Salt Water Conversion

[Groovgal]

I have only been through one season with my 22k/gallon in-ground pool and it was not a pleasant experience trying to keep it clean. I was doing okay until a heavy rain came while I was out of town and within a week the pool began turning green and nothing I was doing was clearing it up. I am trying to prepare for the summer now by considering a few options. First, I have considered just paying someone to open my pool and maintain it all summer while keeping the current chlorine system. Second, I have read that the salt water conversions are easier to maintain as they don't require anything but salt. It sounds like it may be somewhat idiot proof in some ways. I have read that the conversion is typically about 1500.00 in terms of cost. Is this an accurate estimate and what does a conversion entail?

[Watermom]

Some people like the convenience of a SWCG especially if you are out of town a lot or unable to spend about 5 minutes per day with the pool. I cannot speak to the expense of conversion, though.

Take some time to do some reading here on the forum. Especially read the stickied threads at the top of the subsections of the forum. You will learn how easy it is to spend just 5 minutes a day to keep your pool clean and clear. (Until your registration is complete, you will have to log out to be able to see the rest of the forum, however.) Also go over to our sister website www.poolsolutions.com and read there.

Go ahead and get a good kit. The one we recommend is the Taylor K2006 or 2006C and you can get it through the link in my signature below. (It won't be available locally.) Whether you have a SWCG or not, you can still use that great kit.

Then, come back with further questions.

Welcome to the Pool Forum!

[CarlD]

You are not really converting your pool if you already use chlorine. You are merely plumbing in (and wiring) a SWCG and adding enough salt for it to make chlorine for you. You can continue to use various forms of chlorine without any worry about "compatibility"....it's all chlorine.

As for cost: There's no set cost. You can get inexpensive systems for a few hundred or spend thousands. Even saying $1500 is "typical" could be misleading.

While SWCGs are great, they are not a cure-all. You still need to test and watch your pool, but you CAN (when it's good) take off for a week or two without too much worry. And, if you learn the B-B-B system thoroughly (which is pretty simple) the SWCG will simply make it easier.

[PoolDoc]

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