Salt or Not

[brownchristian]

I am closing on a new house next Friday but won't move in until June on a house with a pool. The pool was installed in 2007 and is currently a chlorine system but I am wondering what the best system with the least maintenance and least problems is.

Only issues I have read about salt water is the corrosion of the surrounding furniture, rocks, etc...

And the issues I have heard about chlorine is the issues with skin, eyes, etc...

So what is the consensus here?

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

Pool School. Best on the web and in real world, residential and often commercial, practice.

Scott

 

[brownchristian]

Yes I have read it and I currently live next door to a knowledgable neighbor with a salt pool. Plan is to move and decide if I want to change.

 

[JoshU]

Salt, but I'm a bit biassed

Try a swim in his pool and then try your pool. See if you like the difference in water quality. Also have him take you through his normal pool routine and compare to what you'll be doing with chlorine. As PoolGuyNJ said this site has a wealth of info for new pool owners in both the pool school and forums.

 

[dmanb2b]

Also, a salt pool is a chlorine pool...you are just using a saltwater chlorine generator to produce chlorine, instead of dosing manually.

 

[brownchristian]

I have been swimming in his pool for 3 years with zero problems and been helping him maintaining it when they are away for extended periods of time. Have been told also that salt water is less maintenance than straight chlorine. Is this true?

 

[dmanb2b]

Easier only from the standpoint that chlorine dosing is automated via a SWG. That does not relieve you from testing your water chemistry on a very regular basis, ensuring the parameters are in line with recommended levels here

pool-school/water_balance_saltwater_generator

Using the principle we teach in Pool School makes maintaing your pool "Trouble Free" pretty easy and straight forward. The SWG just automates they way you would be chlorinating your pool

 

[Lana537]

I have been swimming in his pool for 3 years with zero problems and been helping him maintaining it when they are away for extended periods of time. Have been told also that salt water is less maintenance than straight chlorine. Is this true?

Welcome to the best site ever~~

I don't understand how you could have helped your neighbor maintain his pool when they are away for extended periods of time and not have these questions answered for yourself through that experience. Something is missing. Does your neighbor have an outside pool company that cleans and services his pool?

Please read Pool School again; there's a lot to digest there. One quick pass through isn't enough. Well-understood and maintained salt systems don't have corrosion problems. It isn't chlorine that irritates eyes and skin.

If you want a trouble free pool, you have to learn and understand water testing and balancing. You'll need a very good test kit--either the Taylor 2006 or the TFP-100. Does your neighbor have one of these, or does he use strips, or take his water samples to a pool store?

You don't need to answer my questions or respond to anything I have said. I am urging you to do your homework to learn this stuff so that taking care of your new pool will be an enjoyable breeze.

Congratulations on your new home~~

Lana

PS! OMG---who is going to take care of this pool between now and June?

 

[brownchristian]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I obviously have a lot to learn. Been reading pool school and don't really understand much of it since I don't have the pool yet. But I can assure you I will be back when we move in with plenty of questions. BTW, here are a couple of pics of the pool.

 

[Brentr]

WOW what a great looking pool :-D You should be a proud owner Welcome to TFP

 

[susa]

>> for 3 years with zero problems and been helping him maintaining it when they are away for extended periods of time.

what precisely does the above mean? seems you have real hands on working knowledge and know precisely what needs to be done with 3 years of swimming and maintenance experience.

you obviously studied and maintained all components, pumps, filters, testing, dosing, brushing so there should be nothing new in this process

 

[dmanb2b]

Cool Pool

Read Pool school a few times over (it will sink in) and invest in a good test kit such as the tf100 from TFtestkits.net or the taylor k2006. You'll be all set, just let us know when the margaritas start flowing

 

[brownchristian]

>> for 3 years with zero problems and been helping him maintaining it when they are away for extended periods of time.

what precisely does the above mean? seems you have real hands on working knowledge and know precisely what needs to be done with 3 years of swimming and maintenance experience.

you obviously studied and maintained all components, pumps, filters, testing, dosing, brushing so there should be nothing new in this process

When I say maintain I mean I checked chlorine and PH levels and added acid or chlorine as needed. Didn't touch the equipment other than cleaning out the bag from the vacuum. So I still have lots to learn. Never realized there was so much science involved.

 

[umcanes]

awesome pool BTW. If you have kids or spend a lot of time in the pool Salt is the only way to go. There are weekends I literally float for 10 hours or more a day. Kids love the salt as they don't get irritated eyes.

I have never owned a normal chlorinated pool but swam in many and there is no comparison.

 

[gullzway]

You can also add salt to a Non SWG pool and get the same effects of having a SWG Pool.

See here added-salt-to-my-non-swg-pool-t23708.html

I went this route and love it. My main reasoning was the upfront cost of the SWG and replacement cost of the cells. At any rate, you can try it out and if you find your don't like dealing with adding chlorine by hand(or liquidator) you can buy the SWG later!

 

[Keven]

Salt no questions asked... You go with a Jandy Aquapure 1400 it can be wired up to your PDA so that it can be controlled Via the hand held...

 

[brownchristian]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like the general consensus is for Salt. Would I need to get rid of my chlorinator if I choose to go with the BBB method? Also like gullzway mentioned how difficult is it to maintain the salt levels without a SWG?

My kids are 5 and 7 and swim like fish. Wife is a school teacher and is off for the summers so the kids will be in the pool almost everyday for the next 10 years during the summer months. So if salt is the answer for irritated eyes and skin I may have to make the switch.

 

[Keven]

You wouldn't have to get rid of the chlorinator unless it's in the way of installing the cell...

 

[solarboy]

Probably worth keeping the chlorinator in case you have your swg offline for any time or you have to empty your pool and want to use Trichlor temporarily to replace the stabiliser (cynauric acid) that you need to have in your pool.

 

[JoshU]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like the general consensus is for Salt. Would I need to get rid of my chlorinator if I choose to go with the BBB method? Also like gullzway mentioned how difficult is it to maintain the salt levels without a SWG?

My kids are 5 and 7 and swim like fish. Wife is a school teacher and is off for the summers so the kids will be in the pool almost everyday for the next 10 years during the summer months. So if salt is the answer for irritated eyes and skin I may have to make the switch.

Maintaing the salt level at 3,000 ppm is going to be same if you have a SWG or not. No salt is consumed during the SWG conversion of salt to chlorine process.