REVIEW – I’d never heard of a pool ionizer before receiving this review offer for the AIRTHEREAL S6 solar pool ionizer. When another reviewer commented on how much an ionizer was helping his pool, I decided to give it a try. With the hope of using fewer chemicals, having a cleaner pool, and not having eye irritation from swimming, I figured there was certainly nothing to lose!
What is it?
The AIRTHEREAL S6 solar pool ionizer uses a solar panel and copper anode to keep your pool clean and eliminate algae growth. It comes with an extra seal, cleaning brush, and copper test strips.
What’s in the box?
- AIRTHEREAL S6 solar pool ionizer
- Silicon band (2)
- Anode
- Coil spring
- Basket
- Screw
- Copper test strips (30)
- Metal cleaning brush
- Instruction manual
Hardware specs
- Product dimensions: 9.5 x 9.5 x 6 inches
- Item weight: 3.27 pounds
- Manufacturer: Airthereal
- ASIN: B0C8MBS8CF
- Panel diameter: 9.1 inches
- Panel thickness: 2.3 inches
- Panel material: Monocrystalline silicon
- Copper anode diameter: 0.7 inches
- Copper anode weight: 0.5lb
- Spring diameter: 1.6 inches
- Spring material: Stainless steel
- Power: 6V 1.5W
- Country of origin: China
- Item model number: S6
- Pool size: 1 unit per 35,000 gallons of water
- Time to work: 4-5 hours in the sun
Design and features
Setup
The AIRTHEREAL S6 solar pool ionizer comes in pieces but is very quick and easy to set up. The instruction manual does a good job of explaining the steps and showing what the final product should look like.
Essentially, you just screw the anode (clockwise) into the hole in the center of the base. Slide the coil spring in over it, and slide the basket over that, and screw it into place using the white screw to secure the end.
Then you just flip the AIRTHEREAL S6 solar pool ionizer over and plop it in your pool.
The ionizer is good for up to 35,000 gallons of water, which is just right for our pool. For a bigger pool, you’d need a second unit.
Performance
It was sunny and very, very hot when we tested the AIRTHEREAL S6 solar pool ionizer. While it says you don’t need to use any chemicals, it does note that when it’s very hot, there’s rain or you’ve added water, you may need more chlorine. I added two slow-release chlorine tablets to my skimmer when my WaterGuru sensor cautioned it was getting low.
However, normally during these hot weeks, we go through a lot more chlorine. Two tablets are nothing this time of year, so I definitely noticed a positive impact.
For my pool’s PH, I’d been adding chemicals every few days to combat low PH. However, after the ionizer, without adding anything specifically to adjust the PH, after four days, the PH seemed to even out on its own. Amazing!
It’s important to note that pool chemicals are very expensive and last year there was a shortage of chlorine, so it was very hard to find, and even more expensive than usual (when you could even find it). Not only does this gadget save a significant amount of money, there is a huge saving of my time and the hassle of finding, hauling, and constantly putting in pool chemicals.
I started testing the copper levels 24 hours after we first put the ionizer in the pool. For three weeks, it’s consistently read 0.1.
If your copper levels get over 0.5 ppm, the instruction manual says to take it out of the pool and put it back once the level drops to 0.3.
My pool water looks amazing and feels great to swim in. No more red, irritated eyes!
The only one who’s unsure of this new gadget is my dog, who follows it around the pool… hopefully, she’ll come around!
When our pool pump is on, the AIRTHEREAL S6 solar pool ionizer often gets sucked toward our skimmer. I don’t think there’s really anything you can do to prevent this. I will sometimes grab it and move it to the opposite corner of the pool so it can circulate and get better sunlight.
As for cleaning the AIRTHEREAL S6 solar pool ionizer, you check the anode every 1-2 weeks and give it a little scrub with the wire brush.
Once the anode gets to be about the width of a pencil (1/4th inch), it’s time for a replacement. You can get two replacement copper anodes, plus another basket, spring, and screw for $39.99 on the Airthereal website.
Once a month, you clean the basket by rinsing it out, dipping it in white vinegar (for less than 1 minute, don’t soak!), and then rinsing it again.
What I like
- Keeps my pool clean and balanced
- Reduces my need for expensive pool chemicals
What I’d change
- Nothing
Final thoughts
The AIRTHEREAL S6 solar pool ionizer is an excellent purchase for anyone with a pool and i pays for itself many times over.
Price: $119.99
Where to buy: Airthereal website and Amazon
Source: This sample was provided by Airthereal.
