Having to replace my liner after 15 years and thinking of converting to salt. Would appreciate thoughts on this. Thanks
Chlorine vs Salt - inground pool
- Thread starter katlee
- Start date
- May 3, 2014
- 59,366
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Welcome to the forum!
A chlorine pool has salt in it and a saltwater pool is a chlorine pool.
No real difference other than how you add your chlorine. In a saltwater pool, the SaltWater Chlorine Generator creates your chlorine. Otherwise you add chlorine using sodium hypochlorite (aka liquid chlorine or bleach) which has salt in it.
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry and consider reviewing the entire Pool School eBook
A chlorine pool has salt in it and a saltwater pool is a chlorine pool.
No real difference other than how you add your chlorine. In a saltwater pool, the SaltWater Chlorine Generator creates your chlorine. Otherwise you add chlorine using sodium hypochlorite (aka liquid chlorine or bleach) which has salt in it.
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry and consider reviewing the entire Pool School eBook
Do it. Don't hesitate. Convert to salt today. IMHO.
My pool was fresh water for 14 years with canister-based chlorine injection, which I replaced with a feeder that used pucks. The canister would always run out when I wasn't looking, and then the pool would algae up. Yuck. The puck feeder was better, but the chlorine levels were not consistent and I had to manually handle the pucks. I was still having constant battles between shocking the pool and bouts of cloudiness and algae.
I switched to a SWG and salt about 5 years ago and have had zero regrets. The salt water is much more comfortable on the eyes (more correctly it's gone from uncomfortable to wonderful.) I haven't had a single bout of cloudiness or algae since. Between the SWG and pool robot, the pool is practically maintenance free. I can run the pumps at a lower speed too, saving electricity. I shock the pool less than once a month. And the pool never smells like chlorine. As someone who maintains their own pool and travels, sometimes for weeks at a time, the SWG is a godsend. I'm not sure why all pools aren't SWG.
I don't winterize the pool. I take the SWG and robot out at the end of the season and add pucks into the feeder which is still in-line (after the SWG), but the water is cold enough here in winter that no chlorine is really needed. Once in a while I get a few inches of ice over the pool and the pumps keep running for freeze protection, but it would take way too much salt to have an impact on the temperature at which the pool water freezes.
My pool was fresh water for 14 years with canister-based chlorine injection, which I replaced with a feeder that used pucks. The canister would always run out when I wasn't looking, and then the pool would algae up. Yuck. The puck feeder was better, but the chlorine levels were not consistent and I had to manually handle the pucks. I was still having constant battles between shocking the pool and bouts of cloudiness and algae.
I switched to a SWG and salt about 5 years ago and have had zero regrets. The salt water is much more comfortable on the eyes (more correctly it's gone from uncomfortable to wonderful.) I haven't had a single bout of cloudiness or algae since. Between the SWG and pool robot, the pool is practically maintenance free. I can run the pumps at a lower speed too, saving electricity. I shock the pool less than once a month. And the pool never smells like chlorine. As someone who maintains their own pool and travels, sometimes for weeks at a time, the SWG is a godsend. I'm not sure why all pools aren't SWG.
I don't winterize the pool. I take the SWG and robot out at the end of the season and add pucks into the feeder which is still in-line (after the SWG), but the water is cold enough here in winter that no chlorine is really needed. Once in a while I get a few inches of ice over the pool and the pumps keep running for freeze protection, but it would take way too much salt to have an impact on the temperature at which the pool water freezes.
There are many SWG people on here. The overwhelming majority will gush about how they should have converted sooner. There are a handful of unhappy users. That will happen with any subject. There is bound to be faulty equiptment, user error, and the occasional location that even a SWG cant hack. I started with SWG so i cant compare. What i can compare is the stories i read on here and the stories from my friends. You could not pay me to switch to what they do. Eventually the movement will be big enough that it will be the commonly preferred method. Even in the 7 years that ive had it i have seen a big change. At first it was a 15 min explanation to anynody who asked. Now its a 30 second 'Oh, you have salt ??? Yeah well that was too expensive for us ' (or whatever their excuse was). And its not more expensive. Its just paid upfront. The big bonus is the time saved. Soooo much time saved. You will read review after review here that states they forget to test reguraly. Because so many tests come back almost perfect that we all get lazy. 2 day tests go to 5 days and then weekly and then 'oh screw it, it'll be fine again so why bother'.
Friends of mine were going to convert this year when they replaced their liner like you. A month later i asked them how they liked it. It never happened. They got the liner and had a few other problems in the house like a broken fridge. So the budget money went elsewhere it happens to the best of us. If you can swing it you wont regret it.
Friends of mine were going to convert this year when they replaced their liner like you. A month later i asked them how they liked it. It never happened. They got the liner and had a few other problems in the house like a broken fridge. So the budget money went elsewhere it happens to the best of us. If you can swing it you wont regret it.
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