Salt water pool conversion.

[UVindex10plus]

I'm trying to decide between the Jandy ei (new system) 35K gallon and the Hayward 40K gallon for my 25K gallon pool in Las Vegas. Because of the high UV index here it is recommended that we buy a system compatible with a larger pool than we actually have.

I'm kind of sold on the Jandy 35K. The cells are visible so you can see any corrosion, it's got auto polarity reverse so is auto cleaning. It's about $300 less than the Hayward system.
The Jandy has a 1 year warranty. Replacement cells are about $250. The Hayward has a 3 year warranty on the cells, the cells are about $550.

The new Jandy unit has only been on the market for a year....

I'm concerned about annual costs of the 2 units.

Anyone have any experience with these 2?

[PoolDoc]

I don't have experience with either unit, and since it's December, you may have to wait to hear from someone who does.

However, I can tell you that with SWCG's it's almost always (actually, always as far as I know) better to buy an oversize unit, and turn it down, than to buy an undersize unit. Cell life is a function of 'on-hours', so an oversize unit will last longer than an smaller one.

Corrosion is usually not a problem with SWCGs, though calcium build up may be. However, most units now have double unions, so it's only a 5 minute job to PROPERLY inspect the cells. Clear plastic windows, in pool gear, tend to be not so clear after a short while. Personally, I wouldn't put a lot of weight on that factor.

On the other hand, many cells do fail in less than 3 years, so a 3 year warranty may either indicate the mfg's estimate of likely cell life OR payoff if it doesn't last that long. You can be pretty sure that if most Jandy cells lasted 5 years, they'd offer a 3 year warranty.

Pentair recently reduced their warranty from 3 years to 1 year, because they were having to replace more cells than they liked.

Annual cost of the units is a function of cell life amortization (220 per year vs 550/3 per year), electrical use, and salt use (large at first; large later if your pool leaks a lot). In general, SWCG's are NOT cheaper to operate than a well operated pool using bleach or trichlor or dichor to chlorinate. But they are somewhat easier.

If you want to minimize your operating costs, you DEFINITELY need to purchase a DPD-FAS test kit (like the K2006 linked below) so you can maintain proper chlorine and stabilizer levels. A single algae episode can use a month's worth of chemicals OR MORE. Avoiding those problems pretty much requires following the best guess chart (also linked below) and the using an FAS DPD kit.

[waterbear]

The Hayward/Goldline system is tried and true. The Jandy is actually a Zodiac unit (they own Jandy) and Zodiac does not make the best SWCGs IMHO. The Jandy unit operates at a higher salt level (about 4000 ppm) than the Hayward (3200 ppm) and produces less chlorine. The Jandy produces .97 lbs a day (and is a closer match to the Hayward system with a T9 cell, rated for 25000 gallons)) while the Hayward with the T15 cell produces 1.47 lbs a day and has a longer warranty on the cell. Mine is still going strong 7 years later (however it is also very oversized for my pool!)
In my experience Jandy/Zodiac tend to push the limit on how many gallons their units can handle.

FWIW, the Hayward is also auto reverse polarity (auto cleaning). No matter what unit you get be sure to run the CYA at the MAXIMIM recommeneded level and keep the FC at 5% of that and you should not have any problems. Since for the Hayward unit this is 80 ppm you would run the FC at 4-5 ppm while for the Jandy unit it is 50 ppm so you would run the FC at 3 ppm (which is not a good idea in a climate with high UV index, nor is CYA at 50 ppm).

IMHO, go with the Hayward with a T15 cell.

[kelemvor]

I've got the Hayward unit and I'm pretty happy with it. I'm going on 18 months here, cell was in place when I bought the house so I'm not really sure how old it is.

Cell cleaning really isn't a big deal, as pooldoc said, 5 minutes (or less) to take it out and inspect.

[waterbear]

BTW, the Hayward T15 cell is the one you are looking at. It is the 40K gallon rated one. The T9 is rated at 25k gallons and is a closer match in chlorine production to the Jandy unit.

Also, my Hayward/Goldline runs year 'round since I am located in Florida and also have a high UV index.