TCO for salt vs. Traditional chlorine system

[jasondoiron]

Thanks so much....I really appreciate the advice.

[BigDave]

Just to sharpen kelemvor's fine point: Regular, reliable, and accurate testing and measured response will control the chemistry costs more than any chosen method of chlorination.

[CarlD]

Having spent 13 years running standard chlorine pools and the last and the upcoming one with an SWCG, I can assure you the upfront and amortized costs of an SWCG will be work out to be much more than using liquid chlorine/bleach...a lot more.

That doesn't mean I don't recommend an SWCG. If set up right and maintained, they are great. I had to open my pool early due to some damage and had to get it running JUST before we took off for a week+ over the Easter/Passover holiday week. I didn't really have time to do much, just dump in salt, LC and CYA. I came back to clear, balanced water. Now I can do the rest of the repairs and open without fighting an algae bloom.

But it's not cheaper. Just suppose a decent system costs $1500 installed (good price. I THINK mine was less than that but I can handle the wiring and the plumbing so no labor costs). Figure after 5 years you'll need to spend about $500 on a new cell. Not counting salt. So...the first five years your SWCG costs you $300/year....that buys an awful lot of LC! I figure that's the equivalent of 167 gallons of 6-7% bleach. If your swimming season is 3 months (as it is in NJ) and you add 1 gallon/day (which is a lot but can happen) that's still only 90-100 days of chlorine...and you have paid for 67 more gallons! Over 5 years that's like spending an extra $1200 on chlorine! Really!

HOWEVER.....IF you travel a lot, are lousy at keeping up with maintenance, and/or like super-cool technology AND the nice, soft feel of the lightly salted water, it's well worth it! I'm good with maintenance but the rest--that's all me!