CircuPool Universal40 Salt Chlorinator System | 40,000 Gallon Pool Max

I can recommend this to be used as an almost dropin replacement for Aqua Rite with T Cell 15, which is what I did. It took me about 2 hours to remove the old system and get the Circupool installed and running. It is working fine but December is the wrong time of year to really give it a good test as the pool water is not hot. Why I chose Circupool: Not pleased with the reliability of the Aqua Rite (more later) when its cell failed I looked at alternatives. The Circupool has several attractive features: 1) claimed easy replacement of Aqua Rite; 2) significantly lower purchase cost; 3) 4-year warranty (although it phases out instead of being true full 4 years); and 4) Circupool being OK with owner installation, including warranty service. Good to know if considering as an Aqua Rite replacement: The Circupool cell does indeed just drop in. I unscrewed the fittings from the Aqua Rite T Cell, pulled it out, and was able to directly put in the new cell using the same fittings...no replumbing at all required. A plus is I was able to use my existing flow switch - the electrical connector on its wire plugged into the Circupool control box and it was recognized. So no replumbing required to swap flow switches! On the negative side the Circupool control box has a different size than the Aqua Rite, and a different location on the bottom of the box for the power cord. So I did have to drill new mounting holes and rework electrical conduit, which is why the replacement took 2 hours instead of 30 minutes. Addressing these differences would be a nice improvement to this product. I won't be able to know about the hot weather operation of the Circupool, nor its reliability, for a while. If it does fail and requires a warranty replacement, the plus which Circupool offers over Aqua Rite is I expect to be able to do it myself, as compared to Aqua Rite which required an authorized service company to provide the warranty service while not paying for that service. I plan to update my review over time as I have experience with the Circupool. History of my Aqua Rite lack of reliability, for anyone considering Aqua Rite (my pool is about 20K gallons, located in south Texas): Purchased new in 2012. Since then the cell has failed 5 times. 3 of those were under warranty, once I purchased a new cell. The most recent failure was the same as what happened once before -- although the cell was still generating chlorine the salt sensor (built into the cell) was resulting in salt level readings much lower than what was in the water, resulting in chlorine generation being automatically shut down due to (inaccurate) low salt levels. In addition to the cell failures the main board in the control unit was replaced once under warranty, and was in fact ready to be replaced again because the little push button switch had worn out and would no longer function. So far I am highly pleased with the Circupool system. I hope it is reliable.

I bought a chlorinator from the Hayward brand. First I bought a used one thinking it might just be an open box on Amazon. Big mistake. I inspected and saw algae and cracks and sent it back. Then bought a new Hayward unit That one was a lemon as the salt meter was faulty. This was a huge time suck as I kept tearing apart my 2” pool plumbing. If this happens btw, do not keep adding salt. Go to your pool guy and test the water. Finally I went with this unit and brand hooked it up. And it works! What I like about this brand is the unit seems more solid. It was easier to hook up, and easier to operate. Little things such as they provided the electrical components so you did not have to purchase addition wiring. What I learned after going through 2 returns that Amazon was quick to blame the “third party” and the seller was quick to blame Amazon. The return was accepted but I had to make noise to get a shipping label and get them to accept a used return. And yes; I did got to Hayward and they confirmed that the unit was faulty. What I would say for something this expensive and specific; go direct to seller or use a local pool shop. If I did that I probably Would have been able to swap it out. I just kept getting a Hayward calling service that was no help. Hayward couldn’t help me as they needed it all To got through Amazon. Amazon said I needed to go through the seller (in the swim). So l was going round and round. Also, go with a bigger machine so you have some room. I have a 15,000 gallon pool and it good to go with a larger unit so you have some room.

The circupool universal 40 was absolutely the best choice for my first quality above ground pool! After 15 years of cheap store bought pools of varying sizes, I had experienced along the way, the salt water system. When I decided to buy a real pool, I knew that it needed a quality filtration system. My pool is 5 years old now and has been the easiest to maintain. I do close it down for about 4 months each winter and every spring I find a crystal clear pool when I open it. A big sand filter, solar powered pump, seven panels for heating and the circupool universal 40. Vacuum 1 time each week and adjust the ph, that’s all. Typically need 1-3 bags of salt to start the season and 1-3 bags throughout the summer depending on how much backwashing the filter requires. Quality, reliability and efficient solution for an incredibly fair price. Highly recommended and will buy again when the time comes.

This was a change from my old Hayward system. I chose this based on reviews and price, as it was $600 less than Hayward just for the system itself, and the warranty lasts 4 years rather than 3, even though it’s prorated. While I can’t review it for longevity yet, I will tell you I like the window that allows me to see salt value without opening the box. It was pretty easy to install, and within minutes was reading values and working perfectly. I’m not sure about this, but I think Hayward requires you to have their system professionally installed to use the warranty. Price of the Hayward system alone was over $1800, and pricing for installation added $800 more, for a total of $2600. This one was about $1100. No brainer to me.

Product received in great shape, packed well. Installation a breeze, especially if you already have a power source. Just a matter of a few cuts of PVC pipe, add connectors, connect power and it's good to go. I already had a salt pool so I did not need to add salt. If there is one complaint, the system seems to read the salt a bit high. When the local pool company told me it was 3700 ppm and the system read 4300 ppm. The manual says it should correct after a few days/weeks. Mine has been going for 3 months and it still hasn't corrected, but it seems to be producing chlorine just fine. Other than that, I'd have given 5 stars.

UPDATE: We were having a problem with our pool about a year after installing a CircuPool salt generator and I was pretty certain that it had something to do with the CircuPool system. I called their customer service and talked to John Hill who gave me some suggestions, and then gave me his direct email address and direct phone number (!!!). When his suggestions did not fix the problem, we exchanged a number of emails until the problem was solved. There was not a problem with the CircuPool - just excessive phosphates in the pool (which we had never experienced before). He nailed the issue and patiently worked through the problem with me. Excellent customer service! Soooo much better that the company that made our previous overpriced salt generator and provided lousy, costly, customer service. Highly recommend the CircuPool! Original Review: We have had this unit running for about three weeks at this point and it is operating perfectly. We previously had a major brand that rhymes with "wayward" (but starts with a "H") and attempted to replace circuit boards on that unit that were fried after about 8 years of use. The company and its authorized reps in our city were not helpful and wanted $2,500 to replace the whole unit. After research, we decided to go with the Circupool Universal40 Saltwater Chlorinator at much lower cost. Wired the unit same as old unit, connected the cell to the old fittings, did not replace flow sensor with the new one provided (used old one already plumbed in), and everything fired up properly and sanitized the pool overnight. Gin clear water ever since. Happy customer!

I have had the unit installed a little over a year. Install went fine though it took several days after the salt level was good before it accurately reflected the salt level and started making chlorine. The maint light came on in the fall for cleaning and the cell cleaning was performed per instructions. However the maint light still periodically flashed on/off. Now for the bad part. We went out of town, and when we left the chlorine was reading 3500 -- pool has been in service since May. When we returned the chlorinator was not producing and now indicated low salt. I took a sample to Leslie's pool and the salt was low. Performed another cell cleaning based on tips in the manual even though there was zero residue visible. Added salt 3 weeks ago and after testing the level was 3800. After about 2 weeks the salt updated to 2800 and the unit started producing salt. Lasted about a week and now it says the salt level is 2500 when in fact it is 3300. I have exhausted all fixes found in manual and online. It is maddening to be adding chlorine to a pool when I spend so much for the chlorinator. I. Going to call service today after waiting on hold 45 minutes last time and finally hanging up. I am updating back to 2 stars as I finally reached support. Not an ideal process as I have to remove the cell and send it to them for testing even though the support person indicated that it appears to be the cell. Fortunately I plumbed with that section for removal during the winter with straight tube. Title 'Poor quality' as I did find other people complaining of same issue.

I eventually installed this, not sure why I was intimidated as I've installed everything else in my system and this was the easiest. I'm making a point to review this now due to my first experience dealing with the company. I noticed a minor issue and created an account and contacted Circupool at 9:30 AM, by 10:08 AM I had shipping confirmation on the part, gotta love that. As for the install, I ended up converting it from the default 220V input to the 110V input per the simple instructions, and then wiring a standard three prong plug to it and plugged it into the GFI outlet that was available and that's it. Don't get confused by the three way switch marked "Super chlorination" "On - Off - Auto" because it really should say "Chlorine Generation Mode" so you want it always on either "Auto" for automatic generation based off the dial setting, or "On" (which should say SuperChlorinate based on my prior suggestion) for 100% super chlorinate mode, which I think only runs a cycle of 24 hours before returning to Auto mode, not sure though. Anyway, 25K Gal pool, and the Universal40 is more that adequate. Love the salt water pool btw!