Should I Go With Salt System Or Auto Chlorinator

[lanbe]

I am in the process of buying a fiberglass pool My sales man is pushing the saltwater system. Please share your experiences, thoughts and opinions.

Thank You

[CabanaBoy]

I am in the process of buying a fiberglass pool My sales man is pushing the saltwater system. Please share your experiences, thoughts and opinions.

Thank You

Get a salt water system!

We just purchased a fiberglass pool this summer and chose the salt system. It was a great decision. There were very few times when the chlorine levels was too low. When this occured I simply ran the Super Chlorinate cycle for 3 hours and things were back to normal. No chlorine smell, no itchy dry skin and our hair (4 blonds) and bathing suits have never been better. I check the water 2-3 times a week and keep the water chemistry balanced (about 1/2 cup dry acid 2 times a week). You can open you eyes underwater in my pool without any discomfort. We have enjoyed crystal-clear sparkling water all summer. I only had to shck the pool a few times this summer when the temps were near 100 for two weeks.

[Discountpoolspa]

Get the Salt Chlorinator. Salt water is much much easier on the eyes, hair, and skin. You will still have to check your chlorine levels and PH, but you will never have to pour chlorine in the pool, or use those annoying tablets.

[poolyeti]

Using liquid chlorine with an automatic feeder can be very easy and hassle-free. These guys sell reliable, quality peristaltic pumps for a very good price. It has a timer so that you can basically just shock your pool every night and then swim in plain, clean water during the day. You still have to regulate the pH, but that's part and parcel of any chlorine system.

[poolyeti]

I don't really know enough about the SWG system to tell you if it works well or not, but I do know that it's expensive to install. By contrast, I know that the chlorine feeder I was talking about only costs about $175 and it's easy to install. The Chlorine should only cost you about $40 a month. With a SWG, you have to periodically replace the electrolosis cell, which costs about $1000. In my experience, using an automatic timed feeder to shock at night is a very effective, cheap way to keep your pool clean.

[Kara]

So which is better? I am looking to get a new system for my pool and was wondering.

Ok, first that is a question that involves individual needs and wants.

A salt water system requires that you keep adding acid to bind the free chlorine into the water. This will prevent the chlorine from turning to gas and exiting your pool. That can and does happen when the water is warmer. You will still need to shock the pool in the heat of the summer. You will need to maintain the unit with mild acid baths, and eventually replace the unit which will be a cost to you. The salt in your water will raise your total dissolved solids and may require you to half drain your pool much sooner than a "regular" chlorine pool. There is a honeymoon phase with these products and I would recommend speaking to persons that have had the system for over 3 to 4 years.

I would suggest you look into ozone water treatment. This product allows you to lower the amount of parts per million of chlorine in your pool, and still keep it safely sanitized. You can look further into this product at the cdc.org (center for disease control).

I am offering my idea about which is better... because you asked, not because I think it is the answer for everybody. I would suggest that you use chlorine tablets in a deck chlorinator application with ozone. You can add salt to any pool to soften the water, but salt water is harder on your equipment and stone and deck.

It is my experience that most homeowners find chlorine tablets easy to understand, and easy to use. Keeping your water safe should be priority, and then lowering the exposure of your family to chlorine (use ozone) and protecting the environment.

If you backwash your pool that has salt in it you are putting more salt into the aquifers and water supply. And if you don't keep your acid level up you have the potential of allowing chlorine gas into the atmosphere. Those issues raise concern to me.

I hope this opinion was useful, and not offensive to anyone that is happy with their salt system.

[Kara]

So which is better? I am looking to get a new system for my pool and was wondering.

Ok, first that is a question that involves individual needs and wants.

A salt water system requires that you keep adding acid to bind the free chlorine into the water. This will prevent the chlorine from turning to gas and exiting your pool. That can and does happen when the water is warmer. You will still need to shock the pool in the heat of the summer. You will need to maintain the unit with mild acid baths, and eventually replace the unit which will be a cost to you. The salt in your water will raise your total dissolved solids and may require you to half drain your pool much sooner than a "regular" chlorine pool. There is a honeymoon phase with these products and I would recommend speaking to persons that have had the system for over 3 to 4 years.

I would suggest you look into ozone water treatment. This product allows you to lower the amount of parts per million of chlorine in your pool, and still keep it safely sanitized. You can look further into this product at the cdc.org (center for disease control).

I am offering my idea about which is better... because you asked, not because I think it is the answer for everybody. I would suggest that you use chlorine tablets in a deck chlorinator application with ozone. You can add salt to any pool to soften the water, but salt water is harder on your equipment and stone and deck.

It is my experience that most homeowners find chlorine tablets easy to understand, and easy to use. Keeping your water safe should be priority, and then lowering the exposure of your family to chlorine (use ozone) and protecting the environment.

If you backwash your pool that has salt in it you are putting more salt into the aquifers and water supply. And if you don't keep your acid level up you have the potential of allowing chlorine gas into the atmosphere. Those issues raise concern to me.

I hope this opinion was useful, and not offensive to anyone that is happy with their salt system.

[Strannik]

Here is an article on the benefits of SWG systems:

http://www.tdconsulting.com.au/chlorination.php

There are some drawbacks as well, although they don't apply to everyone.

Here is a calculator to see whether it will be cost beneficial to buy such system:

http://www.tdconsulting.com.au/bleach1.php

With regards to ozone treatment suggested by Kara - one thing to keep in mind is that it will still require chlorine, albeit less, and it will still require replacement of ozone bulb (and they usually last much less than SWG electrodes) and the system in general is more expensive than SWG.

With regards to prices of replacement electrodes - with quality systems they last 5 years or longer, and the cost varies greatly and depends on the size of your SWG system. It might be as low as $200-300

Here in Australia salt water systems have been around for over 20 years and are considered a standard in pool sanitation.