Another (maybe stupid) question. How often do you add salt to it? Once it gets to certain level, how often, on average is it needed?
Opinions on SWG
- Thread starter unbrokenlink
- Start date
I have to add 2 bags about every 6 months. I have had a lot of rain but not sure why my levels drop.
Still $15 at homedepot so not a big deal, cheaper then 4 gallons of liquid chlorine
- Jan 7, 2012
- 2,128
- Pool Size
- 21000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Depends how much rain and splashout you get. We've had no rain this spring/summer, so I haven't had to add salt yet this year.
- Dec 13, 2020
- 909
- Pool Size
- 19600
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
With iAqualink you'll want to look at the Jandy AquaPure system because it's compatible. You can adjust the SWG duty cycle from the same app you currently use for the rest of the pool.
Some folks are negative on this system because - at least sometimes - the cells die early due to corrosion. I've not had that experience.
My AP 1400 is in its third summer while I've owned it. It was installed but not working when we bought the house in June 2020. It looks old, maybe as old as the pool: 2008. Fixed it by replacing the sensor ($180). It's been working fine since then. It's rated for a 40k pool (1.25 lb chlorine per day). Mine is a bit under 20k. It's been 90F and sunny for quite a while now. 40% is keeping up with loss at CYA 70 or a bit more, maintaining steady 6-7 ppm. The AP 700 has half the capacity, but imo get the 1400 unless the budget is very tight.
On balance the SWG is a huge plus for all the reasons others have mentioned. Don't be confused by all the discussion of pump run times and cell settings. You can skip all that by installing the cell, running it at 50% for a few days while testing FC every day, and iterating to the right value by splitting the range above/below to get closer to your goal FC. It will take 3 or 4 iterations at most. For me it was 50 -> 30 -> 40. If you change pump hours, make the inverse change in cell setting: double pump time; halve percentage. You get the idea....
Some people feel the salt causes metal objects around the pool to corrode more quickly. Others say that if everything is bonded properly, it's no issue. My pool seems correctly bonded. I've not noticed any corrosion at all.
Good luck with the project!
Some folks are negative on this system because - at least sometimes - the cells die early due to corrosion. I've not had that experience.
My AP 1400 is in its third summer while I've owned it. It was installed but not working when we bought the house in June 2020. It looks old, maybe as old as the pool: 2008. Fixed it by replacing the sensor ($180). It's been working fine since then. It's rated for a 40k pool (1.25 lb chlorine per day). Mine is a bit under 20k. It's been 90F and sunny for quite a while now. 40% is keeping up with loss at CYA 70 or a bit more, maintaining steady 6-7 ppm. The AP 700 has half the capacity, but imo get the 1400 unless the budget is very tight.
On balance the SWG is a huge plus for all the reasons others have mentioned. Don't be confused by all the discussion of pump run times and cell settings. You can skip all that by installing the cell, running it at 50% for a few days while testing FC every day, and iterating to the right value by splitting the range above/below to get closer to your goal FC. It will take 3 or 4 iterations at most. For me it was 50 -> 30 -> 40. If you change pump hours, make the inverse change in cell setting: double pump time; halve percentage. You get the idea....
Some people feel the salt causes metal objects around the pool to corrode more quickly. Others say that if everything is bonded properly, it's no issue. My pool seems correctly bonded. I've not noticed any corrosion at all.
Good luck with the project!
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There are of course many pumps and plumbing setups out there, but I get 24 hours of 1200 rpms, for a little less than 2 hours of 3k rpms.
12 hours on high would buy me 6+ days on low.
I cannot reccomend the 24/7 SWG VSP combo enough. It is less fiddling too as you only need to adjust cell run time (%) and not 2 variables with pump and cell runtime.
Tcadwall0
Gold Supporter
- May 19, 2021
- 207
- Pool Size
- 12900
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-20
Regarding 24/7, I am in the camp of most here for a couple reasons.
- Skimming. I manually vac, and the longer the skimmer is running, the less debris that settles.
- Easier adjustments to SWG, doesn't take long at all to change the pct from my phone app, without having to re-calculate additional hours or less hours for the pump etc.
- Deep End discussions about SWG abuse. There are many people on this forum that have a much deeper understanding than me when it comes to electricity and chemistry. There is a sensible viewpoint that running at 100% (which gives the salt cell no off-time while pump is running) is harder on the electrodes than having shorter cycles with more of them.
- Exception - in the off - months when the pool is too cool to swim it is mostly covered with a solar blanket, and the skimming need is much less. (I don't close my pool in winter)
This is different for most pools. It is not a consumable product. But, I have 2-3 dogs that daily swim, and when they are retrieving they are in and out, taking about 400 gallons of water with them in a week. This does dilute my salt level. Some people would rarely add a bag, but I need to do it more often. I guess if you had a lot of kids in and out, or a lot of cannon balls, it would be the same to a smaller degree.
