8 Best Saltwater Chlorinators in 2020 for a Crystal Clear Pool
8 Best Saltwater Chlorinators in 2020 for a Crystal Clear Pool
Chlorinators play a vital role in keeping your pool clean, healthy, and chemically balanced. The job of these chlorinators is to generate enough chlorine content in the water so that your skin isn’t exposed to harsh chemicals while you are in the pool. When you install a saltwater chlorinator in your pool, you can rest assured knowing that your pool is maintained well and is free from algae, even when you haven’t used it for a long time.
Since these play quite an important role in the overall health and maintenance of your pool, you have to spend a lot of time choosing the right one. Here, we have listed the top 8 saltwater chlorinators in the market today with their features, pros, and cons. We hope this will give you an idea about the chlorinator that would suit your needs and your budget.
1. Pentair IntelliChlor IC40 Salt Chlorine Generator Cell
Overview
If you are looking for an automatic salt water chlorinator that provides enough chlorine to your pool without much effort from your side, the Pentair IntelliChlor IC40 Salt Chlorine Generator Cell is a good choice for you. This chlorinator uses table salt to generate chlorine and is considered one of the best for above-ground pools as it comes with easy-to-use features that can be operated with just a touch of a button. Here are some more details of this chlorinator:
Features
- Comes with an automatic display feature that makes it a breeze to check the salt levels in your pool
- he two-button feature helps you to adjust the water flow and sanitizer output at your convenience
- Captures important details such as hours of operation, salt-level readings, water temperature, and schedules for cleaning the cells, which is why it is one of the most intelligent chlorinators in the industry today
- Maximum cell life guaranteed, thanks to an on-time cell cycling system, regular calcium-build checks, and an automatic switch-off feature
- Compatible to be used along with other intelligent chlorinator systems such as Sun Touch, IntelliTouch, and Easy Touch
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Passed all the required standards for safety and accuracy
- Recycles salt every single day, thereby reducing your need to perform a detailed maintenance check on your pool
- Automatic reverse cycling ensures that the system uses its brilliant technology to clean calcium build-ups if any, thereby keeping your pool system clean and long-lasting
- A great choice for pools that have up to 20,000 gallons of water
Cons
- Customer service is not that great
- Limited warranty and the whopping price of around $600 doesn’t seem to be justified
- Strictly works only when the water is at a particular temperature
Bottom Line
Yes, the idea of having chlorine automatically generated into your pool without the use of harmful conventional chlorine tablets does sound great! This IntelliChlor generator from Pentair does bring about breakthrough innovation in the field of electrolyte chlorine generation. The only hitch is that the warranty period seems to be too short for the huge investment (around $600) that it requires from you. We’d suggest you look for other better-priced chlorinators, before putting your money on this model.
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2. Hayward Goldline AquaRite Electronic Salt Chlorination System
Overview
Bid goodbye to those harmful chlorine tablets that you were using all this while. Those are not only harmful to your skin but are quite costly as well! Here, we present to you the Hayward Goldline AquaRite Electronic Salt Chlorination System, one of the best chlorinators for inground pools. This chlorinator uses table salt to provide chlorine naturally to your pool. The best part of this system is that it can reduce your chlorine costs by around 50%, as it uses advanced electrolytic technology and comes with quite a lot of power-saving, useful features. Here are some more details of this system:
Features
- Automatic conversion of salt into chlorine, thereby reducing all manual effort needed to mix the salt otherwise and keep the pool clean
- Provides uniform sanitization of the pool by generating water that is rich in chlorine, but still non-toxic for the skin
- Comes with a clear display that shows important features such as salt level, water flow, cleanliness quality of the pool, cleaning cycle, and more
- Automatically captures data related to hours of operation, salt content in the pool at all times, the output of chlorine, etc., which makes it easy for you to maintain the pool at all times
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Considerable reduction (up to 50%) in electricity costs
- Very comfortable for large pools (that have up to 40000 gallons of water)
- Self-renewing chlorinator that is eco-friendly as well, as it uses less salt to generate around 1.45 pounds of chlorine in your pool daily
Cons
- Doesn’t work until you buy the IntelliChor unit that is sold separately
Bottom Line
While there is nothing that stops us from recommending this product to you, it cannot be denied that this product is apt only for large pools. If you have a pool that holds up to 40000 gallons of water, this could be a great buy for you. However, if you have a smaller pool at your place, we wouldn’t want you to put a lot of money into this.
3. Hayward Goldline AquaPlus Salt Chlorination System
Overview
If you are looking for a fully automated chlorinator for your pool and if you want the system to give you the flexibility to choose your settings, the AquaPlus Salt Chlorination System is the right choice. Like the other models from the Hayward Goldline series, this too is one of a kind and is considered one of the best chlorinators in the market for its price. Why is this chlorinator worth your money? Here are some features to help you understand more about this system:
Features
- Comes as a fully programmable system that gives you the flexibility to set the chlorinator according to your convenience (slow on weekdays, busy on weekends, or when you have guests, etc.)
- Automatic conversion of table salt into a chlorine supply that is refreshing and self-renewable, thanks to the advanced electric charge it uses
- Uses very little salt to convert into chlorine, which results in a lot of energy conservation; your power bills are reduced by 70%, thanks to this energy-saving technology
- Consistent supply of fresh, clean, and hygienic chlorine in your pool that is always maintained in the right pH balance so that it isn’t toxic to your eyes or skin
- Automatic on/off of spa or pool lights possible, thereby increasing the system’s longevity
Pros and Cons
Pros
- 100% automated functionality, thereby minimizing manual effort as much as possible
- 75% reduction in energy costs
- Perfect for large pools that can hold up to 40000 gallons of water
- Full value for money
Cons
- Customers who bought this product online have found warranty issues, and Hayward has agreed to look into the issue
- Needs to be cleaned at least once in 3 months to remove deposits, if any
Bottom Line
The Hayward Goldline AquaPlus Salt Chlorination system is one of the most automated systems that you will find in the market today. Not many systems give you the flexibility and ease of use as this one. Yes, it is priced at over $1000; however, it is worth every penny, because this system works like a breeze on your pool. You can be assured of fresh and clean chlorine in your pool at all times, with the additional benefit of reduced power bills as well. If you can afford around $1100 for your pool chlorination system, we don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t buy this. Ensure you buy it from your nearest Hayward store, though, to be sure of the warranty.
4. AutoPilot Pool Pilot Digital Chlorinator Generator Salt Water System
The AutoPilot Digital Chlorinator Generator is a user-friendly system that generates a consistent amount of chlorine in your pool, without much effort from your side. It comes with a digital display that makes it very easy to operate and use it. Here are some more details about this chlorinator that you ought to know before investing your money in it.
Features
- Easy-to-read digital display that gives out essential features such as salt level, the temperature of the water, the production level of the purifier, and more
- Comes with an easy-to-use system that generates chlorine consistently in your pool, by using a very little amount of table salt, thereby reducing energy consumption by a large extent
- Considered as one of the most user-friendly systems in its price range
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Very easy to install, use, and maintain
- The excellent energy consumption rate
- Safe for eyes and skin
- Consistent chlorine generation
- Perfect for pools that can hold up to 28000 gallons of water
Cons
- The circuit board broke off easily in some of the units
- Needs frequent cleaning to prevent algae formation in the pool
- No automatic on/off feature
Bottom Line
This AutoPilot Salt Water Chlorinator System sells at around $750 per unit. While it is cheaper than most of the other high-end models, we wouldn’t recommend this for you, if you are looking for an automatic chlorinator. The brand isn’t as well-known as Pentair or Hayward. Also, it costs a bomb to replace the spare parts, out of the warranty period, when the machine breaks down.
5. Circupool Salt Water Pool Chlorine Generator
Overview
More often than not, you would need a simple chlorinator that works perfectly for your pool that could hold up to 40000 gallons of water. You might not want to deal with sophisticated technology and might need a chlorine generator that is simple and easy to use. If that is the case, the Circupool Salt Water Pool Chlorine Generator is the right choice for you. Here is a brief overview of this product, for your better understanding.
Features
- Cells come in unique and transparent titanium covers, thereby giving you a full view of the usage and the methodology of chlorine generation
- Comes with an easy switch feature, thanks to which you can use this chlorinator on both 110 and 220V easily
- Consistently generates chlorine in the water, thereby keeping your pool soft, clear, fresh, and free from chemicals
- Comes with self-cleaning functionality, thereby making it a breeze to clean the system in case of excessive calcium build-ups
- Comes with Vector Jet functionality, which makes the performance of this system quite accurate
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Very easy to install
- One of the most durable chlorine generators in this price range
- Comes with a reverse polarity that helps in the self-cleaning feature
- Helps you to monitor the salt content and performance of the chlorinator at regular intervals
- Quite effectively-priced
Cons
- May be required to clean regularly because of the large number of calcium deposits
- The customer care department is not as helpful as it ought to be
Bottom Line
The Circupool Salt Water Pool Chlorine Generator is cost-effective (priced at around $600), automatic, reliable, and easy to use. More importantly, it is ideal for large pools that can hold up to 40000 gallons of water. We would suggest you try this one because this system looks like it has been designed to give you full value for your money.
6. Zodiac AquaPure Ei Series Electronic Salt Water Chlorine Generator
Overview
If you are looking for a simple yet technologically advanced saltwater chlorinator that is easy to use, the Zodiac AquaPure Ei Series Electronic Salt Water Chlorine Generator is the right choice for you. It comes with many user-friendly features that help you to enjoy fresh and harmless water in your pool, always maintained in the right pH balance. Here are some more details about this system.
Features
- Comes with automatic reversing polarity functionality, which helps to reduce the calcium deposits and thereby increase the longevity of the system
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface that gives out important details such as the quality of salt content in the water
- Comes built with the latest chlorinator technology to reduce power consumption
- Cyclical polarisation enabled so that calcium buildups on the cell plates are reduced to a large extent
- Compatible with 120 and 240Volt sockets; you can also connect the chlorinator to the pool directly, thanks to a 2” pipe that comes along with the unit
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Ideal for large pools that can hold up to 35000 gallons of water
- Simple but effective technology that is easy to install, use, and maintain
- The very helpful customer service team
- Clear and fresh pool guaranteed at all times
Cons
- The troubleshooting manual is not as detailed or useful as it has to be
- Some users noted that their units broke off after about a year of usage
Bottom Line
The Zodiac AquaPure Ei Series Electronic Salt Water Chlorine Generator is quite a reliable and innovative chlorinator; however, it is priced quite steeply at around $1100. The features are great and user-friendly. The system is useful for large pools, and it ensures a consistent supply of chlorine from table salt, thereby consuming very little energy. However, we still feel that you should go for it only if you don’t mind spending over $1000 for your chlorinator. You could consider other lesser-priced chlorinators for your large pool before taking the final call on this, is what we feel.
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7. Intex Krystal Clear Saltwater System with ECO
Overview
How about a chlorinator that only ensures a consistent supply of chlorine in your pool but also keeps it free from contaminants such as algae? Quite impressive, isn’t it? The Intex Krystal Clear Saltwater System with ECO is one of the few chlorinators in the market that are equipped with this dual technology feature. What else is great about this system? Read on to know more:
Features
- Comes with the dual technologies of chlorine generation and contaminants eradication
- The chlorine generation process is simple – table salt is easily converted into chlorine when it is introduced to an electrolytic process that happens in a titanium cell
- Contaminant eradication happens through electrocatalytic oxidation technology; here, molecules of water are segregated into oxidants to fight against contaminants such as algae and bacteria
- Compatible with 110 and 120-volt sockets
- Natural chlorine generated through this system is at least 60% less than the amount generated by other systems
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Comes with a 24-hour auto-clock cycle, which makes it easy to monitor the performance of the chlorinator
- Dual functionalities of chlorine generation and contaminants eradication – a rarity in this industry
- Considered to be one of the safest chlorinators in the market
Cons
- You need to buy a filter pump (flow rate should be between 700 and 3000 gallons per hour) separately to make this chlorinator work
- Cannot be used for large pools as the maximum pool size that it will work on is one that can hold up to 15000 gallons
Bottom Line
Though this chlorinator is priced quite attractively at around $650, we wouldn’t recommend it to you for two reasons. Firstly, we never support any system that requires a separate unit for it to work. In this case, after spending around $600, you still have to buy a filter pump (with particular specifications) to make the chlorinator work. Secondly, this system is not great for large pools. We would advise you to look for better options, without wasting much time.
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8. Solaxx Saltron Retro Self-Cleaning Salt Chlorine Generator
Overview
If you are looking for a chlorine generator that works well for inground and above-ground pools, the Solaxx Saltron Retro Self-Cleaning Salt Chlorine Generator is a good choice for you. The best part about this unit is that it gives you a more than reasonable performance at a very affordable price. However, does this system deserve your money? Read on to learn more about the features of this system.
Features
- Comes with a digital timer that can be programmed to change the chlorine content
- A fully automated process that generates renewable and fresh chlorine consistently
- Comes with an LED indicator as well, which makes it easy for you to know the details such as the temperature of the water, level of salt, and more
- Comes with an adaptor that can be used when this chlorinator needs to be used for inground pools
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Pool sanitization level maintained at a constant level always
- Very easy to install; no plumbing or installation kit required for the same
- Needs only around 3000ppm salt to convert into chlorine and gives out chlorine output of about 8grams every hour
- One of the few chlorinators that can be used for inground and above-ground pools
- Very affordably priced at about $200
- Comes with easy-to-read indications
Cons
- Not suitable for large pools as the maximum pool size is only about 20000 gallons
- The cell has a very little lifespan (lasts properly for just about one season)
- The unhelpful customer service team
Bottom Line
If you thought we’d recommend this to you because it costs just about $200, you are wrong! We never suggest products based on their price, and we will follow the same principle here as well. This chlorinator has a few serious quality issues, which resulted in many units breaking down in as little as one week! We don’t want you to fall for the low price and then waste your time and energy in calling customer care to sort out your issues.
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