Winding Up My First Season with an SWCG.

After 2 summers where I was away for 2 or 3 weeks, and knowing I'd be away at least 6 weeks (2 in May, 4 in July), I decided that a salt-water chlorine generator was finally in order to reduce maintenance. Now that the pool season is winding down here in New Jersey, with September always an "iffy" month for swimming, I feel I can look back on the experience with some of the pluses and minuses.

I began by ordering a Pool Pilot Digital power supply and manifold with the SC-36 salt cell. (Full Disclosure: I ordered it from Sean Assam's company and Sean and his boss were extremely helpful in the setup.) I began by adding a second 240v single-phase outlet to my pump's power outlet since it's on an inside, basement timer. I wired the Pool Pilot for 240v, and added a #12 flexible cable and plug. I re-plumbed the filter-to-return lines completely, adding a new cut-off between the Autopilot manifold and the return. This allows me to shut off the manifold on both sides so I can service it--clean the strainer, pull out the cell, whatever. Since it's under my deck, cables went up and tacked to the underside of the joists. I did not add the ORT tester, route the pump via the Pool Pilot, or put in an acid tank. Just kept it simple and will add what I need if necessary. I will say that doing it myself saved me considerable costs by avoiding an electrician's bill.

Initially it had some problems, but a quick call solved it: it was programmed to the wrong service! Once that was fixed it was pretty easy to figure out what was needed--like 420# of salt! I initially shocked the pool with LC and had it running cleanly first.

But, right from the start my pump failed. It hummed and wouldn't turn. I got it running but it was clear the bearings were shot. Pulling it apart destroyed the long bolts, and I ended up buying a new pump. I'll get the old one back together and running after the season.

As I did my calculations of the cost of the SWCG + salt vs just LC there's no way it will EVER be as cost efficient--I knew that going in but that wasn't my prime concern.

So how did it all work out? The answer is a mixed review, but overall, positive.

1) Equipment quality. Frankly, so far, I can't fault the Autopilot stuff at all. It's been solid and reliable, nothing unexpected. The manual however, is very disjointed, hard to follow, and doesn't have a simple "Quick Start" section. Nor does it provide an assessment of the cell hours vs maintenance/cell life span. The programming section would chill a contract/estate lawyer's blood! Ironically, the main controls are pretty easy to manage.

2) Ease. Yeah, it's a lot easier (not that adding LC is hard, but leaving instructions requires that the person reading them can comprehend them).

3) Did it make not being there easier? Definitely. I only occasionally had to ask someone at home to add LC. Mostly it stayed clean.

4) Test levels. I found that most of the summer, my FC remained between 3.5 and 4.5. I had troubles achieving and maintaining the recommend CYA of 60-80...it's currently in the mid 50's. Also, the salt level keeps dropping. This is due to some leaks in my solar panels and a slow leak that I think is around a light. Right now, salt is at 2800, when 3000 is optimal. Curiously, my pH has rarely been a problem. Early on, the T/A was around 70 and pH stayed good. When I got home after a month, the pH was quite high but that was only the 2nd time I added acid all summer. Now T/A is about 100, but pH is staying in the 7.5 range.

5) Issues. Despite following the plan to ALWAYS keep FC about 5% of the CYA level, I've had some minor algae blooms, more than ever before, particularly in August. They've been easy to control and eliminate but it is a new, unpleasant experience. I'm concerned that if I increase the cell's run-time, I'll shorten its life, and thus have added LC when needed.
I also had the person staying in my house nearly destroy my new pump, when, wanting to turn off the solar panel, she turned off the main return! The pressure blew the fitting out of the top of the pump! Luckily, the teflon tape and the fitting seemed to sustain the damage, not the threaded pump housing. I had her adding LC every day all around the pool till we got home. But I cannot blame that on the Autopilot--or the pump!

Overall, it's been a good experience, not QUITE as good as I hoped, not nearly as bad as I feared. My last concern is that the sensor cable in the manifold doesn't appear to unplug though the manual shows it doing so, and cleaning may be an issue.

Carl, the good thing is that the tri-sensor does not need to be cleaned as a normal procedure. If it does, you can usually flick any calcium or debris off the salt blades, or pull debris off the flow paddle. Nothing else in the tri-sensor to get dirty.

Thanks, Sean. Despite the manual showing the cable unplugging from the sensor in the manifold, it does not seem to actually unplug and I certainly didn't want to force it. It unplugs from the controller, though. The power cable to the cell unplugs at both the cell and the controller. Hopefully, from your description, the sensor won't be a problem.