[jsf721]

So, I have a regular chlorine pool. Approx 34,000 gallons.

Its 20 x 40 and I found the gallonage on line.

I have been a Pool owner for the last 3 seasons and I do my own cleaning, opening and closing. It is a chlorine pool, I have intermatic timer, DE filter and heater. Not too much work, I have a robot and its been a good deal for me so far.

Thinking that the cost of chlorine is making the Salt generators more attractive and that is making me think about pool automation.

Can anyone tell me what is involved in the salt water generator, and automation?

What do I need for each step and how hard is the install and learning curve?

Thanks

[50shadesofhockenheim]

How much are you paying for chlorine?

[2000cs]

I had a salt water pool at my last house. You need a chlorine generator and the controller for it. Your heater should be salt-resistant and your piping ideally all plastic. We added a bag of salt (available at home center stores, Walmart, etc) once or twice a year depending on how much use the pool got, how long the cover was open and how long we ran the pool (typically May 1 - Sept 30).

A salt water pool uses salt to generate chlorine, so it is not a chlorine-free pool. There is a salt monitor and a chlorine generator (these need power but not much), and they are plumbed in between the filter and heater. We had a cartridge filter but I don’t think that matters (but double check).

Any good pool supply place, including on-line, can supply the components.

Once converted, you still need to balance ph (Muriatic acid, also at home center stores), watch clarity and of course clean the skimmer and filters. We ran a “robot” cleaner after each use to keep the pool clean of leaves etc.

The water feels different (less chlorine and more saline) which I prefer and I think is gentler on skin. If I ever put a pool in another house, I’ll set it up to be salt water from the start. (I had a chlorine pool back in the last century).

I am happy to try to answer any questions.

Edit: This is what we had: https://www.doheny.com/hayward-aquar...15-000-gallons but sized for our pool which was the same size as yours.

[jsf721]

$ 189.00 for 35 lbs of 3” tablets at Costco.

Originally Posted by 50shadesofhockenheim

How much are you paying for chlorine?

[50shadesofhockenheim]

Originally Posted by jsf721

$ 189.00 for 35 lbs of 3” tablets at Costco.

And how long does that last you? I buy liquid chlorine for $6.0 per 2.5 gal container. I do half of the container once per week. Although my pool is 22x15 and around 15,000 gal

[jsf721]

WhAt makes this tough is I’m not at this house all week.

I use 6 tablets per week. It’s in an auto chlornator.

Originally Posted by 50shadesofhockenheim

And how long does that last you? I buy liquid chlorine for $6.0 per 2.5 gal container. I do half of the container once per week. Although my pool is 22x15 and around 15,000 gal

[o_g]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

I had a salt water pool at my last house. You need a chlorine generator and the controller for it. Your heater should be salt-resistant and your piping ideally all plastic. We added a bag of salt (available at home center stores, Walmart, etc) once or twice a year depending on how much use the pool got, how long the cover was open and how long we ran the pool (typically May 1 - Sept 30).

A salt water pool uses salt to generate chlorine, so it is not a chlorine-free pool. There is a salt monitor and a chlorine generator (these need power but not much), and they are plumbed in between the filter and heater. We had a cartridge filter but I don’t think that matters (but double check).

Any good pool supply place, including on-line, can supply the components.

Once converted, you still need to balance ph (Muriatic acid, also at home center stores), watch clarity and of course clean the skimmer and filters. We ran a “robot” cleaner after each use to keep the pool clean of leaves etc.

The water feels different (less chlorine and more saline) which I prefer and I think is gentler on skin. If I ever put a pool in another house, I’ll set it up to be salt water from the start. (I had a chlorine pool back in the last century).

I am happy to try to answer any questions.

Edit: This is what we had: https://www.doheny.com/hayward-aquar...15-000-gallons but sized for our pool which was the same size as yours.

How long did your chlorine generator last?

<Rant>
We converted an old concrete pool
(25' x 50') to salt, and have had a mixed bag of issues. The pool contractor did a test and verified everything was compatible with salt. Back in 2015, we switched to all new Pentair / Sta-rite variable speed pool pump, media / paper filter, heater (Sta-rite 333) and chlorine generator (Pentair IC40).

We had a slow leak in the pool and needed to constantly add salt, and the chemistry was totally messed up. I had the pool leak tested twice and we found other problems, but not the most obvious crack in the side of the pool.

In 2020, the chlorinator gave up the ghost and stopped producing chlorine so I was manually adding chlorine pucks in the skimmer basket. And last year, there was a big bang when the pool heater came on, with the end result of a busted heat exchanger in a ~6-yr old Sta-rite SR333HD

Yes, you can certainly feel the presence of salt in the water, and the water feels softer. But we will likely go back to chlorine when we replace the heater / chlorinator this season. Some of it was part of my ineptitude, and some of it was a comedy of errors related to an old pool where (i) the skimmers were tied into the main drain and water was leaking when a 2nd port was inadvertently opened in the skimmer, and (ii) there was a small physical crack which propagated into a much larger leak requiring lots of fresh water in the pool, causing a chemistry imbalance, resulting in equipment failure.
</Rant>

[2000cs]

Originally Posted by o_g

How long did your chlorine generator last?

In 2020, the chlorinator gave up the ghost and stopped producing chlorine so I was manually adding chlorine pucks in the skimmer basket.

Our pool was gunnite and installed by the prior owner of our house. They did nothing themselves; the pool company that built it did all the maintenance, opening and closing. However the heater was rusted out when we bought the house and began leaking after one season. That’s when I learned you have to use a heater that is built for the salt or it will corrode from the inside. But it was 10 or 11 years old at the time.

Our salt generator was pristine, but still original and never failed. A couple of important things are (1) remove it when the pool is closed and store inside (garage), and (2) clean it as needed with vinegar (videos on YouTube) IIRC. We did that once but it was so clean it really didn’t need it. I attribute that to good pool chemistry which kept the fins from getting any buildup (calcium I think is the worry and failure cause).

Our pool cover (“automatic”) was not kept clean and had rotted so we had to replace it just before we sold the house. This matters because it keeps out leaves and other junk all winter.

If converting to salt water, it is important to know the status of your pool and equipment, and any metal that the pool water touches (pump, piping, heater, filter, drains, etc). Those all should be converted to plastic - if the underground piping is metal, unless it needs replacing anyway, I would not convert.

[Alfisti]

I think doing it for cost reasons is false economy, you're not going to save much going Salt and the conversion cost will be considerable. Ours is salt water, it does FEEL very nice compared to a cholrine pool but yeah the salt is just used to generate chlorine.

Now, automation? Yeah not gonna happen, just impossible. We use a robot cleaner but it's not perfect and the wire tangles etc, Need to make sure water is balanced, clean filters, maintain heater etc etc etc. TBH I don't find it a ton of work but it's impossible to automate.