For about 7 months of the year, my SGW is disconnected (Canada), so lets say my cell is rated for 10,000 hours. My cell can sustain proper chlorination at a rate of 40% per hour on average. So in one day lets say the cell is on 9.6 hours (this is assuming you are running your pump 24/7) 9.6 x 31 days (month) = 297.6 hours per month of cell runtime x 4.5 months = 1339.20 hours a year, that gives me 7.4 years of cell life... so lets say for arguments sake it really doesnt last that long, so lets just take 1 year off its life. 6.5 years. So in 13 years it would have cost me 2 cells, about $2000. and I am sure in 6.5 more years the cost of cells might even come down a little. So lets see.

Amortized over 13 years it would cost me approx 153.86 per year to own an SWG, divide that by the 4.5 months I have my pool open, thats $34.19 a month. Ok, as stated in previous posts, there are electricity cost to run it, heck, I'll even round up to $40 per month, and yes there is salt costs and acid costs, but there is also costs associated with putting gas in your car to go and get bleach (I'm not even going to try and figure that cost out) Lets just assume your cost of gas vs. salt is a wash. I am not sure what the real cost of bleach over a month is, it appears to be anywhere from 8.80 to 16.80, I guess the bigger the pool the more the chlorine. Lets take the middle and go with $12.00. So 40.00 - 12.00 gives me $28.00. Now what about the days where you go away for a long weekend or vacation, what costs do you associate with having to have a neighbor pour the bleach in, or having a pool service do it. And what if they mess up, there are far more costs in bringing it back up to speed. Now, an SWG isnt foolproof, but it can save you from that neighbor that was suppose to check on your pool that long weekend but forgot and now it has become green. Lets talk real world here, not everyone can stay home the entire season and check on their pool everyday. I'll pay that $28 insurance, especially when my swimming season is very short.