I have an above ground vinyl lined pool. When we first purchased the pool a SWG was considered. I had an Intex pool that I used one with. However, I was told that SWG would errode and decay the pool frame as well as pool equipment. My pool was installed with a Pool Frog system which I am ready to ditch. I'm not going to be moving away from using Chlorine pucks, as my CYA levels are high from use of. I don't necessarily want to be manually adding liquid chlorine daily. I'm just curious about this group's take on SWG's and above ground pools.
Pros and Cons to SWG
- Thread starter NDFootballFan
- Start date
Sorry, I don't have an answer to your question but I did want to say "Go Irish!"
Hey ND and Welcome !!!
If you have a leak, the moisture will rust either pool.
www.troublefreepool.com
The pool water never touches the pool besides some occasional splash out. It's already likely 5% salinity of seawater from all that sodium hyperchlorote used, and bumping it to 10% of seawater for a 'salt pool' (SO not an ocean), won't change a thing.
If you have a leak, the moisture will rust either pool.
Every manufacturer makes a SWG safe for their equipment. This is a common statement from the PB/poolstore crowd and it's JUNK.
They are the bees knees. I did maths for 18k gallons which will give you a really good idea what you'll save long term
Is CircuPool UL40 from Discountsaltpool still the best SWG deal?
I am currently using liquid chlorine for my 18,000 galon pool, and I am considering switching to SWG. The current lowest price on liquid chlorine that I can find in Southern California is $5.44 per gallon from Walmart. I am trying to understand in how many years I will break even if I switch to...
www.troublefreepool.com
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,843
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Curious if the installer was the one who told you this? King Technology pushes to have their product installed on new builds to help lock people in to their proprietary and overpriced ecosystem. A pool store might make a couple hundred profit selling an SWG and some salt, but over the 5-10 year life of that cell they'd make several thousand more selling Frog mineral and bac pacs along with the BAM algaecides and whatever else they can sell to keep a pool with 0.5 ppm FC mostly algae free. So the sales pitches tend to be particularly heavy handed and most aren't afraid to bend the truth to make the sale.
All pools have salt in them and salt at the levels you find in a pool aren't particularly troublesome. Acidic water is the chief concern for pool equipment and buckets of pucks left near the pool frame are the primary reasons something will corrode. Pucks are highly acidic and have much more potential to cause harm than a couple thousand ppm of salt ever will.
I just converted my inground to SWG from LC. Only regret is I didn't do it last season.
I ran tests this morning. Other than some fluctuation in FC levels (it's been overcast the last couple days so less FC burnoff), I haven't had to touch the pool.
No pucks.
No potions.
No bottles of Chlorine.
No testing every day to be sure I'm in range.
No weird looks in Menards when I buy 20 gallons of superstrong bleach.
Wife prefers the 'feel' of the pool with the added salt.
Oh, and I'm saving money too ? Back-of-the-napkin math says I'm saving roughly $5 a day in chlorine alone.
I ran tests this morning. Other than some fluctuation in FC levels (it's been overcast the last couple days so less FC burnoff), I haven't had to touch the pool.
No pucks.
No potions.
No bottles of Chlorine.
No testing every day to be sure I'm in range.
No weird looks in Menards when I buy 20 gallons of superstrong bleach.
Wife prefers the 'feel' of the pool with the added salt.
Oh, and I'm saving money too ? Back-of-the-napkin math says I'm saving roughly $5 a day in chlorine alone.
For what it's worth, I had a 10 day vacation last month. Cleaned out the skimmers before I left, corrected the pH, made sure the autofill worked, then I left.
I came back to a sparking pool by doing effectively nothing. That level of convenience can't be matched except maybe with a Stenner pump, but then you're still having to go out and buy LC and keep the tank filled. I do basically nothing at this point besides checking pH a couple of times a week, doing a little acid, brushing the pool, emptying the Polaris, and cleaning the skimmers.
Last summer I was at the pool store once a week getting my 2.5gal chlorine refills and blowing through it in short order because of the heat. Outside of the initial upfront cost, a SWCG is a no-brainer.
I came back to a sparking pool by doing effectively nothing. That level of convenience can't be matched except maybe with a Stenner pump, but then you're still having to go out and buy LC and keep the tank filled. I do basically nothing at this point besides checking pH a couple of times a week, doing a little acid, brushing the pool, emptying the Polaris, and cleaning the skimmers.
Last summer I was at the pool store once a week getting my 2.5gal chlorine refills and blowing through it in short order because of the heat. Outside of the initial upfront cost, a SWCG is a no-brainer.
This kind of sums-up SWG life.
Thanks for the welcome! Also, very informative information. I wish I would have found this group earlier. Could have saved myself $1000's in chemicals!!Hey ND and Welcome !!!
The pool water never touches the pool besides some occasional splash out. It's already likely 5% salinity of seawater from all that sodium hyperchlorote used, and bumping it to 10% of seawater for a 'salt pool' (SO not an ocean), won't change a thing.
If you have a leak, the moisture will rust either pool.
Every manufacturer makes a SWG safe for their equipment. This is a common statement from the PB/poolstore crowd and it's JUNK.
They are the bees knees. I did maths for 18k gallons which will give you a really good idea what you'll save long term
Is CircuPool UL40 from Discountsaltpool still the best SWG deal?
I am currently using liquid chlorine for my 18,000 galon pool, and I am considering switching to SWG. The current lowest price on liquid chlorine that I can find in Southern California is $5.44 per gallon from Walmart. I am trying to understand in how many years I will break even if I switch to...
@Newdude would you recommend replacing my pump with a SWG system? The pump is only 2 years and some change old. It's a single speed. I read that a lot of folks prefer the VS pumps. But maybe I could run my current pump until failure?
Depending on your runtime, a VS or 2 speed pump can pay for itself in a couple months, or too many months.
This pump will literally pay for itself many times over in most cases. While it would be awsome if your current pump lasted 15 years, that's a truck ton of energy used over that time.
Only have had my SWCG for 3 months, after decades of primarily tabs and liquid for "shock". My pool was underequipped (filter too small). Bigger pool than yours. But I was constantly fighting algae blooms. Tried it all - algaecide, clarifiers, floc, "Burn Out", and on and on....
Over the years, my average chem expense was $650 per season. This year, with the initial salt addition (and new filter), it will be <$250. I may get down to about $150 next year. 2-5 hrs per week dealing with it all. Now about 1/2 hr per week (!).
Some of that will be given back, when I have to buy a new element for the SWCG, but I'll still be way ahead by then. I've never had a summer where I've gone even two weeks without seeing some green. Now its been 3 months! The initial salt, 4 lbs of CYA, some baking soda needed in the spring, and a couple of gallons of Muriatic Acid in the shed. That's been it, so far.
Over the years, my average chem expense was $650 per season. This year, with the initial salt addition (and new filter), it will be <$250. I may get down to about $150 next year. 2-5 hrs per week dealing with it all. Now about 1/2 hr per week (!).
Some of that will be given back, when I have to buy a new element for the SWCG, but I'll still be way ahead by then. I've never had a summer where I've gone even two weeks without seeing some green. Now its been 3 months! The initial salt, 4 lbs of CYA, some baking soda needed in the spring, and a couple of gallons of Muriatic Acid in the shed. That's been it, so far.
I figure with the SWG savings on Liquid Chlorine (which near me is cheap) and the pump savings on power, I should pay off both in just about 2 seasons.
Right now, my pump is running at 400 watts. The old single speed used to run at 1700. 19 hours @ 400 vs 12 @ 1700 = 7.6kwh vs 20.4kwh. at $0.17/kwh = $2.18/day. = $66 a month in electrical savings.
LC used to cost me close to $5/day - so there is another $150/mo.
Add those together, gives you $216/mo, call it a six month season here (we have a heater) and that's $1300 a season over what it was costing me to run the pump and add LC manually.
Or, as the wife likes to think of it, $1300 we can divert to the Heater to make that pool all toasty warm in May and October
Purely on a financial basis, it's hard to argue against the SWG. Add in the convenience & stability and its pretty much a slam dunk.
Right now, my pump is running at 400 watts. The old single speed used to run at 1700. 19 hours @ 400 vs 12 @ 1700 = 7.6kwh vs 20.4kwh. at $0.17/kwh = $2.18/day. = $66 a month in electrical savings.
LC used to cost me close to $5/day - so there is another $150/mo.
Add those together, gives you $216/mo, call it a six month season here (we have a heater) and that's $1300 a season over what it was costing me to run the pump and add LC manually.
Or, as the wife likes to think of it, $1300 we can divert to the Heater to make that pool all toasty warm in May and October
Purely on a financial basis, it's hard to argue against the SWG. Add in the convenience & stability and its pretty much a slam dunk.
reggiehammond
Gold Supporter
- Oct 4, 2020
- 1,509
- Pool Size
- 30000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
- Jul 17, 2019
- 3,714
- Pool Size
- 13000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
There are some minor con's, but not enough to make me wish I didn't have a SWCG:
- SWCGs do not work in cold water so you have to supplement chlorine when it gets cold. We keep our pool open year round and have ~3 months where I have to add chlorine manually. No more than you would have to do for a non SWCG pool, but I wanted to make sure you knew there would be a period where it would not produce in the winter.
- The SWCGs do not last forever and can be pricey to replace. Chlorine costs more in the long run, but the costs are more regular and spread out vs a ~$1,000 to replace the SWCG every 3-7 years.
Thats all I've got for cons. If I listed the pro's I could go on for days, just like Bubba Gump talking about shrimps.
- SWCGs do not work in cold water so you have to supplement chlorine when it gets cold. We keep our pool open year round and have ~3 months where I have to add chlorine manually. No more than you would have to do for a non SWCG pool, but I wanted to make sure you knew there would be a period where it would not produce in the winter.
- The SWCGs do not last forever and can be pricey to replace. Chlorine costs more in the long run, but the costs are more regular and spread out vs a ~$1,000 to replace the SWCG every 3-7 years.
Thats all I've got for cons. If I listed the pro's I could go on for days, just like Bubba Gump talking about shrimps.
I forgot the other Pro - I can actually float without a device holding me up!
We have an 18,000 gal above ground, I installed a SWG myself three summers ago and it is a dream!! Don’t worry about corrosion, the salt level isn’t that high, other comments on that I agree with 100%. All I do is put in a little acid every week or two to bring down pH and the SWG does the rest. If Cl gets a little low, I just turn up the cell a tad and add a gallon of liquid chlorine, if needed. I ordered my system on Amazon, it’s for 25,000 gal and handles our sanitation load just fine. Easy to install, just need to drive a ground rod for it and plumb in the cell and flow switch downstream of the filter on your return line.
VinnyinNJ
Bronze Supporter
- Jul 20, 2022
- 815
- Pool Size
- 13500
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Turbo Cell (T-CELL-5)
I'm having issues with salt concentration in the pool so I haven't used it at all this season. In a few weeks I'll be closing the pool so I doubt it will be turned on this season. I did use it 3 days last season before we closed the pool though!
I bought the SWG for ease of use and for the times we may go on vacation during the summer but like I said I haven't used it yet this season. BTW, the salt concentration issues are probably self inflicted!!!
Here's my observation, I paid about $800 for the SWG and so far this year I estimate that I'll use about $50 in liquid chlorine.. If the current usage and pricing holds the same (and they won't) I'll get 16 years of LC from the price of that SWG. I also have put about an additional $60 in salt due to my issues. But this all addresses staying home and not leaving the pool, years ago when we did go away I had a chlorinator to feed the pool (different pool).
Honestly I was looking forward to "set it and forget it" type of pool care with the SWG. Testing every couple of days and not having to have bleach/LC containers in my house. I'll blame my stupidity on this year as last year my pool was put up Labor Day and closed 3 weeks later and the salt was fine.
As far as rusting, ask me in a few years!
I bought the SWG for ease of use and for the times we may go on vacation during the summer but like I said I haven't used it yet this season. BTW, the salt concentration issues are probably self inflicted!!!Here's my observation, I paid about $800 for the SWG and so far this year I estimate that I'll use about $50 in liquid chlorine.. If the current usage and pricing holds the same (and they won't) I'll get 16 years of LC from the price of that SWG. I also have put about an additional $60 in salt due to my issues. But this all addresses staying home and not leaving the pool, years ago when we did go away I had a chlorinator to feed the pool (different pool).
Honestly I was looking forward to "set it and forget it" type of pool care with the SWG. Testing every couple of days and not having to have bleach/LC containers in my house. I'll blame my stupidity on this year as last year my pool was put up Labor Day and closed 3 weeks later and the salt was fine.
As far as rusting, ask me in a few years!