Hi, I'm new to this site and a new pool owner. I currently have a chlorine pool and was wondering the pros and cons of switching to Salt. We are from NJ and have a concrete pool 15x30. Any input would be appreciated.
Salt or chlorine
- Thread starter Settle72
- Start date
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,965
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Welcome to TFP! 
Salt - vs chlorine ........ mostly PROs. The end result is the same thing - chlorine. Only difference is an SWG uses salt in the water (via electrolysis) to create the free chlorine versus you having to add it manually. SWGs are very convenient for sure. See the links below for more info and we'll be happy to help. The only real CON is the initial expense of choosing your SWG.
www.troublefreepool.com
www.troublefreepool.com
Salt - vs chlorine ........ mostly PROs. The end result is the same thing - chlorine. Only difference is an SWG uses salt in the water (via electrolysis) to create the free chlorine versus you having to add it manually. SWGs are very convenient for sure. See the links below for more info and we'll be happy to help. The only real CON is the initial expense of choosing your SWG.Pool School
www.troublefreepool.com
SWG How It Works - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
Howdy! Welcome to the forum!
Go for it.. Salt is they way to go. Not sure how you are chlorinating now, Pucks or liquid chlorine but a SWG is a much better way to chlorinate. As Tex' sez there are really no cons other than the initial expense. Is there something specific you have a question about before we all go off on your 10 point list of why SWG's would make the world a better place?
Go for it.. Salt is they way to go. Not sure how you are chlorinating now, Pucks or liquid chlorine but a SWG is a much better way to chlorinate. As Tex' sez there are really no cons other than the initial expense. Is there something specific you have a question about before we all go off on your 10 point list of why SWG's would make the world a better place?
- Jul 21, 2013
- 53,343
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I have had pools with a Salt Water Chlorine Generator for 30 years in NJ. Only downside is getting about 12 40lbs bags of pool salt every year from Walmart for my pool opening. Once the salt is in the pool and the SWCG is generating chlorine there is little to do other then check the water chemistry weekly, confirm the cell is still generating, and tweak the % generation as the season changes.
You will find a good comparison of SWCG products at...
www.discountsaltpool.com
Lots of folks here like the Circupool products.
www.troublefreepool.com
You will find a good comparison of SWCG products at...
Compare and Review Saltwater Chlorine Generator Prices and Features | DSP
www.discountsaltpool.com
Lots of folks here like the Circupool products.
Circupool SWG - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
The downside to salt is that the generator cell needs to be replaced and tends to be costly. To me, chlorine is easy, but salt would probably be easier from what I hear.
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
Yeah the Cells do wear out.. and how long you get out of a cell really depends on your water condition and the environment you run it in.
Let's figure the warranty of most cells as the life span that a manufacture expects you will get out them, most are 3-5 years. And if you average the cost of the chlorine usage over those 5 years you will find you just about broke even. But the replacement cell is only going to be the cell not the whole thing with the controller. So that should be cheaper. And if your cell lasts longer than 5 years anything after that is free chlorine. I got 9 years out of my first cell and by that measure I got 4 years of free chlorine. My second Cell is on year 7 and I paid that one off in the first two years.. the replacement cell was a fifth of the cost of the whole set up.. so I am going on 5 years of free chlorine with number two. I can only tell you my experience.. yours may be different.
- Sep 23, 2015
- 1,597
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V25
Salt all the way for me. There not set and forget but close, it’s more like test and adjust. It would be nice if the salt was a little less salty.
I’ve always had SWCG pools and recently had to go no salt for a month during startup. I found it a bit of a chore to add bleach and couldn’t wait to fire up the SWG. I noticed the saltiness when the salt was added, the fresh water was nice but not bleach everyday nice. It was initially overdosed a little to 4500ppm, I run it at 3500ppm which I like better.
I’ve always had SWCG pools and recently had to go no salt for a month during startup. I found it a bit of a chore to add bleach and couldn’t wait to fire up the SWG. I noticed the saltiness when the salt was added, the fresh water was nice but not bleach everyday nice. It was initially overdosed a little to 4500ppm, I run it at 3500ppm which I like better.
- Jan 4, 2016
- 5,290
- Pool Size
- 44000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
Salt water chlorine generator (SWCG) total cost will end up roughly similar to buying liquid chlorine (wisely), across a five-year period of time. Kinda like $1000 upfront vs. $200 per year for next five years. Then a new cell for $300-400 for the following five years. They're powered by electricity and burn around 100-150 watts of electrical power so perhaps 150 kWh of power per year as well.
If you make the switch, buy a big enough SWCG that you don't have to increase the pump run time that works for you now, or else increased pump run time could be an additional and unnecessary cost.
With liquid, you'll probably never have to test the salt level in your pool water, and with SWCG you'll probably test it six or so times per year, and add some salt after some of those tests. For me I add around 3-4 bags of salt per year, but we don't close pools for winter here. We lose salt when draining off excessive rainfall. A good quality salt test kit is around $30-35.
If you're switching away from pucks or powder, you'll avoid other potential grief, but will lose the acidifying effect of pucks and powder, and will likely have to add acid periodically. In my pool, I keep a floater with a puck in it, but only add a puck every one to two weeks in summer. If you have an inline chlorinator that uses pucks, you can leave that in, and do the same thing, just way, way fewer pucks than you would be using now.
I would never own a pool without a SWCG myself.
If you make the switch, buy a big enough SWCG that you don't have to increase the pump run time that works for you now, or else increased pump run time could be an additional and unnecessary cost.
With liquid, you'll probably never have to test the salt level in your pool water, and with SWCG you'll probably test it six or so times per year, and add some salt after some of those tests. For me I add around 3-4 bags of salt per year, but we don't close pools for winter here. We lose salt when draining off excessive rainfall. A good quality salt test kit is around $30-35.
If you're switching away from pucks or powder, you'll avoid other potential grief, but will lose the acidifying effect of pucks and powder, and will likely have to add acid periodically. In my pool, I keep a floater with a puck in it, but only add a puck every one to two weeks in summer. If you have an inline chlorinator that uses pucks, you can leave that in, and do the same thing, just way, way fewer pucks than you would be using now.
I would never own a pool without a SWCG myself.
Wanna go on vacation? Salt water chlorine generators assure that your pool gets it's dose of Free Chlorine (FC) daily, whether you're home or not!
- Nov 30, 2019
- 860
- Pool Size
- 8500
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
SWCG - Sure We Can Go
Oly
Gold Supporter
I have zero experience with salt. Myself and a few of my neighbors are all building pools right now and everyone except for me had no idea that a cell would need to be replaced. Since the OP asked, I just thought I would throw it out there as something to consider. There is a really good chart that I saw posted on here and it had all the numbers for costs of cells, systems and how much chlorine they each generated. From what I saw the cost of cells was anywhere from $300-700, depending on the system.
Salt systems are a break even if compared to manually dosing chlorine or using pucks, even with anew cell every 5-7 years. All three have the end result of keeping chlorine in your pool.
Pros of SWCG are the ease of use, no harsh chloramine smell, no high chlorine counts, rare algae outbreaks.
There is a reason most pools are salt now and it’s not because pool builders make money off instally SWCG’s.
Pros of SWCG are the ease of use, no harsh chloramine smell, no high chlorine counts, rare algae outbreaks.
There is a reason most pools are salt now and it’s not because pool builders make money off instally SWCG’s.
Does the 3500 ppm of salt have any affect on longevity of plaster or other components, when compared with a chlorine system?
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
No affect on either one... the salinity is too low. Its half that of your tears (7000ppm) and a tenth of the ocean (34000ppm). Besides many pools already have almost that much salt in them already. Another thing.. an Salt water generator pool IS a chlorine pool. The only difference is how the chlorine is added to the water.
Even a non-salt pool will accumulate salt over time. My basically new pool had 800 ppm of salt before I added any. I've heard others on here with non-salt pools say they have between 1000 - 2000 ppm.
The point being that all pools have some salt in them. Might as well bump it up a little and take advantage of the benefits of a chlorine generator.
sacredcow
Silver Supporter
- May 8, 2018
- 329
- Pool Size
- 14000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I just converted my pool to salt and my baseline test was 2000 ppm. Only had to add about 4 bags of salt to get to the 3000 range.
Exactly! And you're going to love having the SWCG. I left for vacation for 2 weeks last year and the SWCG did its work. I can't think of any other automatic way to do that.
