Salt water/chlorine vs just chlorine

[Paris69]

Again, I'm not trying to ruffle anyone's feathers. I do read a lot on interesting things online. True or not.

Isn't it why this site is around? To better prepare peoples knowledge on pool building?

Hello Mod -
I am happy for whoever builds whatever. I just see +'s and -'s on both sides of the fence.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I am going to quickly comment on all this mess in red below.

Thanks for refuting all that nonsense @jblizzle!!

Like all pool equipment and pool builds, you need to carefully understand all of the costs and benefits. You need to understand how all the parts of the build work together and you need to understand the compatibility issues and what trade-offs are reasonably possible. And you need to do all of this with facts, logical reasoning and, if necessary, scientific data....scare-tactic sales literature need not be considered.

 

[Richard320]

Paris, where did you get that information? You should always cite your source.

And now that I have started reading it ... there is SO much bad information there.

Edit2: and as I keep reading. Nearly every statement is wrong.

:google:

http://www.ecosmarte.com/seven-salt-secrets.html

 

[jblizzle]

Right, but clearly they did not really want us to know where they copied the non-sense from or they would have cited it

 

[bmoreswim]

If someone doesn't want to take advantage of a good thing because someone else didn't like it and had an agenda, oh well. Lovin' our chlorine generator, but I'll probably die soon (from laughter).

 

[epro05]

I found I can keep my pool clean by running the pump only 1 to 2 hours per day on average. If I had a Salt system, I'm guessing I would have to run the pump much longer to generate enough chlorine. I figure it costs about $0.25 per hour to run the pump, so I'm happy to just run it a short time per day and can put up with the hassle of adding bleach every day.

 

[cowboycasey]

They are just using sales tactics to "SCARE" people into buying there product

No Chemical, No Salt Swimming Pool and Spa Water Treatment by ECOsmarte

"With chemical maintenance of your pool, the mere bleaching of hair, drying out of the skin and the burning of the eyes should alert you to the health and environmental risks associated with chemical treatment of water. A salt chlorine generator will give you the unhealthy sodium as well as the chloride."

The next sentence down says

"The system uses copper ionization, which has a faster and longer kill rate than chlorine or bromine"

They also pump CO2 into your pool, you know, the exaust from your car tailpipe??? hmmm, isnt that what is causing global warming???

Carbon dioxide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"It is an important greenhouse gas and burning of carbon-based fuels since the industrial revolution has rapidly increased its concentration in the atmosphere, leading to global warming. It is also a major cause of ocean acidification since it dissolves in water to form carbonic acid.[6]"

Interesting read??? Carbonic acid ?? not sure of that one, maybe chem geek will know..

 

[ozdiver]

Cowboy,
CO2 is what we exhale.
Car exhaust is a cocktail CO2 and CO and many other nasty chemicals due to the fuels original chemical composition and it's incomplete combustion.

So, although CO2 is a greenhouse gas, it isn't the thing that makes car exhaust so distasteful.

And before you (not you in particular cowboy, more the SWG pundits on this thread) turn your SWG fueled ire in my direction, some of us don't use SWG for good reason. Please be careful how broad a brush is use in your slamming of non-SWG users.

 

[cowboycasey]

No slamming intended for non SWG users, Sorry about that

I just get beside myself when I see things like this, there are good and bad things with everything... And thank you for the CO2 correction

Cowboy,
CO2 is what we exhale.
Car exhaust is a cocktail CO2 and CO and many other nasty chemicals due to the fuels original chemical composition and it's incomplete combustion.

So, although CO2 is a greenhouse gas, it isn't the thing that makes car exhaust so distasteful.

And before you (not you in particular cowboy, more the SWG pundits on this thread) turn your SWG fueled ire in my direction, some of us don't use SWG for good reason. Please be careful how broad a brush is use in your slamming of non-SWG users.

 

[ozdiver]

I totally understand how the readings on some of these websites can make your blood boil.
They mix fact, rumor, opinion and treat them as it they are all the same for their own gain.

And regarding CO2, I can't abide by anything or anyone that slurs the name of what lets my rum and coke effervesce.

 

[duraleigh]

Over the years, we have had many "shills" come to the forum to tell us all about ecosmarte. It never makes sense, is filled with mis-truths, and they always try to hide their identity as an uninterested third party.

It is simple enough to just ban them but we think it does more good to let our members respond to them and get the word out. I would think they would stop posting because they get their hat handed to them each time.

 

[toofast]

As someone who was scammed into using ecosmarte products....run from them. Everything they say is a scam (or nearly everything)

 

[Donldson]

As someone who was scammed into using ecosmarte products....run from them. Everything they say is a scam (or nearly everything)

It's good to see that you don't use an SWG, as neither do I. Don't want anyone to think we are just shills for Big Salt

To try to bring this back to topic...

There are a lot of positives to using an SWG, mostly convenience. There are some negatives that have to be considered too, especially with soft stone and if your fill water has a high CH reading. There are other automated options available, toofast uses a stenner pump and the Liquidator is used by some on the forum. Trichlor tabs are technically an option but the downsides are very significant. Manual dosing is fairly simple and the least expensive option (though SWG tends to even out over the lifetime of the device), but you have to remember to add chlorine.

Whichever option you choose, if you follow the TFP guidelines regarding FC/CYA then you will have a clear and safe pool.

 

[Griswald]

Typical forum behavior...

Which color Harley is best (Black, of course)

AR-15 or AK-47 (AK comrade!)

IOS or Android (The robot is king)

Dodge Truck vs. Chevy Truck vs. Ford Truck (Ford, not even close)

Red wine or white wine (Red all the way)

Glock or 1911 (1911 for me)

Salt or Ecosmart (Not even a question, so many lies...)

Different forum, same behavior. Must be simple human behavior.

 

[pooldv]

The BIG difference to me is that most (many, all?) people posting information in this forum are posting direct knowledge from their own personal experience or actual experiences of other members that becomes part of the knowledge base here. It is information that flows from our brain to our fingers to the keyboard to the forum. Copying and pasting anything that you do not have direct knowledge of or experience with is not within the spirit of this forum. If you can sit down and type a giant post like that from your own brain and personal experience then some of us will be glad to read it and learn from it. This is not a difference of opinion or a different experience because the OP does not have the experience to have formed the opinion in the first place.

Lots of us can and do have discussions about my experience with salt vs someone else's experience with bleach and a stenner pump. That is productive. And has even got me thinking that I kind of like that approach. Shh, don't tell anyone, I still LOVE my SWG. But, I value other's REAL LIFE experience and input on how they do it.

 

[Clint A]

Well said pooldv. I am in the process of planning my pool and can get sales pitches from all over the internet. What has helped the most in my decision making is actual experiences from members.

 

[JohnyGluebag]

Would like suggestions from people who have had both and which they liked better and why. Confused on which way to go.

MGood, I have been running a SWG for about 6 months now and have no urge to switch. That being said a buddy of mine uses just chlorine and has a really nice pool as well. When I go out of town it is nice to know that the SWG will be adding chlorine to the pool while I am away, however I am sure there are automated systems for non-SWG pools as well. Soft porous stone was used around my pool, it and the grouting are suffering I believe, so in that sense the SWG is causing me pain, but that is due to bad decision making by the builder and original house owner.

You could use deck materials that are more SWG friendly and go with salt to start, and if down the road for whatever reason you want to switch then do it; rip out the SWG and go pure chlorine...if you change your mind again put the SWG back in.

Either way the chemistry is identical.

Best of luck with it.

 

[bulldogz400]

Seems like we may need to settle this TFP vs. Ecosmarte method in Braveheart fashion. Rally the troops!

 

[lefty51]

Quote : "Everything on the internet is true and correct" - Abraham Lincoln

 

[BuckeyeChris]

seems like you can either deal with it a tiny bit every day (manual pour) or get it all set up and then deal with a big thing later (cell dies, scaling, etc). Just a preference probably. Having to go manually pour each night at least gets me out there looking at the pool, checking the baskets, catching things early. I'd be afraid I'd just let the thing run for a week or a summer and not even go out there.