Advice on Chlorine generator

[Sean-NJ]

My wife and I were looking into an new inground pool 16*32 with an 8 foot deep end. They offered a chlorine generator for an additional $1300. This is the system http://www.comfortchlor.com/brochure.shtml
I am guessing I will probably save money on chlorine in the long run but I wanted to know if there were any drawbacks to this system? Thanks for any help.

[waste]

Sean, welcome to the forum and congrats on caring for your pool enough to research how to take care of it!! If you follow what you learn here, your pool will be a source of pleasure - not trouble. I'm not familiar with that particular unit, but what they claim is on par with the others available. If this is the unit that your builder has experience with, it's probably best to go with it, as he'll know how to handle any 'irregularities' you may experience. However, give the SWG section here a good read, and see if anyone has had problems with that unit, and see if another might be what you are looking for. You are better off doing a little reasearch rather than regretting a purchase.

[waterbear]

This seems to be a private label SWG. I have seen the identical unit under a few different names. The control panel and cell are always the same (and the design of the cell IS distinctive). Where I work we sell the identical unit under the brand name Resilience. It is our least expensive line. I believe that they might be the actual manufacturer since they seem to have the most models available and the most data on the unique shape of the cell (for structural integrety). They also offer the cell in different outputs for various pool sizes. Then again they just might be buying a more complete line from the actual manufacturer. They are located in Altimonte Springs, FL.

[Sean-NJ]

Thanks for the advice. How much does the salt typically cost for these types of units?

[BogeyGolfer]

I am assuming most all SWG's use the same kind of salt. A 40-50 pound of coarse "solar salt" costs me about $4.30 at Lowe's. I only have to add salt about once or twice a year. Very cheap.

[waterbear]

The initial addition of salt is the main expense. Once the proper salt level is reached very little salt is needed to maintain it. I think I might go thru 2-3 bags of salt a year (if that much) at about $5/bag. Your 16x32 pool with 8 foot deep end will hold about 21000 gallons if it is rectangular and the shallow end is 3 feet. You will initially need about 550 lbs to get you in the ballpark. That's about seven 80 lb bags at about $8/bag ($56) or fourteen 40 lb bags at about $5/bag ($70). Not a big expense! Once the initial salt is in there you only have to replace what is lost by splashout or backwashing.

[Sean-NJ]

The pool builder we are using sells zodiac. I told him we didn't want the nature 2 system but a salt generator only. He suggested this
http://www.clearwater-usa.com/LM3.asp
I guess this is the newer model of the LM2. He couldn't give me a price but said it would be cheaper than the nature 2 system. The only reason I am considering this is because I want everything installed together by the contractor. Any opinions on this system (LM3).
Thanks

[waterbear]

The pool builder we are using sells zodiac. I told him we didn't want the nature 2 system but a salt generator only. He suggested this
http://www.clearwater-usa.com/LM3.asp
I guess this is the newer model of the LM2. He couldn't give me a price but said it would be cheaper than the nature 2 system. The only reason I am considering this is because I want everything installed together by the contractor. Any opinions on this system (LM3).
Thanks

Actually, we sell the LM3 and the duo-clear (same unit with integrated N2 cartrigde) for the same price. They are both made by Zodiac. I would forgo the N2...the Zodiac SWGs are decent units. I personally don't like them as much as the Goldline and PoolPilot units but they seem to perform well. They certainly retail for less. (We sell both the lm3-24 and the duoclear for the same price and it is several hundred dollars less than either the Goldline or Pool Pilot units)

[west1745]

Actually, we sell the LM3 and the duo-clear (same unit with integrated N2 cartrigde) for the same price. They are both made by Zodiac. I would forgo the N2...the Zodiac SWGs are decent units. I personally don't like them as much as the Goldline and PoolPilot units but they seem to perform well. They certainly retail for less. (We sell both the lm3-24 and the duoclear for the same price and it is several hundred dollars less than either the Goldline or Pool Pilot units)

I have the Goldline and am happy with it. I am happy that I decided to spend the extra money on the SWG - it makes pool management much easier. Glad not to have to deal with adding all of the chlorine manually. Sometimes I do add bleach to shock - but not that big of a deal.

You will be glad you got it!! Hope you can find the right one for you.

One thing you might want to ask about is a 2 speed pump. Our pump runs all the time on low speed and that is when the SWG is on. And about 3 hours a day the pump runs on full speed. It is great having the circulation all the time. Just a thought.

This forum is GREAT!

[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.