Salt Pool
 

I'm thinking about converting my standard chlorine pool/spa system to salt chlorination. I've been told that the conversion will cost me about $1200 but that I will be able to save on pool maintenance by scheduling service every other week instead of weekly.

I'd love to hear from you if you've had experience with a salt pool for a while. Does it stay clean and algae free even in the hottest months?

Since I'm away for months at a time, is it realistic to expect the pool can remain clean and stable with maintenance visits only twice a month?

Thanks!!

My daughter who lives in Gainesville has just converted her pool from chlorine to salt and she loves it! I told her that I had never swam in a salt water pool, so I couldn't imagine what it would be like. Then she came down to the villages for a visit with the grandkids and we all jumped into the nearest family pool and she said "Dad....didn't you realize that this is a salt chlorination pool?" I never realized that we use salt chlorination in the villages!

I am not a chemist or expert on pool sanitation. My preference is for the salt chorination method over chlorination. Just remember to shower after you get out of the pool, other wise you have a coating of salt and it also does not help the fabric of your golf cart seats.

Our neighbors recently got quotes on the conversion, $1,500 from T&D and $1,200 from Jack's Solar. When we converted over two yrs ago we eliminated our weekly maint visits and handle that ourselves. The pool does stay clean but we have found that in the hotter months we do need to add stabilizer once a month.
I do not think you would have pool issues with bi-weekly maint visits. But the question would be does anyone do bi-weekly visits? Before we opted for the salt we checked a couple of vendors and neither would do a bi-weekly visit so we opted to handle it ourselves.

I agree with the salt water pool only needing maintenance every other week. But finding a company to do that is another story. Did the people that told you every other week suggest a company that will do it that way? T&D won't.

Bob

I have salt chlorination and weekly service. Occasionally two weeks have gone by between service calls and the pool stayed clean. I have the pump run eight hours each day, and the chlorinator runs at that time. If it gets low on salt an alert pops up on the remote. I also believe the pool service companies are weekly only.

I remember the first cruise I went on. I jumped into the pool and it was pure salt water. I had no idea, but of course it makes perfect sense that the pool if filled with filtered sea water. The feeling I had was like when you bite into something expecting something and getting something entirely different.

I know, off topic.

I never noticed that from the TV pools. Maybe I just never noticed since they were rental carts:)

Love salt!
 

We have had our pool here in VA for 19 years and we have had a salt chlorinator the entire 19 years! It is the way to go! I would never have the tradtional one again. No chemicals to add, no worries, just set it and forget it! It is not actually a "salt water pool" like cruise lines. It takes salt and breaks it down to it's natural state of sodium chloride, hence, natural chlorine. It saves you $$ on chemicals but mostly it is the ease of ownership. We leave and spend 2-3 weeks in TV and never have anyone check our pool for chlorine,algae, etc. . The only reason our neightbor peers over the yard is for the water level , (getting low when its really hot.) The chlorinator keeps our water chemistry perfect 90 % of the time. Be aware, it only runs when you run the pump for those of you that cut your pool pumps off to save electric $$. We run our pump 24 hrs a day in VA especially when we are gone. . Believe me you will love it, we do. And yes, all of the pools in TV are salt ( at least the ones I have been in) We realized that the minute we jumped in, water was soft and very familiar. Oh, and also another benefit is..no faded liners or bathing suits, and no itchy red eyes or skin!

Thank you! This is the kind of information I've been looking for. I run my pump 8 hours a day but I think your suggestion of running it as much as full time is a probably the best reason why your pool needs so little attention. I'd gladly add a little to my electric bill rather than pay the chemical and maintenance costs I have now.

Speaking of cost. Any idea how much to run a typical pool pump per day/month? Say 12 hours per day.

Thanks,

Cost to run pool pump....
 

SIMPLE ..... JUST use...... Amps (times) Volts divided by 1000. Take that sum (times ) your cost of elec. per kilowatt hour.....OK..Got it???? NOW.....That sum is the cost, in dollars and cents, to run your pump per hour...SO FAR..so good???...Then MULTIPLY that sum (times) the number of hours you will run the pump..That is the Daily Cost.. Phewwwww.. NOW ..Multiply that times 30 for your monthly cost..............

weekly vs. bi-weekly
 

ANY pool service company "Worth their SALT" ( pun intended) Will ALWAYS require WEEKLY service.. It is as simple as......temps go up...usage goes us... demand for salt(or servicing) increases.. How the He77 is the pool company supposed to know "your" usage ( how many pool parties) and outside temperature for the next TWO weeks. If pool has heavy usage and gets a slippery bottom or steps.....out come the "lawsuits". BESIDES...do you want someone to get hurt in YOUR pool. WEEKLY service covers YOUR axx as well as the pool servicers' axx...On salt pools ....the "salt level" is about 3000 parts per . ( most people "taste" salt at about 3500 parts per) BTW ... sea water is about 35000 parts per.

Gee, thanks:)

Ok can anyone in TV who has a pool already give me a $ figure? It's too early for math.

Russ, I went back and compared my home which you have been to, to our rental home without the pool. It's a bit of a challenge to get exact for pool as the months lived in are different so electric cost and gas cost will vary because of heat and AC differences. However the pool is the major cost delta. Now I keep our pool warm, 86 degrees, year around so winter months the gas heater kicks in often to supplement the solar heat. Mine is not salt so I do use T&D weekly service which runs another $22.50 a week or about $1200 a year. I run the pump about 12 hours a day. These are the average monthly cost difference between the two homes. Homes are very close to the same size and the rental home was lived in a couple months more. These are for 12 months in 2010.

Water runs $30 a month higher, Electric $80 a month higher and gas $40 a month more. Total about $1800 a year. I have the exact numbers if you need them. Add that to the $1200 for T&D and it comes to $3000. I budget $5000 a year for the pool. Actual has been closer to $4000 a year. I have replaced the pump once, gas heater service calls, solar heater service call for a leak, pool light bulb replacement, had to re caulk around the tile to coping, paint the pool deck, etc, make up the other $1000 a year. From the $5000 budgeted, I have about a $3000 reserve for any major repair that happens. And they will happen. Tiles crack, stains on the bottom, and a few other potential issues. But I feel the $5000 a year is really safe. I tell that to other pool owners and they don't believe it, but I have the exact data to back up these numbers.