Newbie POOL person here...

[joelq]

In my research, I couldn't get any definitive information on the cost savings of going with SWG. In fact, if you factor in the up-front cost of putting in the SWG cell, etc (roughly $1000), you could make the argument that recouping your up-front cost will take many years.

I wanted SWG not because of any potential cost savings, but because of the low maintenance aspect of it. I won't have to store chlorine, nor have to put chlorine in manually. If I ever have to leave town for a week or two, no worries about coming back to a green pool. Not to mention the "softer" feel of the water in a salt pool.

Regarding the corrosive properties of salt affecting the structure, plaster, etc - I couldn't find any definitive evidence of that either. The PB we selected had an unconditional warranty on their pool structure. Given that they did salt pools exclusively, I took this to mean they had no concerns about salt corrosion.

Having said that, we did go with a pebble finish which negates the issue of salt on plaster, if there's any truth to that.

[Simmons99]

Have you only spoken to two poolbuilders? I know its nice to have a "snazzy" sales rep with the "cool 3-D" software that shows you what a pool can look like. But really - it sounds like the companies you have been speaking with are more interested in a sale than you having a good experience as a pool owner.

If a company doesn't want you to install a SWG - it might be because they are not familiar with them - I would never make a pool company install something they don't normally install.

I asked the pool companies I talked with which method they would recommend and why. I overwhelming got "ozone" from those who were running "specials" and I got "SWG or standard chlorine" from those sales reps that had pools.

If I were you - I would talk to a couple more builders and see what others are saying.

[Pool_Mike]

Both sales rep claim they have pools. One has Ozone, the other is just old school setup w/ chlorine.

[CarlD]

Either go with ordinary chlorine--you don't even need an automatic chlorinator, adjustable floaters do the same job for $15--or go with an SWG. SWG uses salt to generate chlorine because salt is...Sodium Chloride. As for salt water eating your pool, it will be FAR less salt than the ocean. In fact, you may not even be able to taste the salt in the water.

[Simmons99]

Both sales rep claim they have pools. One has Ozone, the other is just old school setup w/ chlorine.

Two of the sales reps we talked to HAD ozone and stopped using them because they said that they didn't work and the maintenance was a lot more work (I don't know why - just what I was told). I think there is some information on poolsolutions.com on the ozone and what it does and what is doesn't do.

I don't think anyone here will personally benefit from you using chlorine, we are just giving you information we have heard from others or our own personal experiences.

Good luck on the pool purchase!