Salt-water regret

[MisterC]

I had a pool installed last summer. My wife really wanted salt water. We did it, but now I’m regretting doing it as I see so many people whose pool has rusted after 3 years of use.
I really don’t want to be replacing the pool after such a short while.

Should I look at switching it to back regular chlorine system in the spring?

 

[Newdude]

As we discussed in your prior thread

the liner keeps the pool water from touching the pool. If there's a leak, the moisture will destroy the pool, not the salinity content within pool water specs.

You'll probably see 1500 ppm salinity with liquid chlorine due to plenty of rain and a short season. In other areas it climbs much higher.

The salt pool is 3500 ppm.

Seawater is 35,000 ppm.

 

[MisterC]

As we discussed in your prior thread



You'll probably see 1500 ppm salinity with liquid chlorine due to plenty of rain and a short season. In other areas it climbs much higher.

The salt pool is 3500 ppm.

Seawater is 35,000 ppm.

I know. I’m mostly worried about the top rails of the pool.

I kept the pool at 2800-3000 ppm.

Just see so many posts of rusted pools.

 

[Newdude]

I’m mostly worried about the top rails of the pool.

Does going from 4.2% the salinity of seawater to 8.2% sound better ?

Think anything drastic happens with such a small bump ?

Poor quality materials will fail in either pool. Either way, it's not the salt or lack of it.

 

[Donldson]

Just see so many posts of rusted pools.

Where are you seeing those?

 

[MisterC]

Where are you seeing those?

Facebook groups.
Also, my installer told me he doesn’t recommend salt-water and showed me above ground pools he’s taken out that are 5 years old with rusted walls.

 

[MisterC]

Does going from 4.2% the salinity of seawater to 8.2% sound better ?

Think anything drastic happens with such a small bump ?

Poor quality materials will fail in either pool. Either way, it's not the salt or lack of it.

Ah. So may be pool quality?

I have a Cornelius Boreal 16x26 oval. I believe it’s painted galvanized steel.

 

[Donldson]

Facebook groups.

I thought so, since you won't see such pictures here.

Now here's the question: are you managing your water the way the people on Facebook are, or the way people on TFP are?

 

[MisterC]

I thought so, since you won't see such pictures here.

Now here's the question: are you managing your water the way the people on Facebook are, or the way people on TFP are?

I’ll be honest, I haven’t used either method. I take samples to the pool store. I didn’t really add anything this whole year. Some bags of salt and stabilizer. Kept salt under 3000ppm

 

[Chris_Porter]

Salt and chlorine pools are essentially the same, differing only in the method of chlorine delivery. Salt pools use a salt water cell to convert added salt into chlorine, while chlorine pools add chlorine directly. A well-balanced pool, whether salt or chlorine, poses no risk of damage.

 

[VinnyinNJ]

I went to 2 stores before buying my new AG pool, one sole "salt friendly" the other didn't, I went with salt for 3 reasons - the price of chlorine, convenience and the price of the pool package was somewhat cheaper. The only difference between the 2 is my pool has resin top rail, bottom rail and wall supports, I still have a galvanized steel wall. As was said, the water does not come in contact with the pool walls but your walls will rust eventually anyway. I was told by the pool store that didn't sell salt friendly pools that I couldn't add a SWG to it, not sure why.

I imagine that everything comes down to quality of the product. Even quality products can have flaws in it. I've seen photos of what a salt water pool did to top rails but without context of any info it is useless info. There are a lot of people here with SWG on their AG pools and I don't think people have had issues. My last pool lasted about 20 years and didn't have a SWG - the pool walls rusted, the bottom rail was gone but the top rails and wall supports looked good; I would suspect that the whole pool should have been looking bad or at least the top rails looking worse due to water sitting on it all the time.

I think you need to listen to one source of information, this site would be the source you should listen to. Unfortunately there are people who don't really understand pool water chemistry, not here. Please get a good test kit and take the water chemistry into your own hands, I've been told that having a stabilizer level over 100 was good by a pool store - no! I was told by an IG pool owner that AG pools are swamps - no! My AG pools have better water quality than some IG pools. People on FB probably don't have the knowledge they have here and nobody here is trying to make a sale on the pucks, floc or whatever else you "need".

Enjoy your pool! I wouldn't worry about using salt.

 

[Texas Splash]

And for what it's worth ..... before I converted to salt, after 7 years of adding liquid chlorine ("Sodium" hypochlorite), my salt level was about 3,000. I barely had to add any salt at all when I installed my SWG. So builders /installers who say they don't recommend salt pools fail to see that over time a non-SWG pool that is fed liquid chlorine has salt in it anyway.

 

[Bperry]

I’ll be honest, I haven’t used either method. I take samples to the pool store. I didn’t really add anything this whole year. Some bags of salt and stabilizer. Kept salt under 3000ppm

The pool rusts the same with either method. The little extra salt doesn’t contribute to anything noticeable. It’s the water that rusts the walls.

 

[TinFoilHat]

And you are in Ontario, CA where there is an excess of moisture falling and in the air. Your metal parts are surrounded by moisture all the time.

 

[LuciGo]

If you are worried about your top rails, you can take them off and clean them/spray paint them every couple of years. We bought a house with a pool and overhauled the rails before adding salt.

 

[FlappyLipps]

3 years on salt. 16*32 bestway from costco. 0 rust 0 problems.

The only downside of salt is you have to watch your csi and its expensive to drain from the added salt.

Without salt you can drain it over the winter .

 

[YippeeSkippy]

If you are worried about your top rails, you can take them off and clean them/spray paint them every couple of years. We bought a house with a pool and overhauled the rails before adding salt.

Those rails look spiffy!!

 

[Bperry]

Without salt you can drain it over the winter .

Why can’t it be drained when there’s salt?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Why can’t it be drained when there’s salt?

Perhaps because of the expense of adding salt again from scratch.

 

[EmilyOTR]

I had a pool installed last summer. My wife really wanted salt water. We did it, but now I’m regretting doing it as I see so many people whose pool has rusted after 3 years of use.
I really don’t want to be replacing the pool after such a short while.

Should I look at switching it to back regular chlorine system in the spring?

I've had a salt pool for 7 years - nothing has rusted. I've been in this group for 7 years with a bunch of salt pools and never seen rusted pools. In my experience facebook groups don't know how to take care of their pools. ETA: whoops didn't realize this was the Above ground group. I was wondering what rails were.