salt water pool or regular chloranated ? (Phoenix: how much, home, buying)

[davder]

was just wonder which one is less maintenance and easier and less expensive to to maintain.
thank you.

[LBTRS]

Salt is much easier to maintain and I would highly recommend it. You do have to replace the salt cell once in awhile (my first one lasted 5 years, second about 3 years, and just replaced it again at the 9 year mark) at around $450 each time. That probably burns up any savings you may have from not buying chlorine tabs.

I would say the cost is probably similar but I don't have to worry about my pools chlorine level as that is taken care of automatically. I've never had a green pool in 9 years of having it. My friends however, that have chlorine pools, get a green pool all the time.

[hikernut]

The maintenance is different. If you use a salt cell there is less day-to-day checking required, as the generator creates the chlorine when your filter pump runs. You still need to monitor the chlorine level, though, plus test and correct the pH. You also need to keep the salt concentration in a reasonable range, although this does not need to be checked very often. You need to clean the salt cell plates periodically, and it will need to be replaced after several years.


If you use trichlor tablets you obviously need to keep adding tabs to the floater(s). Same comment about checking and correcting pH, although I've found that trichlor is acidic enough that pH does not require a lot of adjustment. There is chlorine stabilizer (CYA) in the tabs, which builds up over time and you will need to do a complete or partial drain every couple years.


Here in Phoenix my guess is that using trichlor tabs are cheaper, but I doubt the difference is much. Because of the hard water we have, you'll need to do water drains anyway even if you use a salt cell... maybe not as often but it's still needed. You'll use less acid to adjust pH if you use trichlor.

[davder]

LBTRS, we were just wondering and it sure sounds like salt water pool is much easier to maintain and
thank you for the information and now its easier to make a decision. we appreciate your in put.

[davder]

we know there is still certain amount that has to be maintained but as you describe it, we would much rather follow
your advise. what is the reason for draining the pool every couple years ? thank you.

[hikernut]

You're constantly losing water to evaporation and replenishing with more tap water, which has dissolved minerals in it. Over time the concentration of those minerals builds up.

[davder]

hikernut, thanks for you sharing that, makes sense.

[davder]

just curious, can a regular chlorine pool be converted to salt water pool ? if it can be done does anyone have any idea if it
would be very costly ? thank you

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by davder

just curious, can a regular chlorine pool be converted to salt water pool ? if it can be done does anyone have any idea if it
would be very costly ? thank you

Sure it can...you add the chlorine generator and controller and put some salt in the water and you have a salt water pool. I was told it was about $1200 to add it to an existing pool. That was when we purchased our home in 2008 so I don't know how much that has changed in 2017.

[Reedus]

Originally Posted by davder

just curious, can a regular chlorine pool be converted to salt water pool ? if it can be done does anyone have any idea if it
would be very costly ? thank you

Yes it can depending on how old the water is. With a tab pool, you start with new water and add around 50-60 ppm of CYA to keep chlorine from burning off due to UV exposure. This builds up over time due to adding additional CYA that is in the chlorine tablets. Once it gets past 100 ppm of CYA, then chlorine starts to lose its effectiveness and you may start seeing algae. Hence the recommendation of draining every 2-3 years. With a salt pool, you start with new water by adding a recommended 80 ppm of CYA and around 3400 ppm of salt. This dies not fluctuate as you don't lose salt or cya to evaporation. If converting to salt from tab, check your CYA levels. If in the 80-90 ppm range, then add appropriate salt to bring level to 3400 and your good to go. If substantially over that, I'd recommend a drain/refill. Salt pools still need to be drained every 5-6 years due to calcium build up that will foul the cell more frequently and also leave a nasty scale line on your tile at the water line