Switching from Chlorine to Salt

[kmmlangston]

Original poster here.....
Wow. That sure was an interesting exchange...When I read the first response to my post I thought the person was a bit emphatic, to put it nicely, about the subject of SWGs. My thought was, "Well, why do my friends love theirs so much?". Now I know. We are in no hurry to make a change, but while it is on my mind and you all are here to answer questions, I thought I would ask. Thanks, again!
Happy Swimming,
Kelly

[aylad]

Don't let him (or the post exchange) scare you off--helping you get good information (and doing away with those who are giving you bad) is what we're here for!

Janet

[kmmlangston]

Janet, et al,
THANK YOU for all your information! By no means am I scared away! At any point I have questions on anything pool-related, this will be the only place I come to first! I read quite a bit before I ever posted, so I knew that there was a dedicated band of moderators who are incredibly knowlegeable and want to share their knowledge. Both my husband and I appreciate all the information that all of you have posted in response to my questions and concerns. I have a much better understanding of the whole Total Alkilinity/Ph thing than ever. This whole forum is just a wonderful source of information and I have shared it with several people in town.

When it comes time for us to make a decision about switching (or not) to salt, I will check out Sean's company, as I value openness/transparency/whatever you want to call it, and appreciate his feedback.

Thanks, again, everyone.
Best to all,
Kelly

[Poolsean]

Thanks for the consideration Kelly. We're all here to HELP.

[waterbear]

Original poster here.....
Wow. That sure was an interesting exchange...When I read the first response to my post I thought the person was a bit emphatic, to put it nicely, about the subject of SWGs. My thought was, "Well, why do my friends love theirs so much?". Now I know. We are in no hurry to make a change, but while it is on my mind and you all are here to answer questions, I thought I would ask. Thanks, again!
Happy Swimming,
Kelly

Well, this guy had an agenda since his job is chlorinating pools with chlorine gas (which is an excellent method but not something the home pool owner can do himself). SWGs definitely cut into his business (since they do much the same, as he even stated!) so he is going to do what he can to try and discredit them!

[ianitrix]

I move into my new house which already has a 2 year old pool but I would love to switch it over to salt. Ive been trying to read on the forums here on how to do this but I havent found a guide on how to do this myself. Is there a machine that someone could recommend I buy so I could do some research on

Thanks
ian

[CarlD]

I'm not the PF expert on SWCG, but I can give you these starters:

First: You are not switching over from chlorine to salt, you are simply using salt to generate the chlorine for you since salt is Sodium Chloride--you can always add additional chlorine.

Second: There are some simple, do-it-yourself systems, but they are for smaller pools--12,000 gallons, max. Some don't even need plumbing.

Third: Many of the better systems require some wiring, handled by a licensed electrician. But an experienced do-it-yourself-er may be able to handle it. I think some require 220v service.

Fourth: You will need to add salt to your water and test for it. Solar salt is usually best.

Fifth: You will need to have different chem levels than you are used to--CYA around 80ppm but FC only around 2 or 3.

Sixth: You will probably find your pH rises all the time and you are adding Muriatic acid frequently. There MAY be levels of T/A and CH that control that--again for the experts to guide you.

Seventh: You will probably LOVE it and wonder how you did without it. I don't know. I find adding LC ever other day or less to be pretty low-level in terms of effort. But everyone here who has one loves it! Personally, I prefer to spend the jack on a top-notch remote control robotic cleaner. But that's just me.

[BigTallGuy]

I move into my new house which already has a 2 year old pool but I would love to switch it over to salt. Ive been trying to read on the forums here on how to do this but I havent found a guide on how to do this myself. Is there a machine that someone could recommend I buy so I could do some research on

Thanks
ian

Hi Ian. I would simply like to add my 2 cents in regards to switching from Traditional Chlorine to Chlorine generated from Salt. I have an 11,500 gallon AG pool and had to replace the liner in May of 2010. I drained my pool of course and added the SWCG at the same time. But draining is not required. I calculated the amout of salt I needed, which was approximately 7-8 40lb. bags of Pool salt and added 6 bags to start. Once the water level was back up and the system running, I had the salt level tested and added another full bag, making a total of 7 bags or 280 lbs. The "Low Salt" light on the SWCG went out and that was all there was to it. I recommend only Morton Pool Salt without the Stabilizer. Cost is about $5-$8 per bag. It is fast dissolving and pure.

The last and final thing is what I refer to in a different post that I started is "Fine Tuning" a Salt Water Pool. You will have to determine a few things like how long to run your filter, CYA levels etc. but once you find your settings, it is bliss.

My only surprise in the entire ordeal was that keeping the pH down is a challenge, and this topic has been covered in many different Posts and threads.

In Short, I love my salt water pool and I am not sorry I did it. I would do it again. I was afraid the grand kids would shun the salt water taste, but they didn't.

If you want an idea of the approximate Salt level, dissolve one tablespoon of salt in a gallon of clean tap water (not your current pool water) and take a taste. That will give you about the same level as required by most SWCG's. Some people can taste it and some cannot.

And FYI, the Oceans of the world would have approximately 9-10 tablespoons of salt in the same gallon of water.