembled and fixed (or perhaps the temp probe can be fooled to think it is within range)? I have a new one on order but I hate to throw away $500 without trying to fix it.

Thanks

Comments (10)

  • 17 years ago

    I dont know of any cells that can be repaired. It may be possible to install a seperate temp sensor in front of the cell but where to connect it on the board? Do not try to defeat the temp sensor as this will eliminate safety features. There is no way Pentair will help you modify the unit.

  • 17 years ago

    I have not seen anything written reagrding the ability to change the cleaning cycle on the IntelliChlor. I assume you have a Sevice manual not an owner's manual. I do have the instructions for calibrating the cell so the Salt level lights match the actual salt level of the water.
    Can you send me the (service) manual you have?

    Since mine in junk now, I'll disassemble it and see if there is anything I can learn from it that may be helpful to others.

    New one should be here on Saturday.

  • 17 years ago

    FYI,
    The warranty is 3 years but also 8000 hours. If you have not hit the hours you may still be able to get an exchange. They never know exactly when it was put into service, unless you have had a service call on it prior to this. You would have to find someone with the wand to beable to check this for you.

  • 17 years ago

    Back to the Inellichlor, at what percent power did you run? How long was the daily cycle? Are you open year round? How big is your pool?

    Scott

  • 17 years ago

    From the standard manual: "The self-cleaning cycle tends to reduce the life of the IECG, therefore, it should be used only to the extent necessary to minimize the scale buildup on the blades"

    Here is the full text from page 8 in the manual under self cleaning:

    The IntelliChlor Electronic Chlorine Generator has a self-cleaning feature that reduces scale buildup on the
    blades of the IECG. The self-cleaning cycle tends to reduce the life of the IECG, therefore, it should be used
    only to the extent necessary to minimize the scale buildup on the blades. The self-cleaning cycle can be
    adjusted to run every 2, 3, 4, or 5 hours, whichever is the optimal for your particular pool conditions in order to
    minimize scale buildup but maximize the life of the IECG. It is factory set to two (2) hours for the first 30 days
    of operation, then automatically switches to three (3) hours. To change the self-cleaning cycle, press and hold
    the Less button for three (3) seconds. The sanitizer output display will show the number of hours in a bar
    graph style. The number of output LEDs lit is the number of reverse hours. Pressing More or Less button
    will change this setting.
    Example: The self-clean cycle is set to run for four (4) hours and the pool owner chooses to change it to
    three (3) hours to optimize the blade cleaner cycle for your particular pool conditions. Press and hold the LESS
    button for three (3) seconds. The sanitizer output display will blank, then light up the 20%, 40%, 60% and 80%
    lights, four (4) total. This is a four (4) hours reverse setting. Pressing the LESS button once within ten (10)
    seconds will switch off the 80% light, leaving only three (3) lights on, now at a three (3) hours reverse setting.
    Wait ten (10) seconds and this mode will end automatically, returning to the original sanitizer output display.

    Here is a link that might be useful: standard manual

  • 17 years ago

    How many pounds of chlorine would you have had to buy in that three year period? Tabs are about $65-70 per 25 lb bucket now.

  • 17 years ago

    Poolguynj,
    I run the pool pump about 8 hours per day - every day - all year. About 5 hours just filtering, then 2 hours on suction cleaner (which is also filtering), and an hour on spa-overflow (which is filtered) to change that water. I swim from beginning of March to around end of October (if memory serves), then I use the spa weekly during the cooler/cold months. Pool is about 20,000 gallons. Gunite.
    In the cooler months I ran the IntelliChlor at 20% and by mid-summer I was around 60%.

    The new unit came today. I installed it and the PWR light is green now. Intersetingly the Low Salt Light is on (Red). On the old unit the salt was showing okay. I used my pool test kit to check the salt and it was at (about) 2000 ppm. I don't really trust the pool kit on the salt testing. It is too touchy on the exact amount of water used in the test tube. Seems a drop too little or too much skews the results, but it is usually close. I added two 40lb bags. I'll see what the IntelliChlor (and IntelliTouch) say tommorrow. I might even try to get a pool supply place to test it over the weekend.

  • 17 years ago

    So you'd use between 4 and 8 tabs a week. Lets call it six per week. That comes out to about 100 lbs of tabs per year. At approximately $250 per hundred pounds, I'd say your well ahead of the game. The replacement salt over that time might have cost $50.

  • 6 years ago

    Do yourself a favor and get a tds meter for checking salt levels. Way better and easier than test kits

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