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Pool chlorinator buying guide

Updated: 16.10.2026

You already have a pool or a spa, and amazon.co.uk still puts a £6 tablet floater in the same row as a £300 salt cell. This pool chlorinator buying guide chooses the type before the brand. Volume, pump flow, the plug, and the tablet or salt the device uses decide the basket. Star ratings come after those four lines agree. The ranked listings, with the prices captured for this set, sit on the [pool chlorinator](/hub/pool-care/pool-chlorinator) comparison. The Products Compared editorial team wrote this from those amazon.co.uk captures and public UK sources on 16 October 2026. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You already have a pool or a spa, and amazon.co.uk still puts a £6 tablet floater in the same row as a £300 salt cell. This pool chlorinator buying guide chooses the type before the brand.

Our top picks

Bestway Bestway Hydrogenic 6 g/h

Best overall

Bestway Bestway Hydrogenic 6 g/h
10.0/10about £186.54
View offer
FENRIR FENRIR 5 inch floater

Preis-Tipp

FENRIR FENRIR 5 inch floater
9.0/10about £5.99
View offer
Intex Intex CG-26664

Rank 3

Intex Intex CG-26664
8.8/10about £118.56
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Three chlorinators, not one
  2. 2.The checklist before you add to basket
  3. 3.What this set does and does not state
  4. 4.Which basket to open

Three chlorinators, not one

A floater is a tablet holder on the surface. It does not make chlorine and it does not need a return pipe. An inline feeder is a pot on the pipework that releases tablets while the pump runs. A salt cell passes water over a charged electrode and makes a chlorine disinfectant from salt already in the pool. The Pool and Spa Centre states the point the titles blur. A salt cell is still a chlorine pool. The three floaters in this capture sit at £5.99 to £6.99. Feeders and the smaller cells sit at about £119 to £187. If you are stuck only on salt versus tablets, that head-to-head is salt chlorinator or chlorine floater.

The checklist before you add to basket

Start with litres, then flow. Bestway’s 6 g/h listing states pools up to 26,498 litres and at least 1,249 litres per hour. Intex 26670 states 12 g/h and at least 2,650 litres per hour, plus about 3 kg of salt per cubic metre on that listing alone. Intex CG-26664 states 230 V and states neither litres nor grams per hour. A pump below the cell’s stated minimum fails the match even when the litre cap looks generous. Floaters and the Hayward feeders need tablets in the original container. Salt cells need pool sodium chloride under BS EN 16401:2013, not table salt or seawater. The plug is separate from a 230 V mark. Regulation 35 of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 expects a BS 1363 plug, or a non-UK plug with a fused conversion plug. A UK review says Intex 26670 arrived with a euro plug. Electrical Safety First treats a travel adaptor as the wrong fix for kit you leave plugged in at home.
Bestway Bestway Hydrogenic 6 g/h

Testsieger

Bestway Bestway Hydrogenic 6 g/h
10.0/10about £186.54
View offer

What this set does and does not state

CG-26664 is £118.56, rated 4.4 from 1,055 reviews, and marked 230 V, with no litres and no grams per hour in the file. One UK review says it does not cover 17,000 litres. That is a review, not a capacity printed by Intex. Bestway 6 g/h does print the size: 26,498 litres, 6 g/h, £186.54, and 5.0 from two reviews. Two reviews are a thin sample beside FENRIR’s 2,439. Hayward CL200 is £129.40 and 4.6 from 3,420. The file has no United Kingdom review, and the weight field reads 113 g. Trade code CL0200EURO, about 4 kg and up to 150 m³, stays on that code. NYANS is £320.57 with two German reviews, and the title and the bullets disagree about an app. Once a listing survives litres, flow and plug, the short decision is best pool chlorinator.

Which basket to open

Open a floater when the pool is small, you already buy tablets, and you will test the water and check the lid. Open a salt cell when the pump meets the flow the listing prints, and the metalwork can live with salt. Where the listing omits litres, as CG-26664 does, the manual has to agree before the first bag of salt. Leave the order if the plug in the parcel is not BS 1363 and a competent person will not fit one.

Common questions

Is a floater enough for a paddling pool?
A paddling pool or a small frame pool, with tablets and a test kit, is the floater job. OBOVO and CMXOAJ are £6.99 and FENRIR is £5.99. You still buy the tablets, and UK reviews describe lids that open and tablets that fall out. A floater is enough while you will check the lid and the liner. A pump-driven cell is the wrong spend until the pool has a return and a stated flow.
What if the listing does not state pool litres?
Treat the missing number as a fail until your manual and the manufacturer’s sheet agree. CG-26664 prints 230 V and omits litres and grams per hour. One UK review says that unit does not cover 17,000 litres, which shows a buyer hit the gap. It does not print a new capacity. Bestway 6 g/h is the opposite pattern, because 26,498 litres is on the listing itself.
Does 230 V mean a UK plug?
A 230 V mark means European mains voltage. It does not mean a BS 1363 plug is in the box. Regulation 35 covers a lead into a domestic socket. A UK review says Intex 26670 arrived with a euro plug, while a Poolpro page claims a UK 3-pin plug for its own description. Keep those lines apart. If the plug in your hand is not BS 1363, stop and use a competent person rather than a holiday adaptor.
Can I use Hayward CL200 figures from a UK shop page for CL0200EURO?
The codes differ in the files we used. Amazon’s CL200 is £129.40, with a weight field of 113 g and no UK review in the capture. Trade pages for CL0200EURO talk about a heavier unit and a pool up to 150 m³. Pasting 150 m³ onto CL200 would invent a capacity the amazon listing does not state. If you want the trade unit, buy that code and read that shop’s own limit.
What salt do I buy for a cell?
Buy sodium chloride sold for electrochlorinator pools, the grade covered by BS EN 16401:2013. SPATA’s level is about 3,000 mg/l. Intex 26670 prints about 3 kg per cubic metre, which is that listing’s figure. Leave table salt and seawater out. Another cell can ask for a different kilogram, so weigh what the unit you bought prints.

Related pages

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How to read a pool biocide label

Pool chlorinator

Best pool chlorinator 2026: top pick or best value

How to use a pool chlorinator: floater or salt cell

Salt chlorinator or chlorine floater for a UK pool

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, retrieved 16 October 2026. Prices, stars, and review counts are the amazon.co.uk captures for these ASINs.

  1. HSE, swimming pool safety management (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  2. HSE, HSG179, health and safety in swimming pools (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  3. HSE, using biocides safely (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  4. HSE, biocide product types (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  5. PWTAG TN60, free chlorine and pH (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  6. SPATA, salt chlorinators factsheet (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  7. BSI, BS EN 16401:2013, sodium chloride for electrochlorinators (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  8. Sunshine Pools, Bestway Hydrogenic 6 g/h (retrieved 16.10.2026)