Off Brand To Replace IntelliChlor IC60?

[Blue Horse]

My IntelliChlor IC60 has been running for 6 years, and now with about 20% life remaining.

Last week it showed error message "Clean Salt Cell" and one green light was blinking. Did cleaning with diluted muriatic acid, but the error message remains.

Is there a way to reset the error message on this machine?

Is there a different brand but cheaper with identical form and factor, so I can just drop in to replace without changing existing plumbing? This thing now costs nearly 2x of what I paid 6 years ago.

Thanks!

 

[Newdude]

The Apex 60 is a drop in generic replacement several have gone with them but we're waiting for long term assessments to see if they last as claimed. They really only have to last half as long to break even, anything more is pure gravy. But at this point it's still a calculated risk.

In the short term they appear to produce as much as the IC60, possibly a bit more, with DSP / circupool inflating the #s further as they seem to do.

 

[Newdude]

Also , if the reference helps, the IC60 makes about 1000 jugs worth of 10% FC. If purchased at Walmart it's well over $6k out the door and the $1800 IC60 is a steal by comparison. Even with a great source of cheap 12.5%, it'd be $4k+ with liquid chlorine.

 

[mknauss]

Your Automation / Screenlogic will only work with a Pentair Intellichlor. The off=-brand can be turned on and off, but not controlled and no information is reported back from the unit.

Call Home - Marina Pool Spa & Patio for an original IC60

 

[Blue Horse]

Your Automation / Screenlogic will only work with a Pentair Intellichlor. The off=-brand can be turned on and off, but not controlled and no information is reported back from the unit.

Call Home - Marina Pool Spa & Patio for an original IC60

I am OK with manually adjust how hard the chlorinator works (in % of output). The only data I'd like to keep having via Screenlogic is salt level. I guess that will not be possible with off brand?

 

[mknauss]

I guess that will not be possible with off brand?

Correct.

 

[Newdude]

I am OK with manually adjust how hard the chlorinator works

It will be a PITA if you use the spa often. You'll need to lower the % each time before and after.

Without a spa, or without frequent spa use, one click every few weeks when the UV demand rises/falls is a joke.

 

[ajw22]

It will be a PITA if you use the spa often. You'll need to lower the % each time before and after.

Only if you keep the spa in spa mode for more than about 4 hours.

Assuming CYA of 70 and FC level of 8 and cell % of 40 when in spa mode a 500 gallon spa will have a FC increase of 5PPM per hour. It would take 4 hours for the FC level to exceed safe SLAM level of 28ppm.

Using the spa for an hour or two and then running the spillover to dump the spa water into the pool will not require any SWG % fiddling.

 

[Blue Horse]

I ended up purchasing a Apex P60 last year, and installed in Nov 2024. It runs well.

During the inital test use, I crank it up to 100% and the green in pool went away completely in about a week. FC level, if I remember correctly, reached to 10 or 15 ppm (sorry, don't remember exactly now).

During this 4.5 months usage so far, I feel P60 can reach higher FC ppm than what my IC60 could during its last 2~3 years of life.

I bought a separate salt level "pen" to measure salt whenever I need. Pretty easy to do.