Hayward question

[GOINGDEEP]

Hello all, this forum is a little different from others, after I joined I can't seem to get past Bens Corner. I'm going to ask my question here and if it needs moved that's fine.

Ok I got a 22,000 fiberglass pool. We do a lot of traveling in the summer and the pool has just gotten out of whack with chemical upkeep. I'm looking at the Hayward salt and swim salt chlorination device. I've searched high and low online for reviews and can't find many at all. I'm not sure if it's so new it hasn't been tested or if it's a bad idea and no one has bought one.

I really don't want the more expensive "wired" versions, as we might be moving in a couple of years and I'll just take the Salt and Swim to the next pool.

So guys, any ideas? Any input? Any other "plug and play" devices?

We are in TN, and keep the pool open from first of May to first of October. Temps stay 90-100 during the summer.

Thanks y'all.

[PoolDoc]

Sorry your post & membership got lost in the crush; not sure if you still need help, but your membership has been upgraded. -ben

( I think the portable salt chlorination units fall into the category of, "We don't know for sure yet, but we wouldn't buy one because expect they won't work well -- we'll let other people test them." )

[Poolsean]

You're going to have a few common components for all salt systems. A Control Panel (Power Supply), Flow Detector (either a mechanical flow switch or an electrical gas trap (checking continuity)), and a cell. The cell and flow detector usually gets plumbed into the return line. The Control Panel is mounted and wired with your timeclock.
To make things more portable, you're not going to get away from plumbing, but if you install it with unions, you can easily replace it with a straight piece of pipe with unions, when you leave. As for the Control Panel, most systems are capable of being rewired from the factory setting of 220 volts, to 110 volts. In either case, you can wire an approved cord for exposure to the elements so you can unplug it later.
Having said that, if you're leaving in a few years, your system should not have too much wear on either component with the short swim seasons of Tennessee. If you run your pool 12 months/year, THEN I would say that it wouldn't be worth the additional work to make it portable.

The Hayward Salt and Swim is their "disposible" system in which it lowers your cost to get a system in. However, when you consider the ongoing cost to replace the 6 month or 12 month cell, it makes it more expensive to keep than a going with a normal cell, which is usually recommended to oversize. Hope this helps.