Advice on Chlorine generator

[CarlD]

You may want to re-figure your costs.

I figure a 3 month summer, and dumping in a gallon of bleach every other day--about 45 gallons over the course of the summer. Even at $2/gallon, that's $90.

If your SWG costs $900, it will cost the same as 10 years worth of bleach--plus you have to buy sufficient salt and you STILL may need bleach if things go awry. You'll also probably be putting a lot of muriatic acid in your pool--what's that run, $3.50/gallon?--and maybe as much as a gallon per week.

What SWG buys you is CONVENIENCE and effective sanitation at lower chlorine levels, because there's less pogo-ing of FC. You can go away for a week or two and come back to a clean pool. SWGs are a wonderful invention.

But saving money versus the B-B-B method? That's not realistic.

[waterbear]

You may want to re-figure your costs.

I figure a 3 month summer, and dumping in a gallon of bleach every other day--about 45 gallons over the course of the summer. Even at $2/gallon, that's $90.

Carl,
Here in NE FL our swim season is MUCH longer....about 6-7 months for a non heated pool and about 10 for a heated one!

[Sean-NJ]

But saving money versus the B-B-B method? That's not realistic.

That is part of my dillema. I was all in favor of the SWG for my new pool but after reading the BBB method, I thought wow that could save me a lot of money.

I guess the advantage of the swg is less fuss?

I could just try the bbb method when my pool is finished and add the swg at a later date?

[KurtV]

But saving money versus the B-B-B method? That's not realistic.

That is part of my dillema. I was all in favor of the SWG for my new pool but after reading the BBB method, I thought wow that could save me a lot of money.

I guess the advantage of the swg is less fuss?

I could just try the bbb method when my pool is finished and add the swg at a later date?

Sean,
I was in exactly your position a year ago and opted out of the SWG. I'm still on the fence now. I want one, but I'm finding it dificult to part with the money. It's not that doing without one and using Ben's techniques instead is particularly arduous, but you do have to be more diligent about keeping up with the water (it only takes a few minutes a day but skipping even a couple or a few days can get you in trouble). The SWG would give me some more leeway and make pool care during vacations and business trips almost a non-issue.

One other convenience factor with an SWG is that you won't have to get to the store every week or two for bleach (not a big deal; just another chore that most of us could do without).

As Waterbear said, you'll have trouble finding someone who isn't happy with his/her SWG but you'll find more than a few of us out there with SWG envy. I guess I'll ask my wife for one for Christmas.

[PatL34]

Did a cost estimate back in April on SWCG operation.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=316

See if this compares to bleach.

Pat

[waterbear]

going on Carl's estimate of $30/month for bleach and Pat's calculation of just over $20/month for a SWG then the SWG wins hands down!

[PatL34]

I think the trend to SWCGs is going to go faster and faster as the cost of producing bleach starts to go up with cost of electricity. The $30 - $20 differential will start to increase through the years. Another argument for SWCGs. And I've been running one since April of 1998.

Pat

[Sean-NJ]

That was a great post about the cost. I am on a tight budget and trying to keep costs under 22K for the pool itself. I guess I will just have to add a little to the budget. My gut was telling me the swg was a good investment but I was trying to find a way to justify cutting it out. Thanks for the input. This forum in general has educated me so much on pool care.

[KurtV]

going on Carl's estimate of $30/month for bleach and Pat's calculation of just over $20/month for a SWG then the SWG wins hands down!

But that ignores the initial cost. At $1000 initial cost to have the builder install it you're looking at an additional $100 per year for a 10 year period of ownership. Besides that, Carl's estimate was intentionally high to make his point ( I typically spend less than half that). Finally, Pat's supposition that power costs will drive bleach costs up in the long run applies more directly and at least equally to the power costs for operating the SWG.

I want to believe that an SWG will pay for itself (as that would make my decision very easy) but it just ain't so.

(On the other hand, it really doesn't cost that much more in the long run. I almost have myself talked into this; thanks Sean.)

[KurtV]

One other significant cost for an SWG that hasn't been mentioned here is that you'll have to replace the cell every few years (I'm guessing 3 to 5 depending on several variables). A replacement will cost several hundred dollars.

As Carl said, SWGs are about convenience and effectiveness, not cost savings.