Intex Krystal Clear Saltwater System for Above-Ground Pools up to 15,000 Gallons

2nd swim season using this machine do far so good

Really like this unit. Easy to install. I get good results. Downside is it lasts for maybe three seasons. Not worth trying to get replacement parts. I will order this soon to have it on hand when I need a replacement.

The Intex QS1200 Saltwater Chlorine System is a game-changer for above-ground pools. It keeps my 15,000-gallon pool crystal clear with minimal effort. The setup was simple, and it runs efficiently on 110-120V. Highly recommend for hassle-free, clean water all season long!

I ordered the saltwater chlorinator in early April 2022. It did not work. So I requested a replacement from Amazon. Got it late April. It works fine. I did not return the original because my experience with these units is they last about 1 year, so I thought I'd just keep the defective one and request warranty for the part that was bad. Now, hours into a maze from Hades, here's what's going on.Intext warranty support was very hard to reach. I did finally get someone on the phone, and after a very painful 30 minute conversation, I was able to have them send me a replacement titanium electrode (having two identical units allowed me to test and find out what part was defective).That replacement shipped in late June. It is now late July. UPS tracking has a final entry on June 29 that the part is about 60 miles from my house. At this point I figure it will never arrive, so:- I call Intex again and talk to a nice enough agent, and I can understand him which is a huge plus.- He tells me that once Intex hands the item to the shipper, that there is nothing Intex will do to resolve a problem with shipping. I complain, but he is following Intex's horrible internal policy, and all he can do is give me the phone number for UPS. He gives me the wrong number, not even a valid number, and he tries a few tmore times but never gives me a valid number.- So I thank him for his time, and then I get online with UPS for a chat session. Spend another 20 minutes there, and the chat agent tells me to file a claim.- So then I try to file a claim with UPS, set up an account so I'm somebody to them, and when I get to the "new claim" page finally (about an hour after my fun day started), I get an error from UPS that "Cannot submit claim. Unfortunately, this package type is not eligible for a claim submission. [UPS:E030]"What now? I ordered the replacement item directly from intex. $150. When it arrives I guess I will start a new warranty claim with Intex and just try to get my money back at that time.How should things be different? If you ship something, you should make an effort to find out when things do not arrive, or arrive damaged, and you should help the customer resolve the problem. This is customer service 101. In my experience with Intex, they have lousy customer service, and sometimes lousy parts. These titanium electrodes might last a year, if you are lucky, but I'll take a year if I can get it. If not, I have to weigh the pain of calling Intex warranty support and all the frustration associated with that, and with all the runaround I've done to "follow the rules" as it were, I'm no closer to having a working chlorinator.

I will come back and add to this review after the system has been running for a while, but I wanted to clarify something for anyone considering this product. I was very unclear as to whether or not this was "one unit" or if it was the filter unit and a separate saltwater unit that had to be connected via a hose with timers on each. The product description is very lacking in this, it just is, and in some of the customer submitted photos there are two separate units. IT IS ONE UNIT.There are effectively three pieces to this. The pump/motor, the filter, and the saltwater box. Everything, including the saltwater chlorinator, is controlled by the main control panel on top of the pump housing. Water enters the pump through a filter basket, is pumped up to the filter media box, flows through it, then is pumped out to a small box that 'loosely' attaches to the rest of the unit down at the base. This box houses the saltwater chlorinator electrode things (whatever they're called) then from this small box the water outflows back to the pool.A couple other things to consider. You definitely need some space to set this up, and you have to set it with the hoses and everything facing the pool, else the included hoses won't reach.It comes with one outlet hose, but no outlet drain that goes through the side of the pool, and the hose that comes is the larger 1.5" Intex hose. My pool currently has two outlet ports, but they're smaller. I bought the t-connecter with the plunger stop that takes the two smaller hoses on the sides and lets it drain to the one larger hose. This worked much better for me.I also bought single plunger connectors to connect to the water inlet jet. The Intex hoses are stiffer, and it put way too much pressure on the inlet jet going through the pool wall, so by connecting the 90 degree plunger hookup, it took all that pressure off my pool wall.When hooking the small hoses up, screw the hose onto the saltwater box first and then attach it to the filter box. If you do it in reverse, it's impossible to get the hose screwed on to the saltwater box enough and it will leak everywhere around it. So do it first.I found that using an oil filter wrench tool (not the rubber straps, the one that looks like a big clamp) was the perfect size for tightening and loosening the screw on hose connectors.So far, I really like it. I'll post pictures at some point. I hope my few setup tips help.