Normal SWG routine?

[bassadict69]

My wife and I have both had AG chlorine pools so we are up to speed on the normal routine for chlorine pools...we have no clue about SWG and she still insists on chlorine for our new pool we are planning, I on the other hand prefer to go the SWG route.

Can I get some details about the usual pool care using an SWG? This will be for a gunite pool. For instance, when do you have to supplement with chlorine, either liquid or tabs? When chlorine levels start getting low, do you simply crank up the SWG more? I have no clue on its use...can someone please explain?

 

[Jimrahbe]

B,

A SWCG pool is one of the simplest pools to maintain. I test about once a week and usually just add a little Muriatic Acid (MA) to reduce the pH if anything at all. From time to time I adjust the SWCG's chlorine output level..

Most salt cells provides a fixed amount of chlorine based on how long the cell runs... The output control on the SWCG just sets the amount of time the cell is on per hour. So, if you set the cell output at 50% then for all practical purposes, the cell is on for half an hour out of each hour the pump is running.

It makes no difference to the SWCG.. a cell running at 100% for 1 hour produces the same about of chlorine as a cell running at 10% when run for 10 hours.

The cell has no feedback as to the FC level in a pool. You are the feedback. You test the water and if the FC to too low, you turn the cell up, or increase the run time, if the FC is too low you do the opposite.

I suspect your wife is thinking of the good old days where you just dumped a bucket of 3" tablets into the skimmer, shocked your pool with packages of pool store "shock" each week, and thought that everyone's pool was supposed to smell like chlorine...

TFP pools don't have these "benefits"... If you swim in a TFP pool, when you take your swimsuit off you will not be able to smell any chlorine smell at all...

I say stick to your guns and go Saltwater, your wife will soon be a convert..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ta2dwonderwoman]

i made the switch this year...best decision I ever made...hubby was a bit skeptical, but I just told him to trust me and the tfp folks...I will never go back I don't think!

 

[LFrankow]

I have been running an swg of some type for 7 years now. I made the switch to get away from daily additions of bleach.
Will I ever go back, yes for a brief period, when my current swg dies, until the replacement shows up

 

[Philo]

When chlorine levels start getting low, do you simply crank up the SWG more? I have no clue on its use...can someone please explain?

They seem to be better at "maintaining" FC than raising it a bunch.
I've kept good records from previous years and know how long and what setting will get me one month to next month so I adjust that at the beginning of each month (5 minutes) and it will get me to the next monthly setting.
I test weekly just to be sure......

 

[ta2dwonderwoman]

I keep a few jugs of bleach for emergencies and to raise f2f quickly as set maintains levels well, but it is harder to get them raised with only swg

 

[BasicTek]

I have a SWG that is sized 4x my pool so I could have double digit FC levels in a day running at 100% (and have when I was originally setting it up) I know I see it mentioned on many threads to use liquid chlorine to raise the pool and the SWCG to maintain it, but since mine was installed I've never run it higher than 50% and my FC has always been at or higher than I wanted, currently running at 25% for 3.5 hours a day.

I have only 1 regular chemical Muriatic Acid that I have to add 1-2 times a week. I think this has partially to do with the insane amount of rain we are getting this summer maybe even more than the SWG. I'm hoping that the PH stabilizes by our dry season and then I won't have much to do. Salt, Calcium, and Stabilizer require a check maybe monthly but I haven't needed any of them yet.

I do have a variable speed motor that many recommend if you have SWG. Like most SWG owners in this forum I would never want to run a pool without SWG, I love the water quality and the simplicity.

-Tim

 

[Jimrahbe]

B,

Tim brings up the most important part about having a SWCG... Cell size is extremely important. The reason he can run at such a low output percentage and for such a short period of time is because he has a large cell for a small pool..

The people that have problems are the people that have a 40 K pool and a cell that is rated for a 40K pool. Most all salt cells are rated when running at 100% 24/7, so TFP always recommends using a cell that is at least 2 x larger than your pool's volume.. Bigger is always better..

Thanks for the input Tim...

Jim R.

 

[ping]

Here is an article in Pool School - Salt Water Chlorine Generators that will help some.

 

[Vickery]

SWCG maintain a consistency and convenience that is hard to match with chlorine. This has been a wet summer, I can simply bump up (or down) the percentage output based on the rain gauge. I do test every other day, but it is always within range.