- May 3, 2014
- 58,401
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
IF that is all you pay for electricity per kwh - your SS will be hard to beat. Amazing if true.
Converting to SWG - What do I need?
- Thread starter Iam1964
- Start date
attached is directly from the Entergy website, hopefully I’m not missing anything!
Attachments
- May 3, 2014
- 58,401
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
There is no 'distribution' charge, misc charges/fees, etc? My bill is full of them.
I am sure there are plenty “adders” but is was just basing it on kWh’s as the adders will be there whether I go the swg route or not.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,401
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Then stay with the SS motor. You will have to change to multi speed when it dies. It will be noisy.
So I ran the Poolmath calculation for adding a swg. If I’m doing it correctly I would need to run my pump for 12 hrs per day with the swg at 70% to produce 4.9 FC. So I have 2 questions.
- What does 70% actually mean?
- what is the optimal % that the swg should run.
- is the FC production not impacted by how fast the pump is running?
- May 3, 2014
- 58,401
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
70% means the SWCG is generating chlorine 70% of the time it is on.
There is no optimal %. The SWCG does not care. Though it is felt best to spread out the chlorine generation over at least the majority of the daylight hours, if possible.
It is not impacted. As long as the flow switch is closed. That takes typically 1200-1600 rpm on a full size VS pump.
- Jun 7, 2017
- 9,059
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
Divide your total bill cost by your kilowatts used to get the actual price you are paying.
Pump speed means nothing for chlorine production as long as it is at the minumum to close the SWG pressure switch.
There is no optimal %. I run mine at 53% 24x7. I get a little chlorine all the time. Never had a spec of algae, ever.
Pump speed means nothing for chlorine production as long as it is at the minumum to close the SWG pressure switch.
There is no optimal %. I run mine at 53% 24x7. I get a little chlorine all the time. Never had a spec of algae, ever.
Exlonghorn
Gold Supporter
- Jun 16, 2019
- 119
- Pool Size
- 18000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Truclear / Ei
I just switched to a VS pump in the fall and added a SWCG as well. Right now, I"m only running it two hours per day with the SWCG at 60%, and that's enough the keep the chlorine level stable. Generating about 0.3-0.4 ppm FC per day. During the Houston summer, that will bump up to around 1ppm FC per day.
I looked up mine once. It was similar to that in the contract, but my bill did not reflect that. I don’t think that includes the “fuel charge”, which is separate from the “cost to produce the energy” listed there. I bet your actual rate is higher.
It also doesn't factor the tier rates that many people pay. Some pumps or either style of heater can bump somebody one or two pay brakets charging them more for the extra use compared to what they paid before
- Oct 25, 2015
- 5,152
- Pool Size
- 25000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Iam,
Welcome to TFP and congrats on the superb pool! You're making exactly the same improvements I would if I were in your shoes. Salt and VS pump will make pool care so much easier on you and your wallet.
For the power cost you're going to see bigger savings than you thought. Average cost in Houston is about $.11/KW. If you look closely at the adders you will see that there's a delivery or distribution charge that's about $.05 per KW. You're charged one fairly small flat fee per customer plus the distribution fee per, it's per KW and it is a LARGE part of your bill.
By far the best way to do the conversion is to buy a new pump and buy the biggest pump you can. Based on several experts recommendations I believe the best pump is the Pentair 3 hp pump. If you're strapped for cash you can replace just the motor. You lose some control benefits but you'll have a full warranty on the new motor and you'll still have most of the cost savings. You can achieve the same with swg by going 3rd party such as Circupool. In some cases you can even get a better warranty on the swg. But again you lose some control capabilities. This is because each control brand can do full control of their salt cell. By full control I mean % power and start/stop time. With 3rd party swg you'll have to adjust % power manually at the controller on the wall. Works fine since % power isn't adjusted that often after you get dialed in. One thing I would not do is to buy swg without warranty. Cell technology is way better than it used to be but there are still quite a few that seem to fail early. Also, if you decide to do anything on your own as DIY be certain to check your new pool warranty and don't jeopardize any of it. The savings on these items are not worth your pool warranty. Lastly, if you decide to do any of this DIY make sure you know how to deal with 240 v power. It can kill or harm you if it's done wrong. Get a qualified electrician to do that part if you have any doubt. You'll still save most of the $ and you'll be safe.
I hope this helps and good luck to you!
Chris
Welcome to TFP and congrats on the superb pool! You're making exactly the same improvements I would if I were in your shoes. Salt and VS pump will make pool care so much easier on you and your wallet.
For the power cost you're going to see bigger savings than you thought. Average cost in Houston is about $.11/KW. If you look closely at the adders you will see that there's a delivery or distribution charge that's about $.05 per KW. You're charged one fairly small flat fee per customer plus the distribution fee per, it's per KW and it is a LARGE part of your bill.
By far the best way to do the conversion is to buy a new pump and buy the biggest pump you can. Based on several experts recommendations I believe the best pump is the Pentair 3 hp pump. If you're strapped for cash you can replace just the motor. You lose some control benefits but you'll have a full warranty on the new motor and you'll still have most of the cost savings. You can achieve the same with swg by going 3rd party such as Circupool. In some cases you can even get a better warranty on the swg. But again you lose some control capabilities. This is because each control brand can do full control of their salt cell. By full control I mean % power and start/stop time. With 3rd party swg you'll have to adjust % power manually at the controller on the wall. Works fine since % power isn't adjusted that often after you get dialed in. One thing I would not do is to buy swg without warranty. Cell technology is way better than it used to be but there are still quite a few that seem to fail early. Also, if you decide to do anything on your own as DIY be certain to check your new pool warranty and don't jeopardize any of it. The savings on these items are not worth your pool warranty. Lastly, if you decide to do any of this DIY make sure you know how to deal with 240 v power. It can kill or harm you if it's done wrong. Get a qualified electrician to do that part if you have any doubt. You'll still save most of the $ and you'll be safe.
I hope this helps and good luck to you!
Chris
Hi guys, thanks for all the help. I think I am gonna shelve the SWCG conversion this year and go with a Stenner pump. The Stenner pump seems to check all the boxes and is probably 25% of the cost of the SWCG that I would want and will not impact my pool warranty. Maybe in time I will eventually convert over to SWCG.
Thank again for all the great info.
Thank again for all the great info.
- Oct 25, 2015
- 5,152
- Pool Size
- 25000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Thanks for the follow up on your decision. Most decisions about your pool depend on your specific situation and your personal preferences. You got input from experts and experienced people here then made the decision that's best for you - Perfect!
Chris
yeah, good job 64 and thanks. the decision you made is easier to walk away from down the road. I think the biggest issue with SWG conversion is people don’t want to lose the much bigger investment if they don’t like it. They would feel forced to keep it all 5-7 years to get their moneys worth. On the cheaper routes you can pitch it in a year or two and get the same ROI and feel good about it.
Oh man, I’m starting to second guess myself as I just visited a friend who has an intellichlor unit that is plugged straight into his Easytouch. It looks so simple to self install!
So if have three more questions......
So if have three more questions......
- Can I just buy the intellichlor and plug it straight into my Easytouch 8 without having to use a secondary power supply?
- Does the SWCG need to be programmed with the Easytouch or is it just “plug and play” . I also have the ScreenLogic addition if that helps.
- i have quite a large, expensive travertine deck surrounding the pool. What is the likelihood that the salt will damage the travertine. My wife would probably kill me as it is her pride and joy ?
I also thought about going this direction but ended up with a SWG. I think it’s a good solution and still superior to the dichlor tablets and their CYA issues. I predict you’ll be perfectly happy with the injection pump.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,401
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Your Easytouch was not purchased with the SWCG power center I suppose, so you would need both the power center and SWCG cell.
It will be plug and play once you connect the power center through the Pump/Filter relay and then attach the comm cord from the power center to the ET.
Houston is a very corrosive environment naturally. It is wet, humid, etc. If your travertine is inferior in quality, it will degrade, regardless of the very low salinity pool water or not. Some may suggest sealing it, but you would need to investigate that further.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,504
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
1. If you buy the ET with the cell it comes with an additional transformer to power the SWG. Chances are yours does not gave it and you need the external power supply. If you post an internal pic of the Load Center we can see what you have.
2. The cell is plug and play. The only adjustment you need to do is the generation %.
3. Depends on the quality your travertine. High quality stone will not be a problem. Problems with low quality stone will be blamed on whatever is around.