Somewhat new to TFP and SWG

[the77boudreau]

I posted a generic question before in another section of TFP and had lots of help, then I found this one. I'm relatively new to the TFP method and it saved our pool(first time pool owners). It is, however, difficult for me at times with my work schedule being so unpredictable at times. Keeping enough fresh bleach on hand among other things. Then the testing every other day minimum. With the weather in SW Louisiana, I have to be on it immediately or one step ahead always. I'm planning on going to a SWG to help add a little buffer for me if I fall behind on a dose of bleach when a shift at work never ends.
My big question is if there are ones to stay away from specifically.

I was first looking at the Hayward system, but have heard a lot of potential problems in the control board/box? Not sure how much truth there is to that, or if it's still an issue anymore.

Circupool was another system I have been looking at, but can't find too much on them other than it's believed that they are components from Compupool. Some people seem to be pleased and others not so much, especially if warranty issues arise.

I'm not currently leaning in any one direction right now as I don't have any first hand experience with SWG pools. The two brands I listed above are just two of the MANY that I've seen and not necessarily first picks, just random. Everyone I know who had one does not have a pool anymore. Reliability is first and foremost, and then cost for me. I feel I have a good idea on size I'm shopping for (40k min-60k), but picking which system is the hard part right now. Any opinions, good, bad or otherwise would help me greatly.

Thank you in advance.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I can't really help you choose a brand but we've been very satisfied with our Compupool.

As an aside- An important aspect of picking a SWG (no matter which brand) is to buy one at least 2x the size of your pool. That way you can run it less and that helps extend its life, and it will be large enough to produce plenty of chlorine.

Yippee

 

[the77boudreau]

Thank you for the info. It's not as easy as I thought it would be choosing. Most of the time people are very happy with SWG brand A, B or C that they have. On occasion, there are people having "common problems" with their particular SWG and that is to be expected with anything.
It's just not as easy as I was hoping to decide which one to go with. I guess I'll just have to pull the trigger and give one of the many big namers a go and hopefully all goes well. I am indeed leaning toward 55k-60k for my pool as I'm not too sure if the 40k will be enough without running it real hard since I don't cover my pool currently in the hot afternoon sun.

 

[pooldv]

I have a 40k Pentair Intellichlor and it makes plenty of chlorine for my pool. We swim daily and of course it is plenty hot and sunny in texas. Circupool, Hayward and Pentair all make good SWGS. It would probably be worth the extra money to get the 60k cell if you went with Circupool or pentair. Hayward only goes up to 40k. There are lots of folks here with all three.

 

[ping]

Of the major brands the only one I would not get is the CompuPool, no longer related to CircuPool. They have had way too many issues and the other brands are more reliable from what I've seen.

Hayward had some board issues but they have solved it with their newest version. They have the most units sold by far. If you want a SWG rated for more than 40,000 gallons then Hayward is out.

Jandy's Aquapure is a solid unit now that they have fixed their sensor issues. Theirs are rated for 40,000 gallons at most. They also require a higher flow rate.

CircuPool have units rated up to 60,000 gallons, and lately we have seen fewer issues with them. They have several models to choose from depending on what the controller has for adjustments and readouts.

Pentair and AutoPilot also have units for 60,000 gallon pools but tend to be a little more expensive.

 

[mgmoore7]

I have a 40k Pentair Intellichlor and it makes plenty of chlorine for my pool. We swim daily and of course it is plenty hot and sunny in texas. Circupool, Hayward and Pentair all make good SWGS. It would probably be worth the extra money to get the 60k cell if you went with Circupool or pentair. Hayward only goes up to 40k. There are lots of folks here with all three.

Agreed. Go with a 60k unit.

See the calculator in my signature and you can do some what if on the time you will need to run the pump based on the output. If it were me with the size pool that you have, I would definitely want a 60k unit. I wish I had a 60k unit so I can run my pool about 4 hours a day if I want to and it would still produce enough Chlorine. Right now, I have to run about 8 hours.

 

[the77boudreau]

I appreciate all the help.
Going with the 60k, most likely Circupool for no real reason other than size and no serious complaints. Hopefully all goes well and I know where to turn once things get going if I require any help.

 

[pooldv]

Sounds good. Here's some good info, Pool School - Water Balance for SWGs

 

[the77boudreau]

Well I finished installing my Circupool RJ60 system. I got everything going over the weekend as far as chemical balance for swg per pool school. I have a question about pH and TA though. Since my swg system is tied into my timer for my pump, they both turn on and off together obviously. My TA has always made its way to 100-110 as a trichlor pool with a pH around 7.5-7.8. Since I just got everything going and know the ups and downs are coming with the salt system, what kind of aeration time will I be looking at approximately for a TA drop from 100-110ish down to the 70s? Poolcalculator says to drop pH with acid to 7.0-7.2 with acid and aerate to bring pH back up.
I ask because I'll have to babysit in a way since I'll have to manually turn off the swg while aerating unless I want it to keep generating.
Maybe I'm overthinking it since I never had to adjust my TA before as it always stayed stable at a favorable range for the most part. That and this swg thing is pretty new to me.
Thank you again as always.

 

[Jimrahbe]

I have a couple of rent-house pools that have no water features so I use this to aerate..



When my pH goes above 7.8, I add MA and drive it down to 7.0 or so and measure and record the TA level. Then, every two or three hours I recheck the pH and when it gets above 7.3 or 7.4 I repeat the process until I get the TA down to about 55 or 60. Some time is will stay below 7.8 for a couple of months or more. Lately, it has been more like 45 days.

Jim R.

 

[pooldv]

You are going to have to experiment with it to see how your pool does with it. It isn't predictable. It will give you something to do while you float around the pool all weekend!

 

[the77boudreau]

Very interesting, I was brainstorming something in that ball park. I'm going to have to do some looking around for a pump now.
Thank you so much. TFP saves the day again.