My IC40 is flashing the green cell light and I'm fairly certain it's dead as it's been installed for just over 7 years in a FL pool so it sees 8-12 hours/day of 24x7x365 runtime. I pulled the cell and there is no visible scale on it but I am doing an overnight soak in 5% distilled vinegar as a last ditch effort to see if it will start generating again, but I'm doubtful.
I don't have any Pentair automation so there is no loss to me if I don't stick with an IC40. Replacement options without having to deal with much on the plumbing side look to b:
Another IC40 is nice and easy, and my current experience has been great, so I would hope sticking with one of these would yield similar experience and logenvity, but who knows, right? If these cells were at their pre-Covid cost I'd just buy another one without any questions, but at $1000 minimum, it not the easy money decision.
The generic drop in is just as easy as an install as another IC40 cell as it re-uses the Pentair Power Center, but I am concerned with longevity. I'd be inclined to buy In The Swim to get the cheapest price possible as opposed to paying almost $900 for DSP's just to get 1 year extra warranty. Reviews on these units are generally good but can't really find any long term owner feedback, so I think it's a crapshoot on how long one of these will last.
CircuPool SJ-35 doesn't make sense compared to the EDGE-40 at only $70 more. Even if the EDGE-40 wasn't on sale, the extra warranty on the EDGE-40 seems like it would be worth the extra $200.
CircuPool EDGE-40 seems like the most recommended, trusted, and reliable option to go with outside of another IC40 cell. The fact that their replacement cells currently sell for $600 vs. an IC40 cell at $1000 best case is much more appealing for the next time I need a replacement cell. I am not concerned about the extra install requirements to do this retrofit. I think these may have slightly higher minimum flow rate than the IC40 but with my VSP I don't know if I should be concerrned about that. I can ratchet up my normal low-speed RPM a little bit to compensate.
So, what would you recommend if you were in my shows? Tried and true IC40 at middle-cost, lowest cost generic drop-in, or alternative tried and true CircuPool at highest cost?
Current equipment configuration for reference:
I don't have any Pentair automation so there is no loss to me if I don't stick with an IC40. Replacement options without having to deal with much on the plumbing side look to b:
- Genuine Pentair IC40 Cell - Current pricing puts them at $1000-1300 depending on vendor
- Generic drop in replacement cell - Sold under various branding as Discount Salt CGIGEN40-RC, In The Swim SPLASH IRCF40, Blue Works BLPTC 40P - In The Swim or Blue Works (sold by Pool Supply Depot on Amazon) is $640-700 but only has 1 year warranty. DSP sells theirs for $890 but has a 2 year warranty.
- CircuPool SJ-35 + Adapter Kit - $1220 from DSP
- CircuPool EDGE-40 + Adapter Kit - DSP has a deal right now where I can pay EDGE-25 pricing of $1249 but get the EDGE-40 for $1 more. Total would be $1290 with adapter kit for an EDGE-40.
Another IC40 is nice and easy, and my current experience has been great, so I would hope sticking with one of these would yield similar experience and logenvity, but who knows, right? If these cells were at their pre-Covid cost I'd just buy another one without any questions, but at $1000 minimum, it not the easy money decision.
The generic drop in is just as easy as an install as another IC40 cell as it re-uses the Pentair Power Center, but I am concerned with longevity. I'd be inclined to buy In The Swim to get the cheapest price possible as opposed to paying almost $900 for DSP's just to get 1 year extra warranty. Reviews on these units are generally good but can't really find any long term owner feedback, so I think it's a crapshoot on how long one of these will last.
CircuPool SJ-35 doesn't make sense compared to the EDGE-40 at only $70 more. Even if the EDGE-40 wasn't on sale, the extra warranty on the EDGE-40 seems like it would be worth the extra $200.
CircuPool EDGE-40 seems like the most recommended, trusted, and reliable option to go with outside of another IC40 cell. The fact that their replacement cells currently sell for $600 vs. an IC40 cell at $1000 best case is much more appealing for the next time I need a replacement cell. I am not concerned about the extra install requirements to do this retrofit. I think these may have slightly higher minimum flow rate than the IC40 but with my VSP I don't know if I should be concerrned about that. I can ratchet up my normal low-speed RPM a little bit to compensate.
So, what would you recommend if you were in my shows? Tried and true IC40 at middle-cost, lowest cost generic drop-in, or alternative tried and true CircuPool at highest cost?
Current equipment configuration for reference:
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