Need New Pool Liner, Time to Convert to chlorine or SW?

[brebeans]

Hello:

We have a 52" 24' above ground pool that we have had for about 10 years.
We have used Bacquacil during that whole time without many problems (although we have had some minor ones and I wonder, sometimes, whether the water should be more sparkly than it often is).

We have a DE filter (with grids).

Recently, this winter, we noticed a huge loss of water in the pool, cover sinking in, etc.
We have had an unusual amount of snow, rain, and cold weather this winter, which might have lead to this.

When we checked it out, we have a hole in the liner and some pool sand has "blown out" beneath the aluminum siding/liner.

We obviously need a new liner, to refill the pool, etc.

Is now the time to convert to chlorine or should we convert to salt water?

Also, since we need a new liner and to refill the pool, we will be starting from scratch, right? Do we need to do anything special to "convert" to chlorine? How should I best clean/convert the filter? Powerwash and new grids? Will that be sufficient?
Thanks, in advance, for any advice.

 

[JasonLion]

If you are even slightly interested in converting to chlorine, now is the time to do it. Since you are replacing all of the water, you skip nearly all of the usual "conversion" steps. You will need to clean the filter and replace the grids, but that is about it. I guess you should also watch your FC and CC levels carefully for the first week once you have chlorine in the pool. There might be small quantities of baquacil residue in the plumbing that may use up chlorine extra quickly for a short while just at first, but that should be minimal.

I recommend a SWG. They cost more up front, but reduce the amount of work you need to do day to day and tend to be more forgiving of days when you don't have time to look at the pool. If you want, you can start off using chlorine at first and add a SWG at any time in the future. The only steps required convert from chlorine to a SWG are the hardware installation and adding salt.

 

[brebeans]

Hi:
Thanks for your quick response!

What hardware would I need for salt water, and, do you know how much it would cost?, what's necessary to/or how to install it, etc? I've read about a generator and a "cell". Are they the same? Two different pieces?

In general, I'm pretty good about "checking on the pool" so I'll need to do a bit of a cost comparison to see if salt water is worth it.



Thanks.

 

[JasonLion]

A typical in-ground SWG costs between $600 and $1000, above ground systems are generally less. They normally have a cell which gets installed in your plumbing, and a controller which gets mounted on a wall somewhere and connected to power. The install is simple if you have any experience with plumbing and electrical work. Even with minimal experience the install isn't too bad for anyone with other kinds of DIY experience.

 

[MikeInTN]

My pool is the same size as yours. I have an Intex SWCG, and I love it. It cost less than $200, and I was able to plumb it in myself. Granted, it's no where as nice as the more expensive units and I'll probably end up having to replace the cell more quickly, but it's a tradeoff for the price you pay. The biggest plus I found was the convenience factor of not having to add chlorine every day to my pool, which meant not having to buy and store chlorine in my garage or shed. In fact, once I got my TA and CYA dialed in, the only thing I had to add to the pool this past year was an occasional dose of muriatic acid to lower my pH.