Customer Reviews for PENTAIR Connected Salt Level Sensor for Water Softener

The Pentair Connected Salt Level Sensor is okay if you are technically motivated to spend your time setting it up to work over and over again. I would not recommend this product if you are not. I thought it would be great to get an alert on your phone whenever your salt is low. The instructions are not good. The hard copy instructions should give you a heads up that you have to have salt on hand when setting it up. Only after you finally get it to connect to the phone app and you start the installation process that you find out you have to add more salt to calibrate it. So I did this and it said everything was good but then the error messages and false readings started happening. For days I would get text messages and emails saying the salt was low and then it would go away and the softener hadn't even run yet to backwash. Then it statrted sending notifications that the device needed to be set up again so I did it again!! Well a few days later after the softener backwashed it started the same messaging about low salt and now it has to be set up again. So I set it up again and all is good for now but if it does it again I'm throwing it away and going back to the manual visual inspection that is always correct.

This was ordered online and shipped to my home without issue. If you have a water softener this is a must have. It will monitor your salt levels for you as well as trend out how much salt you are using and on which days. It gives some good granular detail and data. this will also help you better monitor your salt levels. If you're out at the store and wonder if you need salt, you can check the app to see if you are needing more. The installation process is pretty easy, but beware that you should have a bag of salt that you would normally add to your water softener so it can calibrate the size of your tank. This will connect to your phone via bluetooth to then connect to your home network. To install you just need to download the app and follow the onscreen instructions. It will use an internal system to measure the distance from the top the tank to the floor to measure the height of the tank, then it will use the same method to measure the inside of the tank to the top of the salt level. This will help to determine how much salt you currently have. Next you will need to add salt to your system and tell the app how much (40lbs bag etc.) so it can then measure the size of your tank to help determine the usage.

This review is for the Pentair Bluetooth Connected Salt Level Sensor for a Water Softener Brine Tank. Item number : 4005702. This sensor measures 4 1/2 inches long, 3 inches wide and 1 1/4 inches thick. It is constructed of plastic and the only control button is the blue one on the face to reset it when trying to sync to Bluetooth. Made in Mexico, it comes with a 1 year warranty. The idea behind this laser sensor is to connect it via Bluetooth to your smartphone and also to your Wi-Fi so you can check the salt status of your brine tank no matter where you are at. Place this sensor inside your brine tank as instructed and it will send you up to the minute information on the status of salt in your brine tank, your salt usage and battery condition so you never run out and then run hard water through out your home and appliances. Measurements are done with a light laser. Instructions are straight forward, setup videos are provided and it's easy to follow. This is a very new product to the market. You must actually read and follow the instructions. The initial step is to sync to your smart phones Bluetooth. I did this and it quickly synced. The next step is to sync with your Wi-Fi network so you will need your Wi-Fi password. Wi-Fi sync was also fast and connected. Further steps showing in the app on your phone will have you follow straight forward setup instructions as the sensor's laser then measures your tank, salt depth, etc. It's easy. The software worked perfectly. The setup was completed quickly. To view your brine tank status, just tap the app icon on your phone and a screen will appear that shows your salt level, salt usage and battery life. This is a cool option for your brine tank. I'm pretty good at always lifting that lid and looking inside, but admittingly get busy and to much time has gone by and I'm really low on salt. A well thought out product from Pentair, the leading name in pool and home products like this. A highly recommended sensor and reminder app. Good Job.

This was a learning experience! This is a pretty smart device! You set it up by clipping it to the outside of the salt tank, and it measures the height. Then you clip to the inside to measure the salt level, but it did not work. A quick call to Pentair solved the problem: The salt level starts ABOVE the water line! 120 pounds of salt later and it easily read the salt line. Then, you add more salt, tell it how much salt you added and it's all set up and working. Now that I have enough salt in there, soap comes off a lot easier in the shower!

Perfect solution for a water softener brine tank. I installed the app on my phone and followed the instructions. That was it. The app walks you through the few steps and once you have that sorted out, you are on your way. Now I get notifications when the salt level starts to run low. It works on WIFI and should be maintenance free. Just an FYI, you have to set it up with a known quantity of salt for the first time. I waited till the salt got a little low and then just before I added the salt I performed the setup procedure.

I really want this salt level sensor to work as advertised as I'm a big fan of IoT devices that make life easier by performing mundane tasks but the jury is still out on this one. At this time, I want to give this device 3.5 stars as setup didn't make me believe it's 4-star worthy but it does seem to be better than average. The device appears to be well made, although only time will tell if the electronics can withstand the constant exposure to what I assume is a slightly humid and salty environment. There's no seal on the battery compartment which worries me. The setup process, while seemingly straight forward based on the instructions, was a little troublesome between the app timing-out/losing connection, and the device not projecting the light onto the floor when attached to the outside of the brine tank during the initial setup step and required me to hand-hold it at the top edge and tip it so that the red light was projected on the floor. The instructions also state that you need at 10lbs of salt, or you can remove 10lbs from the brine tank, in order to perform the calibration but my recommendation would be to have a 40lbs bag ready and to only perform the setup when the brine tank is at least half empty. In my brine tank, adding 10lbs only change the level by a couple of inches and repeated measurements with the device during calibration clearly showed that the sensor isn't that accurate (repeated measurements gave readings of +/- 2 inches). Also, because this device has to connect to your home WiFi, you better ensure that you have a decent WiFi signal in the area where your softener is located.

I just got a water softener installed by a plumber because our water is very hard. Not having had a water softener for years, I thought having something to remind me to refill it when needed. Cruising through Home Depot I found the Pentair salt sensor that will watch the level and alert me to the need to add salt. It was easy to install except the hook that Pentair has is for a side wall that doesn’t have a lip. I didn’t want to return it, so I made a loop to hold it and taped the loop ends to the outside. The monitor is very light weight so this should hold it in place. Following the instructions it was easy to get it started.

If you are technically inclined I recommend this product. Its pretty sweet to just get an alert on your phone whenever your salt is low. For those who aren't I'd say get someone technologically inclined to help you or dont get it. The instructions are absolute garbage. The paper says to follow the steps in the app but then the app doesn't tell you what to do. Plus you have to have salt on hand when setting it up which I didn't have so I had to wait a couple of days before I could actually get it set up correctly. I checked on the box and no where does it say you need to have salt on hand outside of your water softener.

Do you have a water softener but have to guess when it’s time to add salt? The guessing can finally be over! The Pentair Connected Salt Level Sensor is a smart solution to this issue. I’m expecting fluffy towels and sheets in our closet from now on! Here’s what I found when installing my unit. First, you need to know that your smart device (phone or tablet) needs to download the Pentair Home App from the Google Play store or the Apple Store – depending on the kind of device you have. Once you’ve installed the app, you’re ready to continue the installation. The instructions that come with the unit aren’t the greatest but you can get through this! The first problem I had – believe it or not – was getting the back off of the unit so I could install the batteries that came with the unit. Once I managed to get it open and installed the batteries, I was able to pair the unit with my tablet. You are now directed to use the app to finish the installation. You need to connect the device to your 2.4 MHz band of your Local Area Network. Then you are asked about the other kinds of water systems you have and the name of the manufacturer of your softener manufacturer. You’re told to have at least 10 lbs. of salt to add and then told that you need to measure the height of the container that you place the salt in as well as the distance to the water level inside. Not to worry, the unit will do all the measuring for you. Don’t run for the tape measure like I did! After that, relax - you’re ready to enjoy electronic salt level monitoring! I am very impressed with this product and recommend it highly! Take a look at the photo of the initial report I received - I need to add more salt! That surprised my wife and told me why my towels are not as fluffy as they used to be. :-)

I received the pentair salt level sensor from Home Depot and installed it in my brine tank. It was super easy to follow the instructions and easy to sync with my Wi-Fi I did have to add a bag of salt after I set the calibration so it could read the level. Its pretty straightforward and easy to set up I would recommend this to anyone that is looking for a salt level sensor. I wish I would have known that they made these years ago. This is going to save me so much time from having to check the salt on a regular basis

I work for a hvac company who does water treatment seen this thinking it would be great as i forgot to add salt and have customers who either are elderly and cannot get down to get or are like me and forget. But should have know from the start with the inaccurate readings during setup it wasn’t going to work used for a month showed i was using 4x the salt i do per regeneration and told me i was low when my tank was still 3/4 full also would randomly email me to finish setup which was complete. Going to be returning it.

Can not connect thru app. Tried multiple devices and connections. Device does not work bad purchase. DO NOT PURCHASE BAD PRODUCT

Setup is terrible. It took forever to get it to connect even with WIFI with a few feet. It will not measure depth to access how full the salt is. Would not buy. You'll save more time by checking salt level the old fashion way.

I purchased this along with a Pentair water softener, it worked for less than one day and then it would not read the level anymore, I reset it, started all over but it would not read the salt level. I contacted Pentair Technical Support and they replied back "they know there is an issue and their IT Team is working on a solution". I returned back to Home Depot and showed them the e-mail I received. I will purchase another one at a later date when they get it figured out.

For the life of me, I can't see how this is easier or more convenient than simply lifting the lid and taking a peek at the salt level every week or so. Faulty pairing, buggy app, and $110 for something that "solves" a non-problem.

The actual device isn't terrible; it does detect when the salt is low. The rub is that it can only send a notification to your phone. Unfortunately, the Pentair app will periodically log you out, which prevents the alert, defeating the entire purpose.

It wasn't easy to set up. The directions were unclear. I've needed to redo the set up several times. It was sending false alerts to add salt and change the battery. The bugs are fixed after redoing the set up. But the point is convenience so needing to keep redoing it defeats the purpose. Right now it's working. If anything else goes wrong, I'll toss it.

Works perfectly and easy to setup. Recommend this if your water softener is in a basement or outside so you can monitor the salt levels.

Setup; the only thing that worked is the bluetooth pair. After forcing you to set up (yet another!) account, (why can't it report directly to my phone. Why must the information have to go thru your janky servers?), the app asks for more personal information than is necessary. Address and phone number? Why would they matter? Once that part of my life is surrendered, next is the wifi connection. Of course the first attempt failed. Trying to connect again, no wifi choice is listed. Only "other". Had to kill the app and restart. After decades of wifi and bluetooth products, still the programmers can't get it right. Finally connected to wifi and I'm 20 minutes into this "simple" setup. Clipped the unit to the side of the hopper and it can't find the floor. The typical concrete garage floor. The floor that's 4 feet away. And it's going to monitor sale pellets? That was it. I was done. I've worked in the computing field since 1984, I'm no dummy with tech. It's goes back today . . .

Would not connect to phone via Bluetooth

Easy to install, using the online tutorials. Works exactly as expected. It takes a few weeks to establish a baseline for salt usage, but everything works as expected. The app is very informative, it tell your daily, weekly, and monthly salt usage. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to monitor their water softener salt levels and be reminded to refill salt as needed. Using this device and the monitoring app allows you to monitor your salt levels without looking in your brine tank and alerts you to low salt levels.

System works great, just takes a bit to set everything up in the phone and salt tank HAS to be 100% empty at start!

A little tricky to get connected to my WiFi, seems to work well now. I have a relatively small brine tank and it starts bugging me before it is really close to empty, but that's ok.

Very easy set up. Save time by not having to run to the basement to check salt levels. I would recommend this product.

Setup was slightly painful as it was attemping to connect to my WiFi and wanted to name the device. During that naming it had an error that forced me to reset the device. What i didnt know at the time is that you also have to go into your phone bluetooth settings and remove the device at that level too. After i deleted the bluetooth device I was able to add it back and complete the setup without further issues. The calibration of the device was completely easy just make sure you have a spare bag of salt for the process as you need a known amount of salt to add for a third measurement so it knows how many inches of salt is added to you salt tank when you add a 40 lb bag of salt. That helps deturmine the capacity of the salt tank. It does one measurement a day. Seams to be sometime after midnight but considered to be the previous nights measurement. I do kinda wish there was a way to force an early measurement or to just set when the measurement happens but it doesnt change the fact that i absolutely love this device. My salt tank is in the basement and the lid is a bit of a pain to get off the tank this makes it so i dont have to bother with opening the tank every week to see if i need to add salt. Ive ran out of salt more times then I care to admit in the past and this should make it so that I’m never caught off guard again. I’ve only had this for a couple weeks as it was just released in October 2020 to zero fanfair so i didnt know it existed till I stumbled across it. I think if you have a water softener then you should get this A.S.A.P. especially if it is less then convenient to access the salt tank.

Cant comment on function but flawed and buggy setup. Still not working correctly.

Excellent product. Such a simple way to address an everyday problem. I cannot wait for more tools to add to my home app. The install was easy and it works within a few minutes out of the box. The package even includes the batteries needed to operate the sensor.