Deciding to automate a bit..Liquidator or SWG

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ultra800_96

ultra800_96

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LifeTime Supporter
May 15, 2009
225
Pomeroy, Iowa
Hi,
I've been a happy pool owner the few years since switching to liquid chlorine & the help from this site.

I'm deciding to give myself a break from the daily additions, etc. & will either go with the Liquidator or SWG (Intex to startout with).

In Iowa, my 24' above ground gets roughly 3-4 months of very light pool use. My kids have grown & my son & a few friends use it occasionally, beside myself. I'm weighing the benefits of each system. The salt system is intriguing, but would it be worth the effort & cost of yearly adding salt & balancing after the spring refill for 3 months use, or would I be happier with the Liquidator & just keep it simple. My fill water is roughly 250 TA & 300 CH. I do alot of acid additions & aerating on startup each year.

Any experience, advice or thoughts on my situation?
Thanks,
Dave
 
I much prefer the SWG. It does cost money up front, but all, or nearly all, of that gets paid back over time in chlorine you don't need to purchase. And the SWG means no carrying or refilling the tank with chlorine/bleach. The high TA does present a challenge. TO be really happy with a SWG you may need to setup some kind of automatic acid feed system.
 
Thanks both for replying & would welcome other ideas as well. That was one of my concerns also Jason with the high TA. It seems like a project all summer just getting it down to 100 or less through the season. In general, would the cheaper Intex unit (with the copper cell unplugged) be able to keep up with a 13,000 gallon pool in your opinion? I've read here that the newer ones have less output & use the other cell to compensate, if my understanding is correct. I'm in full sun till about 8 in the evening, with an average chlorine consumption. Like I said, light bather load usually, except for occasional friends. In those instances, I'd just give it an extra dose of chlorine to get it back to range if needed.

Good point Woody on the warranty, but I had to chuckle (not at you), being that mine is having it's 16th birthday this summer, even with the original liner, so that's not a concern in my case. It's starting to show it's age, but it's held up well, I've never even had to patch for a leak.

Again, thanks for the input. That's what I'm looking for.
 
I'm short on time this am, but I can vouch for the Intex SWG high TA route and our season is 3-4 months long as well. It can work quite nicely :goodjob: .

My fillwater TA is also around 300 :shock: and CH is also around 350. 1st season I lowered TA to 70 over 3 days with approx 7 gals of MA and this
CopyofIMG_1066.jpg


I also took the 50ppm Borates plunge. I couldn't be happier.

The SWG cost me about $160. As far as additional balance costs each year, where you would typically keep your TA around 100 in a non-swg pool, I likely use another 2-3 gals of acid/season ($20) to keep TA around 60-70, I try to make sure and backwash before a heavy down pour to collect rain water (keeps my CH in the mid 200's) and probably use 2-3 bags of solar salt per season ($15) to keep salt levels up. Not bad at all IMO...I just keep 2-3 jugs of Wally's GV bleach in the shed, in case we lose power or need to raise FC levels quickly.

Hope this helps!
 
Thanks again,
I'm going to get one ordered. I have an Aqualuminator light in my return, so I can't hook up to aerate like yours. But, I have been contemplating putting a second return in anyway, so I can aerate better. I'd been using my sump pump with a tee made of pvc with a bunch of holes, & it stirs things up pretty well, but it seems slow to get my ph back up. I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm sure I'll have other questions before it's all over.
 
dmanb2b said:
I'm short on time this am, but I can vouch for the Intex SWG high TA route and our season is 3-4 months long as well. It can work quite nicely :goodjob: .

My fillwater TA is also around 300 :shock: and CH is also around 350. 1st season I lowered TA to 70 over 3 days with approx 7 gals of MA and this
CopyofIMG_1066.jpg


I also took the 50ppm Borates plunge. I couldn't be happier.

The SWG cost me about $160. As far as additional balance costs each year, where you would typically keep your TA around 100 in a non-swg pool, I likely use another 2-3 gals of acid/season ($20) to keep TA around 60-70, I try to make sure and backwash before a heavy down pour to collect rain water (keeps my CH in the mid 200's) and probably use 2-3 bags of solar salt per season ($15) to keep salt levels up. Not bad at all IMO...I just keep 2-3 jugs of Wally's GV bleach in the shed, in case we lose power or need to raise FC levels quickly.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Nice aerator! Did you make that yourself, and how?
 
I'm with the rest - SWG. We later got an AquaRite because I just needed to be more automated but had an Intex for years that worked well. We usually have high TA as well bu the MA usually takes care of that and the rest of the summer is almost maintenance free. Best thing since sliced bread (and my Pool Rover)
 

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Thanks again for the input. Love this site.
Kinda amazes me..I was expecting everyone to tell me the liquidator was my best choice. Glad I asked, because now I'm sure the SWG is the way to go.
Now off to get my 2nd return installed. Have a good weekend everyone!
 
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