SWCG vs BBB

I am in the earliest planning stages for an IG shotcrete pool hopefully starting this year. I have been doing a lot of reading about different topics but as far as SWCGs go the main thing I am hearing is ease of pool chemistry maintenance. Assuming one is diligent with their chemistry, i.e. checks water and adjusts chemistry daily/frequently, is there really a time savings? I would lean toward the BBB method but I will go on vacation occasionally, and/or sometimes not be available daily so how big of a concern is this? Is it less time consuming to add bleach every few days with the BBB method or add acid every few days with a SWCG? Will a SWCG allow me to take a week off without having a specially trained pool sitter here daily?

BBB is not an alternative to using a SWCG -- many of the Contributing members here have SWCGs.

The term BBB arose from my pages about grocery store chemicals in pools -- bleach, borax and baking soda. But the core of BBB is not using those chemicals, but rather using only what you need, using it in an efficient manner, and avoiding everything unnecessary.

Bleach doesn't have the cost advantage it did 15 years ago when I wrote those pages, but it still has specific advantages. However an SWCG is essentially adding bleach to a pool (plus removing some acid) so the chemistry is quite similar.

I'm getting the terminology confused I guess. By BBB vs SWCG I meant no SWCG vs having a SWCG. And for the no SWCG pool I meant using BBB vs pool store chlorine, but I suppose that distinction may not matter.

So with the above clarifications, is there still a time savings? Or are you spending the same amount of time monitoring and adjusting no matter what? With any method can you take a week off? What is the most forgiving in that situation? What do you guys do when you go on vacation?

Long story, short:

SWCG's are easier, but not really cheaper.

They are DEFINITELY better for road-warriors who are home irregularly; it's easier to work out a way to take a week off with an SWCG . . . especially if you take your chlorine and CYA high (10+ FC; 100+ CYA) per the Best Guess chart (link in my sig). To do this you MUST learn to test correctly --see the testkit link in my sig.

One caution: you can NOT use them on pools with older, non-salt approved heaters. AND, they void most AG pool warranties.

I have a SWCG and travel a lot. When I'm home I test my water and add acid weekly. When I travel, sometimes the pool has to go 2 weeks without any maintenance and it does fine.

Like stated before, SWCG make pool maintenance easier but there is no cost savings.

If you don't mind having to add bleach every few days but want the 'feel' of a salt water pool you can add a little salt without a SWCG system.

I love the SWCG. When I go into our local pool store -- to buy salt or acid, usually -- I see people toting those 2.5 gallon containers of chlorine to their car, and I think to myself how glad I am that I don't have to fuss with liquid chlorine. I'll buy the salt when it's on sale, and enough of it to last many weeks (despite all the splash-out my pool gets). We're about to go away for 10 days; I don't give it a second thought that my pool will be okay, provided that I don't suffer an equipment failure.

The best thing I've learned about the BBB method is to not trust the pool stores, and to do your own water testing with a good Taylor K-2006 kit. This past weekend, I went to both pool stores near my house (one for salt, the other for cheaper acid). While there, I let them test my pool water (mostly to ensure an independent verification of my pool conditions should I have a warranty issue arise). One pool company said my TA was too low; add baking powder. The other said my TA was too high; add acid. My own readings pointed told me my TA was a little low, and it definitely wasn't too high. That happens nearly every time I compare the two pool stores -- they differ wildly on one or more chemical readings.

I know myself, and I know that it is too easy for me to forget to add chlorine when it needs to be added. For years, I had an Intex-style pool, and about the middle of the summer, it would turn green because I'd neglected the chlorine. With the SWCG, algae has just never been an issue at all. And the pool *always* has a level amount of chlorine. And because I never shock the pool -- it never needs it, because the CC is always non-existent or very, very low -- the pool is *always* ready for use.

I'd never want a non-SWCG pool now that I've got one.