SWG Replacement time - Advice?

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Fort Worth

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May 26, 2016
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Fort Worth, TX
My SWG is 15 years old. It'd didn't last all that time. I've been feeding the pool tablets for the last few years. What I had lasted quite a while over 10 years. When I bought it there wasn't a lot of selection like there is now. If someone would please share their experiences I would appreciate that tremendously.

What I have is the Aqua-Rite control box by Goldline. It needs both boards replaced. The cell is a Hayward Turbo Cell T- Cell 15. That's rated for 40,000 gallons and the pool is only 20,0000. I think its a good idea to go bigger with these things.

This has to be DYI because of budget reasons. I'm confident that I could replace the boards and install another cell just like the last one. Ease of installation is an issue. Dependability, longevity, and warranty are all important too.

Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
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Fort Worth said:
I think its a good idea to go bigger with these things.
Click to expand...
You got that right. And we're all about DIY if possible. I'm researching SWGs as well. There certainly are a half-dozen or more popular brands, and depending on which website reviews you are reading they get confusing. But one thing I have noticed is some of them tend to penalize the homeowner if the SWG is not "professionally" installed. But some brands do not do that and you retain your extended warranty. So keep that in mind. I'll post some (quite a few actually - sorry) links below for you to get started, and I'm going to add "SWG" to your title to help get more attention. Happy shopping!

Hayward OmniLogic - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Hayward ProLogic - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Hayward Aquarite SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Hayward AquaTrol SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Circupool SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

AutoPilot SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Jandy AquaPure SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Jandy Aqualink RS - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Pentair IntelliChem - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Pentair Intellichlor ICXX SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

PureLine SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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CircuPool is probably the most DIY-friendly and they have good customer support. They also sell the SWG with the greatest output, ~3lbs of chlorine gas per day. All the other major brands - Pentair, Hayward, Jandy - only make sense if you have their automation systems. This is especially true for Pentair.
 
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So on a serious note, how able are your DIY skills. You mention being comfortable replacing what you have piece by piece. Would you be comfortable cutting/gluing pipe and possibly changing how its all wired ? If not i would stay stick with what you have. By the time you pay an installer (markup and labor) you can usually buy a 2nd setup. (Or close to it). If you can handle a swap to something different, circupool is easier as an all in one setup. My Pentair needs a control unit and the SWG like your old system.

I replaced my Pentair SWG with another one for 2 reasons. 1) it was only the cell. Having to replace all of it may have swayed my opinion. 2) it worked flawlessly for me. I got shivers thinking about never hearing the end of it if i swapped brands for no reason and it didnt work out.
 
@Fort Worth .. I hear you. I also bought the same rig you have back when it was really the only decent game in town. Mine is still chugging along, but I figure when the controller goes (I've already done the thermister dance once), I'll swap to a different brand .. ya know things change. I might even consider adding some automation The Circupool ones seem to be darned popular around here at the moment.
 
FW,

15 years is great service for a swg. Our guidelines for swg spec that the swg should be rated for at least 2x the pool size for extended life. Looks like your installer knew this a long time ago! And it worked!

I installed DIY swg for the first time a year ago in my 6 year old pool. Pat has listed all the options for you. Here's my suggestions based on my install:
  • Salt cells have improved a lot but the still do fail and need to have the cell replaced under warranty. This is expensive so I would not buy without a good warranty.
  • The major brands usually reduce warranty for DIY, Jandy eliminates it.
  • Cut through the many options by looking at the following factors to help you decide:
    • $/lb chlorine produced
    • Warranty after "DIY penalty"
    • Reputation here
    • Reviews
  • Discount Salt Pools has a great website where they list almost all brands and their information about chlorine production cost, warranty etc. Here's the link to the page.
This process narrowed the field to a couple of 3rd party brands. Tie-breaker was reputation here and Circupool won so I went with an RJ 30+. If you ever add automation to your pool you can easily control almost any brand using runtime. If you want full control of % power you have to stick to the same major brand for automation and the swg. You'll find you rarely adjust % power so controlling runtime alone is fine and not worth losing the warranty for DIY in my opinion.

I hope this is helpful.

Chris
 
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setsailsoon said:
Cut through the many options by looking at the following factors to help you decide:
  • $/lb chlorine produced
  • Warranty after "DIY penalty"
  • Reputation here
  • Reviews
Click to expand...

So these are all great factors. I just wanted to add the gravity of the ‘Reputation here’. This is a community that is searched for when people have problems or want to learn how to design a better pool. The ones that are already here are the fanatics and gurus and folks who just love their pools so much they want to talk about them all the time and all 3 are only here to help others.

When something comes highly recommended here, Like a certain robot, from a certain store that you have to call, Or a certain test kit store, Many more members go that route. So there is an even greater sample size to judge problems from. And whether it’s the SWG, the test kit or robot, the overwhelming majority of them either come back happy, Or have the problems handled quickly and with care, and report back that they are even happier. Which just FURTHERS the reputation here. Lol.
 

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I also did a lot of research on discount salt. The few times people here had issues with older systems Discount salt seemed to offer to fix the old unit or give them a discount. I have dealt with a lot of companies in the past that once they get paid " see ya"
I am also OCD on pricing, I wasn't able to find anybody close to their pricing. They must buy in bulk to get those prices.
 
Okay. Thank you, gentlemen. The direction y'all gave me saved me months of research and fretting. I believe I have decided on the
CircuPool RJ-45 PLUS Salt Chlorine Generator from Discount Salt. I asked a question in chat and was given a promotional price of $970 for the entire unit. It got a little confusing after that because the website said the upgrade to the Rj-60 for just a dollar when I asked about that I was given a price of $1220 and was told it was $50 more than the Rj45 plus. I also got a little confused by the warranty too. I believe I will just let my confusion go and go with the Rj-45 plus which will make 2# chlorine a day which should be great for my 20,000 gallons.

There is an installation kit for another $30. I have found that it's easier to just ask here than research something myself, so what's the deal with that?

Please shoot me down if anyone sees any flaws in my reasoning here. I would rather have constructive criticism than being stuck with $1000 SWG that is wrong for me.

Seriously thanks for all of your help

Steve
 
Yea pick the RJ-30 and upgrade for $1 or $970
I looked at the installation kit and looks like PVC glue, primer, and a hacksaw. It did say "learn more' and showed the items..I passed and bought my own stuff from home depot and amazon.
 
Fort Worth said:
It got a little confusing after that because the website said the upgrade to the Rj-60 for just a dollar when I asked about that I was given a price of $1220 and was told it was $50 more than the Rj45 plus.
Click to expand...

The dollar upgrade sale is a bit confusing. The RJ-30+ is priced at $969, then you can pay a dollar from there to upgrade to the RJ-45+ for $970. That’s where your price of $970 came from. The RJ-45+ is priced at $1219, so you could add a dollar to that and upgrade to the RJ-60+ for $1220. You can’t do a double upgrade and start with the RJ-30+ for $969, then add a dollar for an upgrade to the RJ-45+, then add another dollar to upgrade to the RJ-60+.

All that said, the RJ-45+ should be sufficient for your pool as it is sized for more than twice the volume of your pool. However, I did notice that according to your signature you only have a single speed pump. In that case, you may still want to consider the RJ-60+ as it could help to keep your pump runtimes down.

If, for example, you only run your pump for 4 hours a day then it’s possible that the RJ-45+ would not be able to create enough chlorine during those 4 hours and you could need to increase the pump run time to make sure your pool stayed properly chlorinated. An RJ-60+ would be able to create more chlorine each hour and might help you to be able to keep your pump runtime down.

There is an installation kit for another $30. I have found that it's easier to just ask here than research something myself, so what's the deal with that?
Click to expand...

The install kit contains teflon tape, silicon lubricant, a hacksaw to cut pipes, and PVC primer and glue. If you need all or most of those things and don’t want to go out to the hardware store to get them, then you might want to get the kit. If you already have those things or don’t mind going to the hardware store then you could probably save money skipping the kit.
 
See this is exactly what I mean. You people are going to save me from myself. I will bring this up when I call and talk to them when I order. I can not tell you how much I appreciate this.

Brett S said:
All that said, the RJ-45+ should be sufficient for your pool as it is sized for more than twice the volume of your pool. However, I did notice that according to your signature you only have a single speed pump. In that case, you may still want to consider the RJ-60+ as it could help to keep your pump runtimes down.

If, for example, you only run your pump for 4 hours a day then it’s possible that the RJ-45+ would not be able to create enough chlorine during those 4 hours and you could need to increase the pump run time to make sure your pool stayed properly chlorinated. An RJ-60+ would be able to create more chlorine each hour and might help you to be able to keep your pump runtime down.
Click to expand...
 
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Fort Worth said:
Okay. Thank you, gentlemen. The direction y'all gave me saved me months of research and fretting. I believe I have decided on the
CircuPool RJ-45 PLUS Salt Chlorine Generator from Discount Salt. I asked a question in chat and was given a promotional price of $970 for the entire unit. It got a little confusing after that because the website said the upgrade to the Rj-60 for just a dollar when I asked about that I was given a price of $1220 and was told it was $50 more than the Rj45 plus. I also got a little confused by the warranty too. I believe I will just let my confusion go and go with the Rj-45 plus which will make 2# chlorine a day which should be great for my 20,000 gallons.

There is an installation kit for another $30. I have found that it's easier to just ask here than research something myself, so what's the deal with that?

Please shoot me down if anyone sees any flaws in my reasoning here. I would rather have constructive criticism than being stuck with $1000 SWG that is wrong for me.

Seriously thanks for all of your help

Steve
Click to expand...
Steve,

Both the RJ 45 and the 60 meet the TFP requirements. Either will work fine. The 60 will just last longer.

Chris
 
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