Ace Saltwater System thoughts

[partyboy]

Hi guys,  I just ordered a Hot Spring Envoy NXT and will be getting it in a couple of days.  I'm pretty stoked.  In the past I have always used the dichlor/bleach method, with Calcium at 150 , salt at 3000, borate around 50,  and TA balanced to get the right PH.  With this setup I have been pretty happy with the water feel/quality and have had to do little other than add bleach as needed in between water fills.  I don't have issues with bad smells/foam/cloudy water/ph drift, etc...  The new spa has the option of adding the "ace saltwater" system.  This system calls for Calcium hardness at/under 50 which shouldn't' be hard to achieve.  Has anyone had experience with this or other saltwater systems?  Any pros/cons.  I have always had good results with manual chemicals. I hear from the spa dealer that he has had a lot of angry customers with failing saltwater cells, often because they didn't clean the cells regularly or didn't keep the water properly balanced.  I don't mind doing things the old way, just looking for input from others with their experiences as to any benefits/differences in water feel/quality with the Ace system.  Thanks

[castletonia]

Congrats on the Envoy NXT, awesome hot tub! 

Curious why you have 3000 ppm of salt in your water when not using a salt system?  ACE only requires 1750 ppm, just an fyi.

I sell ACE and have had great luck with it.  The benefits you should see are no chlorine odor since you are creating chlorine naturally, more stable pH/Alk since you will be adding less product that can influence them and longer life between water changes.  That being said, if your previous water care routine has been working for you, I see no reason to switch it up. 

[partyboy]

Thanks,  I am enjoying the Envoy so far.  I love the NXT remote.  I have always kept the salt at 3000 and borate at 50 for the water feel.  My fingers don't get so pruny with the added salt and skin feels better after a soak than without salt and borates.  I went ahead and put in the ACE a month ago and am very happy so far.  I had to make some minor changes to my recipe but it went pretty easy as my fill water has a hardness of 50 and I can use a bit less salt.  I got the TA low enough to keep the PH from drifting and when I was happy with that I added borates.  After using enough dichlor to get CYA to 30 I switched on the ACE and haven't had need to add any chlorine since. I use my spa regularly, 2x daily and the system keeps up fine on setting 4 or 5.   I love the freedom to go camping for a few days and know the water will be perfect when I return.  I haven't had to make any adjustments to the water other than shock with a little MPS every couple weeks/as needed and rinse filters monthly.