Choosing A Salt Chlorine Generator
The salt chlorine generator is the largest investment you make in a salt water pool, so its important to choose the right one. Although theres no need to spend more money than you have to, an inadequate or low-quality generator wont work well or meet your needs in the long run. Here are some things to keep in mind when shopping for a salt chlorine generator:
How To Achieve The Perfect Saltwater Chemical Balance
Although you ultimately want to assess the overall levels of your poolyou dont have different test strips for each chemical for a reasonthe perfect chemical balance lies in checking in with your salt, cyanuric acid, free chlorine, pH, total alkalinity, and calcium hardness. Remember, some of these chemicals influence each other, like pH and total alkalinity. So if youre seeing a general trend between these two, make sure youre treating them both in tandem.
Before we get leveling, make sure that you have mined salt thats at least 95% pure, cyanuric acid, a pH increaser, alkalinity increaser, and a calcium hardness increaser. Thats all you need.
Benefits Of A Salt Water Pool Compared To A Traditional Pools
It’s not complicated. The advantages of salt pools are crystal clear:
- No need to buy chlorine – typical cost savings of conventional chlorine of up to 40% or more.
- Significantly easier maintenance – get consistent, reliable pool sanitation.
- Luxurious swimming – get water that feels soft and natural on your skin & eyes.
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Why Have A Saltwater Pool
More and more people are converting to salt water, for big and small reasons. Some of the most popular are:
Installing Saltwater Pool Extras
There are many extras you can purchase to enhance your swimming experience.
- Add a Salt Water Hot Tub Installing a hot tub salt water system costs$500 to $1,700. Any hot tub can be turned into a salt water hot tub, but you can get a molded, hexagonal tub for $3,000 to $10,000. For an inground hot tub, costs can reach around $20,000.
- Handicap Pool Lift A handicap pool lift is available for in-ground pools. One version with a seat that lowers into the water costs $3,355. There are many options for handicap pool lifts, making the pool accessible to nearly every person.
- Patio or deck a concrete pool deck can cost from $3,000 to $10,000, depending on size, design, and complexity.
- Pool Enclosure can cost between $6,000 $8,000
- Pool Fence costs from $600 $4,400
- Water Features
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Preparing Your Pool For Conversion
We only need to balance our pool water in order to convert it for use with a salt water chlorinator! Contrary to urban legends, theres no need to drain and completely change out our pool water if we want to convert it. The first thing we need to do is to balance our pool water to the following levels:
- Free Chlorine: 1-3 PPM
The Pros And Cons Of Salt Water Pools
Hazardous to handle and store, chlorine can irritate the skin and the eyes. Its no wonder, then, that many people opt for salt water pools, which offer some big advantages over traditional chlorinated swimming pools. Salt water pools do have some downsides you need to consider before purchasing one, however. To decide which type of pool might be right for you, consider the pros and cons of each.
Salt Water Systems vs. Traditional Chlorinated Pools
If you dont know much about salt water filters and pools, the facts may surprise you. For one, they arent anywhere close to being as salty as seawater. In fact, they have only about one-tenth the salinity. Second, they arent completely chlorine-free. Instead, the system uses a process called electrolysis to create chlorine, which disinfects the water.
What are the Pros and Cons of a Salt Water Pool?
Salt Water Pool Advantages
- Because they have lower chlorine levels, salt water pools are much gentler on the eyes and skin.
- Research indicates that salt water systems may be safer than chlorine pools, which force owners to store and handle unsafe chemicals. Likewise, studies suggest that regular exposure to heavily chlorinated swimming pools could pose long-term risks.
- Salt water pools produce softer-feeling water, which many find desirable.
- Because the salt cells in a salt water system only produce chlorine as needed, the pools require far less maintenance when compared to traditional chlorinated swimming pools.
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S To Converting Your Pool To Saltwater
Once you have converted to a saltwater swimming pool, continue maintenance as usual. This will help to assure clean, clear water and extend the life of your pool equipment.
Q: How Much Salt Do I Need For A Salt Water Pool
The amount of salt you need will vary for each salt generator and will also be dependent on your pool size in gallons.
But in general, adding 8 lbs of pool salt raises the level by 1,000 ppm per 10,000 gallons of water.
So, if you have a 20,000 gallon pool, you would probably need about 12 40 lb bags of salt to get it to the recommended 3,000 ppm level.
Of course, that assumes you are starting from zero, which most new pools will be at.
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Q: Can You Put Chlorine In A Salt Water Pool
A: Yes, it’s completely safe to use chlorine in a salt water pool, and sometimes completely necessary.
Now, you shouldnt be having to use chlorine in it all the time or that would defeat the purpose.
However, you probably still need to be using chlorine shock to treat your pool occasionally just like with a regular pool.
And if you notice a problem with algae or are having trouble keeping your pH levels balanced, you’ll need to use it more often.
What Are My Other Options
According to Dobson, a popular alternative, especially in the northeast, is saltwater pools, which comprise 95 percent of Dobson Pools’s new builds. While these pools aren’t chlorine-less, they are much better for the environment. “Salt pools have what are called salt-chlorine generators,” explains Dobson. “These convert basic table salt into chlorine with electrolysis, so the salt is electronically charged.” That way, she explains, “factories dont have to be producing chlorine.” Plus, the chlorine generated by electrolysis is “so much softer on the skin.”
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Should You Convert Your Inground Pool To Saltwater
The benefits of converting your pool to a salt system are clear, but it might cause you more problems in the end if your pool is incompatible.
It might not be a good idea to switch to a salt system if your inground pool has any metal parts in the structure or if you have metal accessories. You might also choose to steer clear of salt if you have a plaster surface.
However, in most cases, unless your pool has metal walls that can corrode, a saltwater pool can make pool maintenance much easier and give you a better swimming experience overall.
Still thinking about your options when it comes to inground pools, and whether or not you’d like to use a salt system to keep it clean? Take our Pool Type Quiz, which includes a question about saltwater to help you figure out which type of pool best suits your needs:
If you’d like to learn more about salt systems, feel free to check out our guides below. Happy swimming!
Understanding Salt Water Pools And Cold Water Temperatures
We have people call us alot this time of year asking , “Why do you need to install a 3″ floating chlorinator when I have a salt pool? Is something wrong with my salt cell generator?”
So I am here to tell you, most likely the answer is an emphatic “No”. The salt cell generator is fine. Not to say that is true 100% of the time, but is a large amount of the time.
The reason that we need to install the floating chlorinator is simply due to the fact that we need to keep a little chlorine in the pool even in the cold and winter months.
The salt cell generators are made to work when pool water temperatures are above 60 degrees.
In pool water temperatures that are 60 degrees or below, the salt generators simply shut down and by design do not allow the salt cell to ionize the salt and convert it to chlorine. Once the pool water temperatures rise above 60 degrees again, the control boards automatically recognize this and “kick” the generator back on and allow for the ionization of the salt to be converted to chlorine.
This does not mean that we do not add salt to the pool if readings are low. It simply means that the salt cells need a little help during the cold months when water temperatures are low. We do take the floaters out once the water temperatures heat back up and the salt cells are converting chlorine again.
I hope this helps to clear up the need to install the floating chlorinators during the cold months.
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Minimize Your Chlorine Demand
You wouldn’t be ok with trying to have your home’s HVAC unit try to compensate for windows and doors that were left open all the time, right? It’s the same with your pool’s sanitation. It is crucial to eliminate issues that can multiply the amount of chlorine it takes to keep clean water . The most high-impact levels to monitor are phosphates , nitrates , and stabilizer . When any of these three are at issue, it’s possible for a pool to require many times higher amounts of chlorine in order to maintain the extra 1-3ppm residual level of unused free chlorine that you need.
Is It Right For Me
Maybe. More extreme temperatures make natural swimming pools a little trickier to maintain in the U.S. than in Europe. Julie Dobson of Dobson Pools, a second-generation family-owned pool installer in Connecticut , warns that a natural pool may not be right for all environments. “They are really impractical for our region because our swim season is only 3 months,” she explains. “The body of water is sitting stagnant for the rest of .” Dobson notes that the few clients for whom she has installed natural pools have wound up converting to another system. In hotter climates, natural pools will need a top-tier filtration system to control algae.
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How Much Can I Expect To Spend
There’s a wide range. If you’re just looking to lay down a vinyl or fiberglass liner, prices might start at $5,000 or $10,000 . If you want a custom build and install, you’re looking more in the $70,000 range, estimates Total Habitat . A salt-conversion system for an existing pool, Dobson says, costs around $3,400.
Will It Increase My Home’s Value
It might, though probably not a ton. The data set for natural pools specifically is too low to analyze, but Zillow says that homes with pools, in general, sell for 1 percent higher than those without and are snapped up a few days faster, according to . That said, homes with poorly maintained pools are likely to have a harder time selling.
Have questions about your next renovation project? Weve got answers. Lets do this together.
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Blue Skies Make Blue Pools
The sky is blue. Water is reflective. So, logically, swimming pools are blue because they reflect the color of the sky.
FALSE
The blue color of the sky has little to do with the color of water. Have you ever seen a glass of water turn blue because it is outside? Are indoor pools any less blue than their outdoor counterparts?
Enjoy Your Salt Water Pool
Get started today! You can convert your chlorine pool into a saltwater swimming pool and enjoy the benefits of salt water chlorination right in your own backyard. If your pool has a traditional chlorine sanitization system, you can easily switch to Haywards advanced salt chlorination system.
Contact your local Hayward Dealer today to learn how you can create an optimal salt water pool experience.
To learn more about the advantages of salt water pools, read our blog article Advantages of Salt Water Pools.
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Everything You Need To Know About Salt Water Pools
Have you heard people talking about salt water pools and wondered what all the hype was about?
Im not here to convince you one way or the other.
The decision on whether to have a salt water pool or not is usually just a matter of preference.
All I’m here to do is give you the low-down on what they are so you can decide for yourself.
How To Convert A Chlorine Pool Into A Saltwater Pool
Whether you just completed new pool construction or have had your pool for years, you may be intrigued by the notion of saltwater pool conversion. Transitioning from chlorine to a saltwater pool does have various benefits. They include avoiding the skin itchiness, eye redness, and toxic fumes that accompany chlorine. With the new pool, you will drastically cut the number of chemicals you need to buy and introduce to the pool.
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What Turns Pool Water Blue
When it comes to above-ground and in-ground pools, there are a lot of frequently asked questions about pool health and upkeep. But did you know that one of the most common questions about pools is, Why are pools blue? There are many myths regarding what turns pool water blue. Lets look at a few of these myths and get to the bottom of the pool color mystery.
Can you tell the truth from the lies?
Life With A Salt Water Pool
Now that youve completed your salt water pool conversion, what will maintenance be like? Your salt water chlorination system only creates chlorine from saltit does not balance your water. Youll still need to test your water regularly, sometimes adding chemicals to balance it.
These chemicals are the same ones youd use in a chlorine pool. But remember, your water will no longer require the large amounts of maintenance chlorine for sanitizing.
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What Is A Saltwater Pool
One of the biggest misconceptions about a saltwater pool is that they don’t use chlorine to keep the water clean. This is not the case, as chlorine is still used as a sanitizing agent. The difference is that with a saltwater pool the salt works with a salt cell to produce the chlorine for you as it is needed. This not only means you won’t have to handle liquid chlorine or chlorine tablets, but your pool will generally have lower chlorine levels than it would with a traditional system.
As the chlorine is regulated through your salt cell and its connected automation system, your pool will not experience the constant seesaw of spikes and drops commonly associated with traditional chlorine pools. For a more detailed comparison, check out our breakdown of chlorine vs. saltwater vs. mineral pools.
What Are The Benefits Of A Salt Water Pool
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