OK to add salt WAY before installing SWG?

I'm planning on converting my pool to salt based chlorine generation eventually. You all helped convince me long ago, but I have plenty of more important home projects to finish first (such as having a functioning kitchen again). I'll also need to completely replumb the pump, filter & valving when I install the SWG since it's a mess, poorly installed and the old valves are leak prone, so that also contributes to pushing the install back until next summer probably.

Question is, can I go ahead and add salt now to my inground 12k gal fiberglass surfaced concrete pool and continue to chlorinate like I always have? Any chemistry issues to be aware of? I'd like to enjoy the softer water now if I can do this without problems. Then I can just adjust the salt level again when I finally get to installing the unit. Thoughts?

There are many of us here who've added salt with no SWG currently or planned. There's a long thread on it that should answer most of your questions which you should be able to easily find with a search :)

I searched before posting but the results weren't very useful - the search routine only searched for the keyword 'salt' in my seach request of 'salt without SWG' and similar variations. 'without' and 'SWG' were deemed too common to be included by the search routine. Of course every thread in this branch of the forum and then some were returned. I then browsed manually through all 10 pages of this branch of the forum and only came up with this thread: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=2740 which obviously is not the one you're refering to.

If you could direct me to the long one that discusses the issues I'd be much obliged.

Thanks for this great resource. I've been pool store free for a year and a half now and my pool has never been better!

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...ght=added+salt

Was the most recent one :)

Great thank you much!

OK, it seemed like this thread was winding down ;) ... how about adding Potassium Chloride Pellets, instead of Sodium Chloride? Morton's, for instance, states at http://www.mortonsalt.com/consumer/p...pc_pellets.htm
that:

"Morton® Potassium Chloride Pellets soften your water while adding potassium to it. Morton® Potassium Chloride Pellets are 99% sodium-free, therefore reducing sodium levels in your softened water and reducing chlorides discharged into the environment. This product also provides the essential plant nutrient potassium to the ecosystem. 40-lb. Morton® Potassium Chloride Pellets come in a convenient, easy-open bag."

I don't remember my chemistry well enough, but wasn't the potential required to separate NaCl about the same as that for KCl? Of course in our case, we're speaking of ions in solution, not separating the elements from solid crystal compounds (lattice energies).
So, since I'm not up on poolwater chemistry either: How would K and Cl ions react in a SWG? Would the voltage differential on SWGs be sufficient to form HCl? Would KCl work a bit better, if maybe not as cheaply, as a substitute for those who want to add "salt" to a pool for comfort? Would KCl, like NaCl, not change pool chemistries?
Lastly, Morton states that KCl (when used in a water softener) doesn't discharge chlorides into the environment... any takers? hmmm?

Thanks!!
Alex in Oklahoma

Potassium chloride have been successfully used with salt chlorine generators. However, it is not cheaper and there are no benefits. You end up needing more KCl than NaCl (although I'm not sure how much more). The reaction in the salt generator will be the same.
As for it not discharging chlorides into the environment... most of the time Salt, Sodium Chloride, is interchangable with "chlorides". If this is what they mean, then that is correct. If they're talking about chlorides as in potassium CHLORIDE, then it is not correct. When you backwash your sand or DE filter, there will be chlorides being "discharged into the environment".