Quote Originally Posted by CarlD View Post
Pat,
I hope you are finally feeling chipper. Sorry to hear you were sick.

Please don't get me wrong: I have NOTHING against SWGs. In fact I think they are really cool techology.

But everytime I do the cost-benefit for MEI cannot justify it. That's the essence of what I have said all along. If I had to choose between an SWG and a robotic cleaner (like my BlueDiamond) it's a no-brainer...I hate vacuuming and brushing a hundred times more than I hate schlepping jugs of bleach or Liquid Chlorine. Since the price of both is ROUGHLY equivalent (between $800 and $1500) it's a reasonable comparison.
CarlD,

Having some difficulty with your logic.

I feel you are comparing apples and oranges. All of us have to vacuum and brush at some time. That is a given! With your Blue Diamond robotic cleaner to do the job for you, it makes it that much easier for you to appreciate your pool.

How your robotic cleaner compares with an SWCG, in terms of cost benefits can only be thought of as initial costs. Then you have to compare the running costs including maintenance of the cleaner against that of the logistical costs of lugging liquid chlorine from the pool store with your car back to your pool. If you feel you would rather lug chlorine, so be it.

Don't get me wrong, I had to lug chlorine jugs while curing the Diamond Brite plaster, so I know of what you speak.

Now let's go a step further. The cost of gasoline will start to go up in a few years. That too is a given! As the cost of gasoline goes up, so does the cost of buying liquid chlorine, as the overall energy costs go up in manufacturing it.

With an SWCG and a viny/linerl pool, the only variable in maintenance and running costs will be the electricity. After 5 years or longer, depending on the bather load and other upsets, you will have to replace the cell.

I did a cost estimate some timeback for running the SWCG including the cell replacement, and it came to about $20/month.

So I am finding it difficult for you not to think more favorably of an SWCG as an alternative source of chlorine.

Hope this helps.

Pat