Zodiac LM3 Series Salt Chlorinator
Verified16 reviews
- See all
I have been dealing with Best Pool Supplies for many years and have found them to be professional in every way. Show details
Still having problems – Zodiac agent has reviewed twice and replaced board but no chlorine is being produced. Over a week and waiting on further action. Show details
- +1
LM3-40 - Extremely Disappointed - Would Not Purchase Zodiac Chlorinator Again – We've had two Zodiac chlorinators now. A Zodiac LM2, and now a Zodiac LM3-40. We purchased the Zodiac LM3-40 against the advice of our local pool company. Our LM2 was failing, and we thought that this was bad luck, or due to being undersized for our pool, or even put it down to not as much maintenance as it should have had, however our pool shop… Read more
advised this was not the case, and that they regularly seen Zodiac products with a similar issue.
We thoroughly researched and chose the LM3-40 which is oversized for our pool which we purchased in November 2019.
In December 2020, our chlorinator began to fail and we could not change the chlorine output, the lights on the board were not working, and the cell would not chlorinate the pool. This was exactly the same issue that our LM2 system had.
We contacted the company we purchased the chlorinator through in January 2021, who had us fill email them about a warrant claim, which we did. The chlorinator was repaired under warranty after 14 months of use. I believe a new PCB as well as a new cell was installed at this time.
By June this year, well and truly less than 2 years from it's warranty repair, the chlorinator is now broken - again. It has not been chlorinating for months and we have been spending a ridiculous amount of money in chlorine and pool chemicals to try and keep our pool clean.
Much the same as Lahiru A.'s review, the Check Salt light is on continually, even though our salt level has been checked by our pool company and is perfect. The output remains stuck on the lowest setting, and there is no chlorine coming from the cell.
Thinking it was the cell as the chlorinator unit had only been repaired the year prior, we spent over $400 and replaced the cell. This did absolutely nothing. We spoke to our local pool shop, who advised us to look in the yellow moulded connector, and to check the terminal to see if any of them had burnt out and turned black, as they had seen this regularly with this filter.
We checked this that day, only to find that the pool shop was absolutely correct, one of the pins in the terminal was black. We assumed this must have been this issue, purchased a genuine Zodiac replacement connector and had this installed by our pool shop.
This did not fix the issue, and they believe that the PCB has failed - again.
The fact that this chlorinator has a 2 year warranty, and failed after around a year the first time, and have since failed again, less than 2 years after being repaired last time, speaks volumes for the product - as do all of the negative reviews online.
This chlorinator is not fit for purpose.
We have spent a ridiculous amount of money trying to rectify the problem. We understand that the chlorinator has past its 2 year manufacturer warranty, however the unit was fixed with new parts less than 2 years ago, and has failed in the same way.
I have uploaded the photo of the new connector, however I did not have a photo of the new cell handy - I can provide this if required, but there seems to be no point given how crappy this entire situation is.
After speaking to [Name Removed] about having this looked at out of goodwill even though it is out of warranty, we were swiftly told no, and that our only option was to pay for a representative to come and diagnose the issue, and then pay for repairs.
Honestly - this has been a joke. As good as $1000 on a chlorinator that fails, is repaired under warranty, only to fail again, We're sorry we ever bought it.
LM3 -24 Dud cholorinator – I had this chlorinator (LM3-24) purchased 3 years ago now and I can confirm for the best part of the last 2 years there was no chlorine being produced, Basically the Check Salt light turned on all the time and output stuck at the lowest setting. Post lockdowns finally managed to get a pool tech (non Fluidra) who came and confirmed salt level was… Read more
fine and there was potentially a power pack issue.
So called Fluidra to discuss and mentioned my tech's assessment, that’s where the conversation went downhill. Basically the Fluidra person was accusing my tech of not checking the salt level correctly which why the check salt light is on all the time and I am not sure there was even a willingness at their end to be nice and troubleshoot the issue step by step, but rather being defensive about the whole issue.
Then came the warranty conversation, While I accept its 3 years the best part of that was in lockdown and I am not in a position to randomly get a fluidra tech in to my house especially during an unvaccinated period . So my request was to consider this as a warranty repair but fluidra was not having any of it . Really disappointing a product like Zodiac has this sort of customer service and product quality.
My request to fellow pool owners is to be aware when dealing with this product and company. In the meantime I am stuck manually adding chlorine to the pool because the chlorinator is a dud
Reliable for 6 years – I had an LM3-25 from 2000 to Jan 2016 and replaced it with an LM3-40 (at a great discount) which has just now stopped producing chlorine, just like the first one. But they both worked flawlessly for 6 years with no cell cleaning and both were exposed to full sun, so I'm happy with the product and it's reliability. The current LCD is barely… Read more · 1
readable from sun/heat damage and the top switch panel is cracked and damaged and the cell has some calcium buildup, but despite all that it's been working reliably until just now. I've built a box for the equipment, so the next one will be protected from the elements and hopefully last even longer.
LM3 salt cell plug-in connector – I have endless problems with LM3 cell plugs seizing in place, and leaking at terminals and causing problems with chlorine production. Would have thought that a supposedly reputable mob like Zodiac would have fixed something like that by now, but no just happy to sell people new parts or complete new chlorinators and continue to get a bad… Read more
reputation. I have found that tapping out the terminal holes in the cell with a 5mm tap and fitting stainless studs or bolts and hard wiring the studs with bolt on crimp lugs is the way to go. Outlasts plug arrangement by heaps and so much more reliable, unlike Fluidra after sales service.
Not sure it's ever worked correctly – Have had the Lm3-40 for about 30 months now. During the time I owned it the pool shop always said I didn't have enough free chlorine. I ran it for a minimum of 8 hours on full and my pool is only 50000 litres. Cleaning the cell was a pain, just removing the cell from the housing was nearly impossible as it had seized in position. Had to use a… Read more
strap to free it. The yellow cap melted so you couldn't remove the wires from the cell - apparently a common fault. The low salt light comes on a stops chlorine - plenty of salt though. The reset buttons work for a few months, but you know that's the start of the board dying. For the price I'm pretty disappointed. I bought Zodiac as I thought it would last. My last chlorinator was cheap, but lasted over 10 years and produced more chlorine even though it was rated for less than this one.
money pit – This is my third LM3 as i have given them a fair go and i use the old ones for parts. The most used button on the control panel is the secret reset button as it justs stops chlorinating the pool all the time and i have replaced so many cards. Also you can never get hold of a Zodiac technician. Save your self the money and heart ache and shop around. Show details
PCB (power board) dies and salt cells don't last. Dreadful customer service – I have gone through 2 salt cells since purchasing this item. They just do not last and I'm not sure the self cleaning even works - it keeps building up and I have to keep cleaning it which shortens the life. Pool is completely in balance so it's not that issue. I think the worse part is that I put in a warranty claim and have heard absolutely nothing back from Zodiac. Will purchase different brand next time.
Hi Ben, We would like to apologise for your negative… Read more (+13 replies)
Don't buy a LM3-40 - I repeat DON'T BUY!!! – Do yourself a favour and steer clear unless you want to keep buying PCB boards..... Top cover deteriorates and water gets in unit after 4 year not exposed to the sun Show details
Hi ringy_35, We would like to apologise for your negative… Read more (+6 replies)
5 years on and going strong – I’ve got a 50,000 litre pool in Adelaide and have run the LM3-40 for 5 years. It’s apparently oversized for my pool but this means I can run its output set at 20% for most of the year and my pump runs for 4 hours a day. Pool is always crystal clear. Cell is always clean & haven’t had an issue. Show details · 1
Zodiac LM3-40 Chlorinator not fit for purpose – purchased LM3 40p chlorinator unit in 27 september 2017 just coming up to 3 years old, so much for a self cleaning salt cell. no different to my old model. The unit is turned off for 4 months of winter every year and when we travel which has been 3 months over the past 3 years, the unit has only worked actual time since i bought it 21 months… Read more
making the hours of use 5040 since purchase. The cells are sold to last between 5-7 years so at this rate should work effectively between 14600 and 20440 hours, Mine has stopped working totally now. I spoke to Zodiac rep who advised they would not do anything about it because it is out of warranty period, I advised him that under ACCC and ACL that they are responsible under the Implied Warranty Legislation to stand by their product. I dont think they have heard of consumer law as he said management would not allow him to help me. When you sell a product that is advertised to have a certain expected life span and the product fails in actual usage time then it fails to meet the expectation of performance purchased by your customer. Zodiac will be hearing more from me about this matter as consumer law states they must either replace or refund on a product that doesn't meet the expectation of performance even out reasonable of warranty time. its a bit rich to have to replace a $450.00 part after poor quality and performance, I am very disappointed with Zodiac not helping me out more with this, the rep told me they have generic cells for 197.00(wholesale) with a six year warranty which is laughable considering the price and warranty period of their genuine product$ 450.00 with a two year warranty, he wouldn't let me purchase the cheaper one because they only supply to their commercial customers. I wont be buying the Zodiac robotic cleaner i was about to purchase now, i have no faith in this company to stand by their products after they are sold when they fail to meet the expectations and quality which is represented in their pricing, big fail here Zodiac
14 years life out of my unit – Recently replaced my Zodiac Clearwater LM3 -24 saltwater chlorinator unit and cell. In that time it has been to the repair shop twice, something to do with tripping the electricity. If 14 years is a good life span then i guess im happy. Show details
Find out how Zodiac LM3 Series Salt Chlorinator compares to other Chlorinators
Know better, choose better.
Poor quality chlorinator and customer service – Purchased 8/16 LM3-40 for a 75000 litre pool - sales blurb claimed suitable for up to 120,000 litre pool. Chlorinater never kept up to chlorine levels required - pool water was checked fortnightly and always well balanced. Last week it wasn’t generating any chlorine so took the cell to local repair shop. Technician couldn’t believe the cell was… Read more
only 3 years old. He then noticed their were only 9 plates 130mm long whilst current model has 11 - 150mm long. I rang Zodiac support and after 30min on hold a very rude ‘customer service - sic’ person said that yes the newer model was upgraded, you are out of warranty and need to buy a new cell. I asked about pro rata replacement as cell obviously was inadequate for job advertised and was told no bad luck. Never again buying Zodiac and now off to contact consumer watch dog and ombudsman.
Discontinued, hmm still seem to be selling them – Hmm, product review claims these are discontinued, but the one I just bought claims to be 2017 model, so I dunno about them being discontinued. Maybe I'm a fool, but we've been through two of these units in the last 13 years, and I've just bought a replacement Zodiac LM3 unit, just the bigger one the 40 modem rather than the 23, since we've got… Read more
a pretty large pool. And yeah the face plate cracks, probably should have replaced it, but yeah, it let in water and so I'm guessing the whole unit is cactus. Maybe when the replacement that is coming stuffs up, I'll learn and get another brand.
Hi, This is a current product in our range. Can you please… Read more
Got issues – Seen a couple of reviews saying these things are reliable, they're not. First the plastics face plate degraded from the sun, just a sticker really so $30 latter replaced it. No big deal just inconvenient. Then the digital display stopped working properly, then the salt light came on despite tests showing salt level was fine and cell stopped… Read more
'fogging'. Enter the tech who said PCB needed replacing (common fault with the model) and new cell needed, $1050! I could literally buy the same unit new for less. In the end I bought a replacement PCB off eBay for $125 (I note this 1 seller had sold well over 100 of these boards, what does that tell you) undid 9 screws and a plug and guess what? Now works perfect, nothing wrong with the cell. I see the units are discontinued I can see why.
Hi Rich. The LM3 is still a Unit in our Range. Without… Read more
ProductReview.com.au has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence our content moderation policies in any way, though ProductReview.com.au may earn commissions for products/services purchased via affiliate links.
Hi Pete, We would like to apologise for your negative… Read more (+1 reply)