Redoing plumbing. Story within, but considering upgrading to SWG

[cucamelsmd15]

Didnt know which section to put this in, so it got stuck here.

Long story made short, Friday evening I had a multiport valve failure. Pool apparently got pumped out as the pump ran.

I have a new multiport on the way. Sand filter was replaced by previous owners and will be reused. The current big unknown is the pump. Im not sure if its toast or not, and wont know until the plumbing is back together.

While I have had two years of perfect water with BBB, I am looking at converting to salt while everything is apart. Im basically cutting the inlet/outlet pumps off to stubs and starting the plumbing from scratch because I a) had no other way to disassemble it and b) would like to avoid this in the future.

So, lend me the pros and cons of converting to a SWG.

 

[Jimrahbe]

C,

From my point of view there are no cons to having a saltwater system.. But there are things that you need to keep in mind...

1. Make sure that your salt cell is rated for at least 2 x the volume of your pool. The larger the cell the less you will have to run your pump. This is because all salt cells are rated when running at 100% output and 24/7.. So if you have a 20K pool and you buy a 20K cell, you will have to run it at 100% 24/7.. this of course means your pump has to run 24/7.

2. Because you generally have to run your pump longer, it will cost more if you only have a single speed pump. On the other hand, if you have a 2 speed or variable speed pump, it will cost little to run long enough to produce the chlorine your pool needs.

3. A salt system only adds chlorine on an ongoing basis.. You still have to test and adjust your chemicals just as you do now..

I love mine and will never, ever, have another non-saltwater pool.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[cucamelsmd15]

Interesting you mention the size requirements. Our pool is approx 16k gallons. I generally run the pump for 8 hours a night, and with a 25k gal generator, that might be about right? I could run it as little as 5.5 hours to turn the pool over for what thats worth.

 

[Jimrahbe]

C,

I would recommend a 40K cell (or bigger) for a 16K gallon pool... there are a few odd ones, but they mostly come in 20K, 40K and 60K sizes...

There is no valid requirement that says you have to "turn over" a set amount of pool water per day. Kind of an old wife's tail.

Jim R.

 

[cucamelsmd15]

Noted. I have always abided by the "one turnover equals crystal clear water" rule, for what its worth. Might be worth revisiting that shortly.

Ill shop around for a 40k generator and see what I can find.

My big current unknown is the pump. It may be fine, it may be a paperweight, and if the latter is true, Id definitely consider going to a variable speed pump as part of this process.