Should I even bother?

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I

Iciee

0
Jul 5, 2011
133
phoenix
The wife and I just purchased a home with a pool. The owner informed us it has a salt system but the cell needs to be replaced and no longer in production. It is a zodiac clearwater c170. She has been using it as a chlorine pool or at least putting tablets in the bobber keep chlorine in there. My question is this, as old as the unit is (10 years) is it even worth replacing the cell (found some for around $300) or just get a new updated unit?
Would you ever go back to a non swg system now that you own one?
 
i think you can get them cheaper from eBay
the generic replacement cells are still being made and probabaly will be for a while

keep in mind that if you are getting a new unit you need to also factor in installation costs (or time if DIY), on the other hand if you keep the existing unit god knows what else might be wrong
 
I'd replace the whole unit if it's 10 years old. Take a look at the compupool units.

There have been a few people that have removed a swcg and vow never to use one again. It all depends on how you feel about it. You could also go with an injection system if you don't want to have to manually chlorinate the pool.

You should read Pool School while you're trying to decide what to do about it.
 
Thank you for the advice so far and I think I want to just replace the whole unit after this season. Went over to the house and noticed the electrodes are broken as well so that kinda sealed the nail in the coffin. We plan on draining the pool in the winter so find it pointless to switch to a swg at the moment only to drain it and have to buy more salt again when we fill it.
My pool is approx 13k gallons is there one brand of swg for this small of a pool that you would recomend (looking at compupool units per your advice). I think I would install it myself as I love doing DIY things around the house and learning new things from them.
 
frogabog, you are correct for the most part. Liners need changing, concrete pools need plaster or paint (cough cough) and to do these procedures, the pool would need to be drained. These are actions most homeowners should not undertake.

Scott
 
Thank you for the advice as I have drained it twice now :hammer: (current home I'm in not the one I'm moving to). Had it done to take out the plaster and add pebble and second time to get my TDS down per my local pool store. I was not aware of the dangers and now I will revisit doing this and maybe only partially drain it (if needed).
 
Why would you drain it even half way. Are there repairs you are doing. If not, I would suggest you read a lot of these threads. No need to drain unless your CYA is too high. Otherwise, chlorine will fix most of your problems for any pool water problem. On the subject of SWG's, I would opt for an SWG every time! It's too convenient and hassle free vs. always continually adding chlorine, but it probably is a little more expensive. I'm a true "Hands-on" type of person, but I've got to tell you, I'd much rather worry about other things I'm doing than to continue to add bleach to my pool every other day with the true possibility of forgetting one day and resulting in a low FC. My SWG gives me a good peace of mind and I only need to test my water which is almost always consistently right on. There are many threads trying to look at the trade-off's in cost and it really comes down to how long your SWG lasts, but my gut feeling tells me you pay up-front for the SWG, but in the long run you come close to breaking even, if you maintain it correctly. Time will tell for me.
 
I guess I phrased that a tad wrong ("never drain") because I do know that there are occasional reasons to drain a pool that normally shouldn't be drained. I was referring to Iciee's plan to drain over the winter which seemed like too long to leave it drained.

Anyone ever seen a pic of a floated up pool? Wonder how often this happens. I am recalling the documentary I saw about the kids who skateboarded in the 70's in their neighbors pools in California, effectively inventing the sport as it is today. There was a drought of sorts and all the pools were empty.
 

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sorry frog I guess I should have phrased my sentence better. I was planning on draining AND refilling the pool right away. Did not the intention of leaving it empty. I like the idea and peace of mind a SWG gives. For instance last night in phoenix (monsoon season mind you) we got 30mph winds and then the clouds opened up and my pool level rose about 3" in matter of 3 hours. Once it started to get to the top of the tile I hooked a hose up to my filter opened it up to keep it from over flowing.
This morning my cleaner did a great job of cleaning the bottom of the pool but my water is all cloudy and filter psi went up by 8. Cleaned it and running it now to try and get any remaining dirt out of there. Have to go do my water test to see how it survived
 
The pool store had you drain your pool because of TDS? I would find it very hard to trust any advice I got from a pool store that told me that. Keep in mind a SWG pool is going to test high for TDS by default - it's the salt.

I wouldn't bother draining the new pool unless you have high metals, high CYA or high calcium.
 
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