Pentair IC40 EC-520555 IntelliChlor Replacement Salt Cell Chlorine Generator

The original Pentair salt cell that came with the pool installation of lasted about 5-6 years. I replaced it with an off brand because it was cheaper. So I saved money at the time, but the replacement salt cell only lasted 2 years. Replacement brand sells also. Do not allow for full functionality like setting the chlorine level from your remote app. This time I decided to go back to the Pentair salt cell and was surprised after shopping around that this one was offered at a much cheaper price than every other Pentair supplier locally or online. I was thinking all kinds of scenarios like maybe it was refurbished, or didn't have all the parts or wiring, or wouldn't come with a warranty. I was pleasantly surprised that it came in the original sealed factory box, included all parts, including replacement pipe connectors and gaskets, and has the full 2 year factory warranty. Installation was quick and easy. No leaks and up and running with full functionality. If you are looking to replace your Pentair salt cell, it is worth it to get this one at such a deeply discounted price. Not sure how they do it, but everything looks just fine, and delivery even arrived 2 days earlier, then expected. Their customer support is responsive as well. I had a question up front before I purchased it and they answered me within an hour.

Very happy with my Pentair IntelliChlor! If this one lasts as long as our last one did, I will be ecstatic! After our original Pentair unit slowly faded beginning mid-summer 2014 (cell indicator light continuously flashing), it was still able to maintain chlorine at proper levels for the remainder of the season and even limped along over the subsequent winter (we live in the sunny south and don't winterize our pool). However, at start-up this year it was finally done--even blew the fuse in the Power Center. After replacing the fuse and ensuring I couldn't squeeze any more life out of our original unit, it was a no-brainer deciding to buy another IntelliChlor: 1) E-Z repair--remove and replace (using existing Power Center); 2) cheaper than changing systems (again, same Power Center); and 3) was very pleased with original unit that kept our pool beautiful for nine seasons (Did I mention we don't winterize? Pump runs year-round, less operating hours and reduced chlorine output selected on unit, but runs all winter) The only slightly picky technical thing I would mention is that the Control Panel (where indicator lights are located) will be "upside down" when installed in correct flow direction due to a Pentair redesign to support vertical mounting of the unit. Read online elsewhere that it is possible to "flip" the control panel but chose not to because I didn't want to risk damaging the housing; and besides with our pump configuration it's still easy to read. Also have to mention the quality construction of this unit matched the quality of original installed with our pool (pleasant surprise when replacing an expensive equipment item). And the streamlined functionality of this unit, evidently part of the redesign, would seem to indicate Pentair invests in and strives to improve their product line. Unless something unforeseen happens--I'm a dedicated Pentair customer!

Works as it should, brand new Pentair factory unit. We’ll see how long it lasts, I got 10+ years out of my last IC40.

This is not as cost effective as I would have liked but installation was easy and I now have the correct salt levels and I can see what the levels actually are because of the display. Overall good product, u feel like I have a better one then the original.

This is a review of the product, not the seller. This is the second cell I've purchased and this has to be the worst customer service I've ever experienced for any product. Earlier in the year I called because I had a question about the readout of the cell when my pool was opened. The customer service rep basically read a few questions off a list and then told me I needed a new salt cell and I purchased one. With it being early in the season, all the pool companies were booked up. I went ahead and ordered a new cell only to find out later that the old one worked fine. When I went to clean the new cell for the second time after about 1.5 months of use, I noticed more calcium buildup than I had ever seen before. I tried cleaning it with the normal cleaning solution 5 times and the buildup remained. I called the salt cell company just to see if they had any ideas on how to remove the buildup. Again, someone just read questions off a list. They told me to send pictures to an email they provided including a professional water test printout. They told me that all communication would need to be done via email from that point on. I sent them pictures of the cell buildup and the pool company professional test printout. The pool company told me that my water seemed good. I have yet to hear back from the maker of Intellichlor in over two weeks. I've emailed them asking if they received my emails and I've gotten no response. Update 9/6/2024 I heard back from the manufacturer. They told me that I need a new salt cell. I think this may be their response to every inquiry. I emailed them back reminding them that this was a brand new cell (three months old) and asked them how to file a warranty claim since the warranty is two years. I have not heard back.

Overall I'm not super impressed with this, but it does the job. From what I've heard, none of the other options are really any better, so it's a good option and this is a good price for it. It does produce chlorine, and the boost mode works pretty well. While it says to clean it every 3 months, I would not do this, but at least inspect it that often. This model does not seem to produce much buildup on the plates as long as your water is well-balanced against a good test kit (i.e. not the pool stores). I find the 40,000 gallon capacity advertising incredibly suspect - mine is 28,000 gal and I find myself wishing I'd gone with the IC-60. Here's why: 40,000 gal assumes 100% output for 24 hours per day of pump runtime. Cool, but it's also rated for like 10k hours maximum. So this means if you ran it at full capacity, it would last about two seasons, and also cost a ton of money in running the pump. Upgrading to IC-60 would not cost much more but would allow a much increased lifespan along with only having to use the pump maybe 6-8 hours per day. The weakest link on these things is the temperature/flow sensor. Don't trust any of the temperature/salt LEDs below a water temp of about 65 F. It's simply wrong. Additionally, it only updates the temperature/salt status every 12 hours or so. I recommend power cycling the thing around 10am one day, so that it will get on a decent "schedule" of reading the levels when the temperatures allow it to be remotely accurate. The flow switch of a previous unit had broken clean off because of the previous owner's water balance issues. I recommend to keep a really good eye on your pool levels or you'll be spending a lot of money to fix things. Thankfully, the flow sensor itself is replacable, if costly. Finally, keep CYA levels good, and keep the pool cleaned. A bit of extra chlorine loss and you'll find algae blooming in no time. This thing can't really keep up in fighting algae, so you'll have to use chemical shock anyway. Whoever told you that saltwater pools would save you money in the long run lied to you. But it is less of a hassle as long as you keep things maintained well, and you can get less frightened about going on a vacation and things not being in a complete mess when you return. I've heard good things about using Borates with this generator, but I've not yet tried it. Something to consider. Update April 2020: I've added a star back. This has now run 3 full seasons, and I expect it to run again this year. I'm going to chalk the other failed models up to the way the pool used to be taken care of. Since replacing this and following the Trouble Free Pool methods of pool care and not dumping random chemicals, I've not had many problems with this new unit. I still think when the water hits below 65 degrees it's no longer trustworthy, and I still think the flow sensor is the weak link, but overall the unit works great as long as I keep my water balanced. Additionally, I have not yet had to even clean this new unit - the auto-clean functionality seems sufficient, and I haven't had the "needs cleaning" LED come on yet. I am also careful to keep my salt levels on the low side - do not rely on this unit's sensor to just dump more salt, but take a real reading with good strips and adjust salinity carefully. It seems that babying the unit a bit allows it to last longer.

I bought this last May 2024 and was installed by Grecian pool guys when we opened the pool last year. I wanted to test this pentair ic40 last summer and this year before writing the review. It’s an easy installation but since I don’t want to void extra years of warranty I had the pool guys installed it, honestly it’s easy even for a 67 years old 100lbs lady. Our pool was installed 2015 and everything they use is from pentair although they only installed pentair ic20 since our pool is no more than 12000 gallon and it last around 7years when it started to fail and trouble shooting it first by changing the flow switch which gave me another 3years of service. So before you replace this expensive salt cell check first if it is the flow switch or maybe just need to clean it by mixture of water and muriatic acid. I bought ic40 instead of ic20 hoping it’s better than the ic20, this I have to wait and see but for now it’s working great for about 2 summer season and I noticed that I used less chemicals, my pool is crystal clear, salt and ph are all good. I highly recommend this, the only thing is it’s expensive but what’s not expensive nowadays.

Purchased OEM replacement for my salt generator suspecting it had failed. Of course it had since they all have a 10,000 hour lifespan. I would’ve bought an aftermarket one for about half the price but didn’t know enough about them until afterwards… But I’m good for another 10 years.