Salt chlorinator buying guide
Updated: 21 October 2026
You have a pool or a hot tub, a filter that already runs, and a listing that leads with a gallon number. A salt chlorinator buying guide matches a chlorine rate, a salt window and a connection to the water you have. The cell makes chlorine from dissolved salt. It does not hold the residual, and a chemical-free title means you stop buying granules, not that the water has no chlorine. Prices for the seven amazon.co.uk units are on the [Salt chlorinator](/hub/pool-care/salt-chlorinator) comparison. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You have a pool or a hot tub, a filter that already runs, and a listing that leads with a gallon number. A salt chlorinator buying guide matches a chlorine rate, a salt window and a connection to the water you have.
You have a pool or a hot tub, a filter that already runs, and a listing that leads with a gallon number. A salt chlorinator buying guide matches a chlorine rate, a salt window and a connection to the water you have. The cell makes chlorine from dissolved salt. It does not hold the residual, and a chemical-free title means you stop buying granules, not that the water has no chlorine. Prices for the seven amazon.co.uk units are on the Salt chlorinator comparison. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Chlorine output | Salt on listing | Connection | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Intex Intex CG-26664 | not stated | not stated | 230 V inline; hose not stated | 7.2 | about £118.56 | View offer |
 Intex Intex 26670 | 12 g/h | 2.5–3.5 g/L | Filter at least 2,650 L/h | 8.1 | about £301.32 | View offer | |
| Alternative |  Bonvoisin Bonvoisin ECPro20 | 20–100%; g/h not stated | g/L not stated | 1.5 inch, 48–50 mm | 6.5 | about £286.92 | View offer |
On this page
What you are actually buying
A salt chlorinator passes a current through water that already contains salt. What leaves the cell is a hypochlorite-type disinfectant. Salt is not used up the way a tablet is. Splash-out, backwashing and rain move the level. Evaporation does not. Bayrol's guide says you change how the chlorine is made, and you still test. The Westaho, the Briidea and the Bonvoisin say chemical-free. The Intex 26670 title says chlorine-free while its bullets still describe chlorine production. None of the seven doses acid.
Size it by grams per hour and volume
Hayward UK asks for at least 2 g of chlorine per hour for every 10 m³. That line is a rule of thumb, not a lab test. Only the Intex 26670 bullets print a rate: 12 g/h, at about £301.32. The CG-26664 at about £118.56 does not. A QS400 manual states 4 g/h, and a UK review says that unit did not cover a 17,000 litre pool. The YUCHENGTECH states 85 m³ and the Bonvoisin states 22,400 gallons, with no grams per hour.
Match salt, flow and pipe
The Intex 26670 listing states 2.5–3.5 g/L, about 3 kg per cubic metre. A 10 m³ pool from unsalted water is about 30 kg. That sum is not a dose for a drop-in whose page never states grams per litre. The pour is how to use a salt chlorinator. The 26670 bullets want a filter of at least 2,650 litres per hour and do not state a hose size. Hose pools are salt chlorinator above ground pool. The Bonvoisin states 48–50 mm. The YUCHENGTECH offers adapters for 48.3 mm PVC, which is rigid pipe, not an Intex hose.
Inline pool cell or drop-in tub cell
Five units are inline, on the return after the filter. The CG-26664, the 26670 and the 26666 are the hose-side names. The Bonvoisin and the YUCHENGTECH are aimed at about 48–50 mm pipe. The Westaho at about £161.41 and the Briidea at about £169.89 are drop-ins, and the bullets say no plumbing. Twelve grams an hour into a few hundred litres can push the residual up fast. Those tubs are hot tub salt chlorinator.
When the listing is too thin to buy
You can buy the CG-26664 for a small pool if you accept the QS400 manual's 4 g/h as a separate document. Do not treat the YUCHENGTECH's 85 m³ line the same way. A UK shop's 3-pin version of the 26670 is not ASIN B07C9JL6RZ. Supply voltage is not stated on the Westaho, the Briidea, the Bonvoisin or the YUCHENGTECH. A missing voltage is not 230 V. The YUCHENGTECH at about £329.89, with no star line and no grams per hour, is the page to leave.
Common questions
How do I size a salt chlorinator without trusting the gallon headline?
Use grams per hour against your volume. Hayward UK's rule of thumb is at least 2 g/h for every 10 m³, with salt generally under 4 g/L. About 4 g/h suits a pool around 20 m³ and about 12 g/h suits a pool around 60 m³. A ceiling of 18,700 or 22,400 gallons is not that sum. The rate sizes the cell. A free-chlorine test sets the hours, because sun and bathers still change the residual.
What if the listing never states grams per hour?
Treat the output as not stated. The Intex 26670 is the only kept listing that prints a rate, 12 g/h. The CG-26664's 4 g/h figure is in a QS400 manual, not in the bullets. The Bonvoisin and the YUCHENGTECH give percentage steps and a gallon ceiling. Steps from 20% to 100% do not say how many grams an hour 100% is. If you need a number you can check, those two pages do not have it.
Is 3 g/L the salt level for every brand?
No. The 26670 listing states 2.5–3.5 g/L, about 3 kg per cubic metre, and related Intex manuals use about 3,000 ppm. Zodiac's GenSalt OT leaflet, which is not one of these ASINs, recommends 4 g/L. The drop-in listings show a salinity light and do not state grams per litre. Follow the unit you bought, then confirm with a salt test after the crystals have dissolved.
Does the cell also control pH?
Not in this set. None of the seven listings includes a pH pump. The chlorine these cells make pushes pH up, so acid is a separate product. PWTAG's note says that at pH 7.5 only about half of a free-chlorine test is the active form. That note is for managed pools. A private garden is not automatically in that regime, and you still cannot ignore pH.
Is a specialist 10 g/h unit a different buy from these amazon units?
Yes. Zodiac's GenSalt OT leaflet lists 10, 18 and 25 g/h on DN50 plumbing, with its own salt window. Those units are not the seven ASINs here. Hayward plant-room chlorinators sit in the same gap. An amazon cell with a Wi-Fi app is not that plant just because both are called salt chlorinators.
What must I check about the plug before I order?
Look for a BS 1363 plug, and do not invent one when the line is missing. Reviews on the Intex 26670 and the Intex 26666 say those parcels were not supplied with a UK compatible plug. The QS400 manual says to use an RCD not exceeding 30 mA and not to use converter plugs. A retailer's 3-pin version of a model number is that retailer's stock. If your ASIN arrives with a Euro plug, ask an electrician rather than cutting it off.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK and manufacturer sources used for this page in October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures for these seven listings.
- Hayward UK salt chlorinator configurator (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Bayrol: how a salt chlorinator works (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- BSI BS EN 16401:2013 sodium chloride for electrochlorinators (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Intex QS400 saltwater system manual (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Intex hose sizes and connections (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- NAPIT: BS 7671 Section 702 swimming pools (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE: swimming pools (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- PWTAG TN60: free chlorine and pH (retrieved 19 October 2026)