Whole-house system · Puronics
Hydronex iGen C
The same whole-house treatment as the Defender, in a three-piece tank finished with a stainless-steel outer cover.
Summary
The Hydronex iGen C treats hardness, chlorine, and chloramine for the whole house using the same ChloroShield Clearess media, softening resin, clarifier layer, and iGen control valve as the Defender. The difference is the tank: a three-piece construction with a polyethylene liner, a fiberglass layer, and a stainless-steel outer cover.
Who should consider it
- Homes on municipal water that want the Defender’s treatment with a stainless-steel exterior.
- Installations where the equipment is visible and a finished appearance matters.
Treatment role and limits
Role: Whole-house softener and chloramine/chlorine filter combination (point of entry)
Intended water: Municipal water, or private well water that is disinfected with chlorine or chloramine. For private wells without chlorine or chloramine, Puronics directs dealers to the base version of the system without the Clearess media.
Limits
This system softens water and reduces chlorine and chloramine taste and odor. Its certifications cover hardness, barium, radium 226/228 and chlorine taste and odor, plus low-lead construction of the unit. It is not certified to reduce lead, arsenic, nitrate, PFAS, bacteria or viruses from water, and it is not a treatment for an undisinfected well. For those needs see laboratory testing and reverse osmosis.
What makes this model different
Same treatment as the Defender; the stainless-steel outer cover is a finish and durability choice for the mechanical room.
Diagram shows where a point-of-entry system sits in a home; it is not a drawing of the product's internals.
Verified specifications
- Model
- Puronics Hydronex iGen C
- Treatment role
- Whole-house softener and chloramine/chlorine filter combination (point of entry)
- Tank / housing
- Three-piece tank: polyethylene liner, fiberglass layer, stainless-steel outer cover (the cover is a jacket, not a solid stainless treatment tank)
- Media
- ChloroShield Clearess filter media (Chlorostatic technology), high-capacity S-759 monospheric softening resin, and a silica-gravel clarifier layer
- Control valve
- Patented iGen computerized control valve: keeps 60 days of water-usage history to time backwash/recharge, double backwash, built-in diagnostics, automatic reserve, 1-inch corrosion-resistant valve body, downflow brining
- Regeneration
- Regenerates with sodium chloride (salt) or potassium chloride; the brine tank is separate from the media tank
- Media capacity
- Puronics rates the Clearess media to reduce chloramine/chlorine taste and odor for up to 2,600,000 gallons of municipal water at normal service flow rates. NSF/ANSI 42 testing was performed at 2.0 ppm chlorine; the published capacity is extrapolated for lower influent concentrations. Higher chlorine or chloramine levels may shorten media life.
- Strontium
- Puronics states "effective reduction of strontium as verified by independent test data." No certification standard is named for this claim.
- Source
- Manufacturer product page, checked 2026-10-31
Puronics does not publish flow rates, tank dimensions, grain capacity on the product page. Those figures come from the model-specific specification sheet and are confirmed in your written quote for the exact configuration we recommend.
Certifications
Hydronex iGen C is Water Quality Association tested and certified to 42, 44, 372 (NSF/ANSI). The table lists exactly what each standard covers.
Puronics states the system is Water Quality Association tested and certified to the following standards. Certification applies to the listed claims under the test conditions of each standard.
| Standard | What it covers | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| NSF/ANSI 42 | Reduction of chlorine, chlorine taste and chlorine odor (aesthetic) | Chloramine reduction is a manufacturer performance claim; it is not listed under this standard on the product page. |
| NSF/ANSI 44 | Reduction of hardness minerals, barium, and radium 226/228 (cation-exchange softener) | |
| NSF/ANSI 372 | Lead-free compliance of wetted components. This is a low-lead construction standard, not a claim that the system removes lead from water. |
NSF/ANSI 372 is a lead-content standard for the product's wetted materials. It is not a water-treatment performance claim. WQA listings should be re-verified at wqa.org/Find-Products for the exact model and date before relying on them.
Care and ownership
- Keep the brine tank stocked with softener salt or potassium chloride.
- The iGen valve manages backwash and recharge automatically; no scheduled cartridge changes are required for the Clearess media under normal municipal conditions.
- Operational maintenance and replacement requirements are essential for the product to perform as advertised (manufacturer disclaimer).
- A drain and a standard electrical outlet are required for the control valve.
Warranty
Puronics states the ChloroShield Clearess media carries a limited lifetime warranty and "reduces the need for filter changes." The manufacturer product page does not publish full warranty terms for the complete system; the written warranty document governs. We will provide it with any quote.
"Limited" means the warranty has conditions and exclusions. We will not describe any warranty as covering labor, consumables, or every component unless the written document says so.
Other configurations
Other Puronics configurations may be recommended based on your water assessment. The three C-series systems share treatment media and valve; sizing and, for undisinfected wells, a base configuration without Clearess media, follow your test results.
Contaminants or other substances which can be reduced by this system are not necessarily present in your water.
Hydronex iGen C questions
Is the Hydronex tank stainless steel?
The outer cover is stainless steel. The tank itself is a polyethylene liner wrapped in fiberglass, the same lined composite construction as the Defender. The Terminator iGen C is the model with a solid 316L stainless-steel media tank.
Does the stainless cover change performance?
No. Media, resin, clarifier and valve are the same across the C-series. The cover is an appearance and durability choice for the space where the system is installed.
What does the iGen valve do?
It is the computerized control valve that runs the system: it keeps 60 days of water-usage history to time backwash and recharge, double-backwashes the media bed, runs diagnostics, holds an automatic reserve, and uses downflow brining to limit water and salt use.
Is the Hydronex iGen C right for your water?
The only way to know is to test. We measure your water at home, explain the results, and recommend the configuration that fits, which may be this system or another.