Hello all, we have a small 9000 gallon traditional inground pool with an older 2006 standard pump. I have been thinking of switching to SWG to eliminate daily chlorine input. However a few issues. One is I have read from previous posts that a SWG will use more electricity esp if you do not have a variable speed pump. Second it is possible we may sell our home in the next year or so.. Seems like a large cost investment if we plan to sell and possibly higher electric bills. Also concerned about the weight of the salt bags(100 lbs?) and being able to lift and add this to the SWG... Mainly I want less maintenece and worries esp when going on vacation. I saw a few models recommended here but they appear larger then we need. I appreciate any input... Thanks Gina
SWG Pro's/Cons
- Thread starter Jurate1
- Start date
You do not add salt to the SWG, you add the salt to the water in the pool. Once you get the level where it needs to be it stays in the water, you may need a bag at a time over the summer for splash out or dilution from rain. The bags of salt I just got done adding were 40lbs-very manageable.
J,
If you are truly going to sell your house in the next year, then it does not make sense to me to upgrade to a SWCG.
That said, other than initial cost there are no cons to owning a SWCG. It is the easiest way to maintain your pool.
Salt normally comes in 40 lb. bags, so not much of an issue.
A single speed pump can be an issue if you have a large pool needing a lot of chlorine, it is not much of an issue with an 8K gallon pool.
If you had a 40K, you'd only have to run the pump for less than five hours a day to generate 4 ppm of FC per day. Most pools use 2 to 4 ppm of FC per day, but since you are in AZ I calculated at the high end. I suspect you run the pump more than that right now.
You want a cell that is at least 2 x the volume of your pool, but with a single speed pump, I'd recommend a 40K cell.
For reference, I run my VS pump 24/7 for less than $20 bucks a month. - You need to get rid of your energy hog.
Thanks,
Jim R.
If you are truly going to sell your house in the next year, then it does not make sense to me to upgrade to a SWCG.
That said, other than initial cost there are no cons to owning a SWCG. It is the easiest way to maintain your pool.
Salt normally comes in 40 lb. bags, so not much of an issue.
A single speed pump can be an issue if you have a large pool needing a lot of chlorine, it is not much of an issue with an 8K gallon pool.
If you had a 40K, you'd only have to run the pump for less than five hours a day to generate 4 ppm of FC per day. Most pools use 2 to 4 ppm of FC per day, but since you are in AZ I calculated at the high end. I suspect you run the pump more than that right now.
You want a cell that is at least 2 x the volume of your pool, but with a single speed pump, I'd recommend a 40K cell.
For reference, I run my VS pump 24/7 for less than $20 bucks a month. - You need to get rid of your energy hog.
Thanks,
Jim R.
I have a smart plug on my circupool edge and run it around 40% and it’s only using around 80 watts. I tried to calculate how much it cost and it Pennie’s a day Think back to the days when we had 20 100 watt bulbs in our house that stayed on all day 
Curiously, what RPM do you run your pump at for 24/7?J,
If you are truly going to sell your house in the next year, then it does not make sense to me to upgrade to a SWCG.
That said, other than initial cost there are no cons to owning a SWCG. It is the easiest way to maintain your pool.
Salt normally comes in 40 lb. bags, so not much of an issue.
A single speed pump can be an issue if you have a large pool needing a lot of chlorine, it is not much of an issue with an 8K gallon pool.
If you had a 40K, you'd only have to run the pump for less than five hours a day to generate 4 ppm of FC per day. Most pools use 2 to 4 ppm of FC per day, but since you are in AZ I calculated at the high end. I suspect you run the pump more than that right now.
You want a cell that is at least 2 x the volume of your pool, but with a single speed pump, I'd recommend a 40K cell.
For reference, I run my VS pump 24/7 for less than $20 bucks a month. - You need to get rid of your energy hog.
Thanks,
Jim R.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,537
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Fellow Tucsonan ... sell your house NOW!! A home in our HOA recently went up for sale and their asking price was somewhere in the high $800k range (like $880k). Within 45mins of listing the home, their real estate agent already had 2 offers. The house was sold within a week. Now granted, it's a beautiful home with a pool, freshly painted exterior and the current owner completely cleared out and made it move-in ready ... but still, she got every penny she asked for within days of listing, no haggling. The market is intense and crazy right now but it is truly a sellers market. I can't sell right now but I would if I could ... by the time I'm ready to sell, we'll be knee-deep in a depression and I'll owe more on my mortgage than my home is worth ... or Putin will nuke us all ... joking ... hopefully.
Anyway, if you're going to sell, don't bother upgrading anything. A house can be listed with a pool "as-is" with no detriment even if the equipment is old. As long as the structure is solid and there are no leaks anywhere, let the next guy deal with the equipment upgrades. For a few hundred bucks, you can splurge to get the tiles cleaned so the pool looks pretty for the next guy.
Anyway, if you're going to sell, don't bother upgrading anything. A house can be listed with a pool "as-is" with no detriment even if the equipment is old. As long as the structure is solid and there are no leaks anywhere, let the next guy deal with the equipment upgrades. For a few hundred bucks, you can splurge to get the tiles cleaned so the pool looks pretty for the next guy.
B,
Most of the time at 1200 RPM, but I have a large cartridge filter and no heater so there is little back pressure.
Thanks,
Jim R.
Thank you all for your feedback. Currently waiting for home owners ins to replace the Pentair clean and clear which recently was giving us problems. When the Jandy pump goes will replace with a variable speed pump. May give it a few more months and see what happens with the house search. Then decide on the SWG. Thanks everyone for your input.
Good point, realtor asked my wife if our pool deck go up to the house..When wife said Yes you walk out on our deck she said it will sell before the permeant sign is installed.
Our problem is we would have to buy somewhere else and nothing is "cheaper" any more.
Thanks Mark, yes we are in the same situation. Any profits made would go into price of new home.
Going back to the SWG for a moment. Jim you stated "If you had a 40K, you'd only have to run the pump for less than five hours a day to generate 4 ppm of FC per day" Does the SWG run seperate from the Jandy pump or does it come on when the pool pump turns on? I was always told to run the pump for 8-9 hours a day in the summer to circulate all the water. What if you only need 2 ppm per day? I am assuming you can adjust output? Thanks, Gina
Going back to the SWG for a moment. Jim you stated "If you had a 40K, you'd only have to run the pump for less than five hours a day to generate 4 ppm of FC per day" Does the SWG run seperate from the Jandy pump or does it come on when the pool pump turns on? I was always told to run the pump for 8-9 hours a day in the summer to circulate all the water. What if you only need 2 ppm per day? I am assuming you can adjust output? Thanks, Gina
That's a one size fits all bit of bad advice. They were assuming you would need that much filtering time per day, but the filtering needs change as much as the daily FC demand throughout the season. In the spring and fall the crud falling may need 24/7 runtime to keep up. Mid summer you may need next to no runtime if you haven't used the pool that week.
The chemicals are mixed in 15 mins with good circulation. Twice a day is enough for most pools.
The SWG is exactly like adding liquid but simply it does the adding for you. When you need more FC as the season ramps up with more daily loss, tell it to run longer. The back half of the season you will run it less and less as the UV demand decreases. Expect 3-6 weeks weeks between adjustments once it's dialed in. The in between weeks you are still checking, but won't be needed more often than not.
J,
My example was just to make the point that even with a single speed pump, a SWCG can be a great idea.
You change the output of a salt cell by adjusting the amount of time the pump runs, or the cell output percentage, or a combination of the two.
Pump run times, or how many times your water passes through your filter, have almost nothing to do with how clear your water is.. Chemicals keep your water clear, not how much circulation your pool has.
We believe in running your pump for a reason, not for some "magic" number that some idiot pulled out of his rear.
Thanks,
Jim R.