Discouraged by Pool Store to Convert to SWG

[SJPoe]

He sent me a PM a few days in asking what he and his dog should do with all their free time.

 

[kellyfair]

I came here for the “even without the dollar savings, the time and aggravation savings make it worth it” comments!

 

[2neuges]

You’re a little north of me - i close around Halloween & open around late March/early April to ensure my water is 60 degrees or less while closed.
Most swgs have a warranty so to get the most out of it installing right before opening would be ideal so you’re not burning up 5 or 6 months of your warranty period on the front end

That is excellent advice! Thank you!

 

[2neuges]

You don't say ?

I just did this exact conversion. Right now, with my new Variable Speed Pump and SWG, I'm saving close to $150/month. With only a 6 month swim season here in Michigan, 2 seasons will basically see me pay off the upfront cost and be 'saving money'. LC is fairly cheap here, $4.99/gal for 12.5%, so the math would be even better if it were more expensive. Even if you added $1000 for installation, I'd break even in 3 seasons, not 2.
The 'intangible' saving is not having to go get cases of LC, store them, pour them, the disposal of the containers, collateral damage from splashes and so on. It's not like it's a car payment, but my ex-accountant wife looks at it as accruing for a little more heater time into October, and maybe a little sooner heater time in April

I still use my pool store, I just don't use them for day-to-day things and maintenance. I have them open/close my pool because I'm not 25 anymore, and the covers are heavy and the water/weather is cold in April/October. I bought my heater through them, and had them install it, which was fairly reasonable. The SWG I did myself because I am somewhat handy, but if I had called them, I'm sure they would have installed it for me.

Wow, that is incredible. Thank you.

 

[Saturn94]

2,

It would be for me..

I have three saltwater pools and they all have some kind of concrete decking.. I have owned them for 10 or more years and none have any kind of sealer. And, NONE of them have any kind of saltwater damage..

Just total Bull Feathers.

A pool store is the very last place I would ever trust to install any equipment..

Thanks,

Jim R.

This!

Well into 20 seasons here with a SWCG and a concrete deck that’s never been sealed…NO salt damage!

 

[Newdude]

NO salt damage!

*sigh* Gather 'round southern folks :

Up north, it's a well known fact that using salt to de-ice the roads will wreck concrete sections of roadways / sidewalks. When the ice and snow melts, there are evaporated deposits left behind that are half an inch thick in places and that's what pitts the concrete.

It ends up in *millions per parts* instead of the 30,000 *parts per million* of the ocean. The ocean, in parts per million, does next to nothing to concrete. Virtually every coastal bridge in the land uses concrete pillars, with running seawater beating them 24/7. They erode eventually like the Grand Canyon did, not because of the salinity content.

But someone called it a 'salt pool' and everyone lost their minds. Salt is bad for concrete, dontchaknow ?

 

[BDY]

You forgot the blades of the snowplows, the ice itself, the melting and thawing….

 

[kellyfair]

Let’s talk seagoing vessels, as well. But AGP that are properly maintained can’t handle way less salt than the ocean.

 

[Newdude]

You forgot the blades of the snowplows, the ice itself, the melting and thawing….

Those are also bad for concrete, but not the salts fault.

Don't de-ice your concrete patio with salt, nor plow it with a Duece and a Half. The type of pool you have won't matter.

 

[SJPoe]

You forgot the blades of the snowplows, the ice itself, the melting and thawing….

YEah, Freeze/Thaw expansion/contraction that we learnt about in Middle School Science class...yet we continue to build roads with big joints...and wonder why the water gets in there, freezes, cracks the joint, then we throw cold patch at it, which the water gets under, and freezes, and pops out the patch....

The best part about a Michigan winter is when the snow packs down and fills all the potholes...for 2 months the roads are smooth

 

[Concho]

Thank you! I did know this...but I get the 12.5% at $9.95. SO...Ace would be cheaper!

Chlorine in the Midwest is 4.50….you’re getting gouged.

 

[98Poolmaster]

Hi, I have a 25,000 gallon vinyl lined pool that is currently sanitized with liquid bleach. When I went into our local pool store to buy the ever-expensive bleach, I asked them about the possibility of converting to salt water. The pool lady immediately discouraged me, mostly due to upfront cost, the cost to replace the salt cell every 5ish years, and then the need to stain and seal our concrete pool deck. She told me it's not worth it. Am I a conspiracy theorist, or is the reason she'd tell me that is because I spend $800/year at her store for liquid chlorine during the pool season? Everything I'm reading leads me to consider a SWG as a way to save cost and headache. Thank you!

Do you close your pool?$800 a year for liquid chlorine seems a little high.Do the lids have a milk lid style or a vented cap style?A problem with sodium hypochlorite is how long ago it was bottled and where it was stored also percentage when bottled 9-10% or 12.5%.We use Hasa chlorine and are three miles from where it is made so we get super fresh and we don’t sit on it for long but that is best case scenario for us.Most stores don’t have that luxury so my guess is you are buying chlorine that has degraded.I would agree with TFP forum on SWCG,salt and acid are much cheaper and do not degrade.31% muriatic acid can sit for years and barely fluctuate and salt is salt do the change and be done with that roller coaster ride.