Optimum Pool Technologies® Compatible Repalcement Flow Switch for Pentair IntelliChlor IC20 & IC40 Salt Cell - Compatible Replacement for 520736

The media could not be loaded.  We bought a new home in SC in December 2022. At the time of purchase the LOW SALT light was on. The seller had the pool builder come out and test the system and they gave a letter saying all was good. They said the low salt light was due to the 40 degree-ish outdoor air temps. Fast forward to April 2023, air temps are in the 80s and pool temp is in the mid 70s. Low salt light has been on consistently, with stick readings around 3000 and pool store testing around 2900. Pool service company came out for $190 and diagnosed the 3 year old Intellichlor IC40 Salt Cell as bad and quote a replacement cost of $1,500 and $190 more to install it. Those figures are NOT a typo. I purchased a new IC40 on Amazon for $1050 and while waiting for it to arrive, decided to clean the old cell. Did that and it was in great shape, no real buildup present. Also while waiting for new cell to arrive, I continued watching YouTube videos and researching things. Turns out many people with similar salt level inconsistencies, temp inconsistencies and/or flow sensing issues reported bad flow sensors are the issue. So, I ordered this flow sensor in hopes of it working and being able to return my unopened $1,050. new IC40.The new sensor arrived yesterday. It was poorly packaged (in a zip type bag, in a flimsy small box, along with the required Scotch like connectors and PTFE thread wrapping tape), all inside a soft bubble envelope. Even though the box was crushed,, everything inside was still ok. WHEW!!!There were no instructions included, so I’ll offer this info I found on a YouTube video, which proved very helpful for installation. The old sensor had three wires (red, black & white). The new sensor has four wires (red, green, blue and clear). The following is the wiring setup is used and it worked perfectly.Existing Red to New RedExisting Blk to New Bl & Grn wires combinedExisting White to New Clear wireI’ve attached a photo of helpful wiring diagrams (courtesy of YouTuber - Fix It With Jake). He had the most helpful video on the sensor diagnosis and replacement.This product is highly recommended!!!

I replaced the original with one of these after 4 years. That was 2 years ago. This season, it again began to exhibit symptoms so I ordered another one. When I pulled out the first one I bought, it was clearly the problem. The metal flap piece that moves with flow was completely broken off. Five minutes later I was back in business.This second one came without the arrow pointing for the flow and that is important. Check yours and draw an arrow if you need to. Arrow should move from the metal flapper toward the plastic piece hanging down.The wires on this new one were also not the normal colors. Blue instead of black, orange instead of red and clear/copper looking for white.So a few picky details, but for the price and quick delivery to get back to producing chlorine, this is a win.

I was a bit skeptical, but I thought I’d give it a try. $60 for a new switch vs $660 for a new cell. I’m glad my gamble paid off.My salt cell has been acting up for a long time...the only way to get the flow and chlorinator lights on would be to ramp up the pool pump RPM’s to the higher speeds (3000+ RPM’s). Sometimes, even at those speeds, the flow light would not be triggered. This has undoubtedly spiked up my electric bill and the pump has had random error failures at times at these high speeds: It will throw an 00021 error code and then shut down for about 30 seconds, and then fire back up again...my thought is that the pump gets overheated when this happens, and no doubt causing internal damage.Now, after installing, I am getting the flow switch light on at <2500 RPM’s which is so much better. Great investment!Installation is fairly simple (not overly difficult, but not overly easy):1) Take out the new switch and wrap the threads with the teflon tape it comes with2) Strip the four wires. This was the hardest part since the wires are so thin and my wire stripper tool was ineffective. There are videos on YouTube how to do this. One method is to use a pair of scissors. Just look up: ‘Strip thin wire’ and you’re in business.3) Trip the power breaker for your salt cell and make sure there is no power to it.4) Take a pair of pliers and unscrew the old switch.5) Take your scissors and cut the wire connecting your old switch (I made my cut about 1.5 inches away from the switch) and make sure there is still enough cable to connect your new switch6) Strip the flow sensor wire to expose the wires connected to the salt cell (mine had four, Green, Red, White and Grey).7) Strip each of those with a good wire stripper or scissors8) Insert each colored wire from your new sensor and the salt cell wire into each connector (Green and Green, Red and Red, White and White, and in my case, Black and Grey).9) Crimp it with a pair of pliers. This means squeeze the pliers on the button of the connector...and voila.10) Screw the new sensor into your cell. Take care that the flow arrows on the head of the sensor are pointing in the correct direction (towards your cell)11) Flip your breaker and restore power. My cell then took a few minutes before the flow light came on (it was registering High Salt for some reason, then it worked like a charm). Now it chlorinates at much lower RPM’s!I almost gave this 5 stars. I gave it 4 stars only because the wires it comes with are incredibly thin and require some patience or a little ingenuity to strip (again, YouTube was a blessing).Highly recommended!

Worked well