Recommendatios for salt water chorinators in Australia

[Wheelie]

Hello,

We've got a pool guy coming out this weekend to quote for installing a salt water chlorinator. He says he can install any brand but mostly works with Astral (seems to be the Viron eQuilibrium). There aren't many reviews and I've read that some people have had massive issues with getting it to run correctly. It's also very pricey by the looks of it.

I want a chlorinator that requires minimal input from me but it seems that having more automated electronics increases the margin for things to go wrong.

We also have a metal wall vinyl liner pool so I'm nervous about the corrosion aspect.

Can any Aussies (or anyone really!) recommend a good brand available over here.

Thanks,
Keelie

 

[squibcakes]

G'day Keelie,

Most of the pool shops in my area push either Astral or Zodiac. It could be the same with guy coming out to you place. I think this has more to do with Franchise obligations then anything else.

Ive been told that Astral has very good after sales service, however, I once visited the local Astral warehouse down the road from me, and they refused to deal directly with me. Said they only deal with pool shops and builders.

My builder fitted a Hayward pure silk swg and it has been very good so far and uses Hayward based on reliability he has experienced. Time will tell for me.

We had the option to fully automate, to test Cl ond pH, but after reading this forum thought best to manually test the pool and adjust SWG and acid feeder manually. Also it was a cheaper option and works well for me using the clear choice test kit.

I think best to get a basic swg, that has digital timer and functions but no other bells and whistles.

 

[Jezza]

Hi Wheelie,

Welcome back! How's the pool looking at the moment?

You won't regret getting a salt water chlorinator and I can give a high recommendation based on my experiences with my Davey SWG- easy to use and works well. I noticed that you already have a Davey pump and sand filter so the same branded SWG may be more compatible with your set up. I have used Davey for various things over the years including my bore pump. Their gear seems to handle heavy duty situations well. They also have a good record for fixing their products up under warranty. I had a leaking cell housing that they replaced without a problem and I know at least one other guy on the forum last year who had a warranty claim with the sensor which Davey took full responsibility for that without a drama.

When looking to buy a SWG look at buying an oversized version- rough rule of thumb is to buy something rated at around twice your pool volume- i.e.- you should look for something rated at about 90 000 litres. This will allow you to run it 1/2 the standard 'on time', meaning you will get more time out of your cell and you'll probably find the higher cost for a bigger version won't be that much different. It may also mean you can run your pump for less run time- saving on the electricity.

 

[Wheelie]

The pool is looking okay thanks! I feel like I've got a good handle on balancing the chemicals now. We finally fixed the leak issue by paying a leak guy to come out - he patched about 11 small tears in the liner. It's probably going to need to be replaced in the next few years but it's holding out for now! The filter is still kicking sand back into the pool so going to have that serviced when we install the saltwater chlorinator.

But apart from that the water is nice and clear and we're getting ready for summer...

Okay so go double capacity and get something simple. I think that's definitely the way to go.

Thanks guys - great advice as usual.