Salt vs non-salt pool

[dariushd]

Hard to find reliable information, I read a lot of articles warning me away from salt water systems (expense and corrosion). Do salt water systems have CYA issues? I assume not, as you're not adding tabs.
What in your all opinions are the pros and cons to going to salt? My pool has the salt equipment already plumbed in (previous owners had it as salt, but went back to non-salt because they said it was easier), not sure if it's working, but it's there and wired.

 

[JamieP]

I'm in my second season of pool ownership and love our SWG! Once you get it dialed in, it sure beats lugging jugs of chlorine and manually dosing every day. Rising PH can be a factor if you have to run it a lot to give you enough chlorine production, but even that can be compensated for by lowering your TA and adding borates. I haven't added borates yet to our pool, but they are sitting in the garage waiting for me to confirm I have the PH stable enough.

We all like the feel of the water with the added salt in it, and we haven't noticed any corrosion, although we don't have any "softer" stones that can be problems for other people.

What type of SWG system do you have? One thing that makes things easier if it's sized big enough to handle the FC demand easily so that you don't have to run it at such a high percentage. That way the cell lasts longer.

 

[retfr8flyr]

Darliush, I was also in the salt, no slat decision making situation and decided to go the SWG route. For myself, I decided the pluses outweighed the minuses and decided to go salt. I just received my CircuPool RJ-30Plus and will be installing it soon. I have to wait for other arriving parts and it will be after next weekend before I can do the install, grand-kids pool party next weekend and my wife is afraid I will screw up the install and we will not have a pool to use. I am doing a new pool pump and some other upgrades at the same time. I am looking forward to getting everything installed and running well.

 

[jblizzle]

I love the swg pools. And I'm currently annoyed because I need to replace my cell so dealing with bleach is not my idea of fun.

The downsides are higher upfront costs although if you look in the long-term the costs are basically the same as if you were adding bleach everyday. Possible higher risks for corrosion although this is generally way over stated because all pools have salt in them you just need a little higher for the swg which is still 10 times lower than the ocean.

 

[bmoreswim]

I love the swg pools. And I'm currently annoyed because I need to replace my cell so dealing with bleach is not my idea of fun.

Funny! Annoyed because of how awesome having a SWCG is! There's a testimony I won't try to top.

 

[Shekkie]

I just switched this season and am already dialed in pretty close. No way I'm going back. I was using 1 to 1.5 gallons of bleach per day last year. What a pain. So much nicer to just check to make sure all is working and test the water a few times a week. It makes maintaining a sanitary pool much easier with a schedule where I often work double shifts.

 

[Vickery]

The water feels better, it maintains easier, no returning from vacation wondering if there is a gator on the bottom....

Once you go salt (and you dial it in) you'll never go back!

 

[pooldv]

no returning from vacation wondering if there is a gator on the bottom....

LOL! Best reason ever!

 

[GaryT58]

Love my salt system. The only negative was the original unit the PB installed was too small for the pool - as we get full sun most of the day. So you should size a minimum of 1.5x the size of your pool - larger if you can. Mine is rated for 52,000 gallons for my 19.000 gallon pool.

 

[domct203]

As far as corrosion due to using a SWG, all chlorine pools contain salt.

I will be installing my SWG as soon as the water warms up enough to actually run it. In prep for this I took a salt reading (Taylor K1766) to see where I am before I buy salt, pool is at 1200ppm salt. I have never added salt directly, the 1200ppm is from 2+ seasons of salt added from chlorine. A couple more seasons and I would be right at the 3000ppm needed.

My point is, all chlorine pools contain salt. A SWG pool is no more 'corrosive' than any well used chlorine pool.

 

[pooldv]

That's right. All forms of chlorine add salt to the pools. So does muriatic acid and the people swimming in them. And most tap water has salt in it too.

 

[ping]

A link in Pool School for reading, Pool School - Salt Water Chlorine Generators.

 

[Chuckiechan]

Being dialed in with borates, I use about 1/5 a gallon of MA @ 31% or less.

The SWG IMO can be finicky but once it's dialed in for the season, you are golden. Pay attention to your set up. In my case my SWG ran when the pump ran, and the pump ran when solar water heater demanded it, so my SWG was running way to much, so I put it on it's own timer in such a way it was only energized when the pump ran, but only for the length of time I set it for.