Whelp, got married and now I'm going from the condo life to the house life. We close the end of the month and I wanted to convert our pool to salt, anyone done it? I know people complain you have to replace the cell but I don't want to deal with chemicals and the water is so much 'smoother' if you will. I read the Hayward chlorine generator failed a lot and that's all I know.

Pros? Cons? Recommendations? Should I just stick with chlorine?

 

We viewed a home with salt water system. Our realtor did mention to us at the time - although as nice as it is with low day to day maintenance, salt expedites the wearing of the pool.

- Deck will need replacing MUCH sooner; motar will eventually give out.
- Any leaks around the pump will eventually lead to seizing, which is $$$ to replace.
- Any & all accessories will need replacing due to short lifespan caused by the salt

Patio furniture shouldn't be an issue as long as you dry yourselves prior to sitting.

Our pool is chlorinated and easy to maintain... Now that it's not so windy / storm out (less debris), I vacuum every other week on Saturday mornings. I brush the entire pool once a month. I always keep 2 chlorine tablets inside the skimmer; reload every other week or so, to keep the water looking super clear & clean. I also have a dispenser floating in the pool, but the setting to filter water is very low since I have tabs in the skimmer.... probably unnecessary, but it's backup just in case.

Regarding expenses - I spend roughly $30ish to reload on supplies every three months; that's refilling two jugs and as well as grabbing a large tube of chlorine tablets (50 to 60 tabs).

My opinion, stick with chlorine.

 

Figure out your estimated costs for each over a ten year period and decide based on that?

I love swimming in a salt water pool. Bromine is nice too, but only good for indoor pools due to the evap rate of the gas.

 

Hmm, great information and wow, I thought chemicals were more. I actually just showed my wife your pool (from the Rockstar thread) because I love the palms along the wall. We have a very narrow paver strip along a stucco wall on one side of the pool and want to do what you have (well I do, she said it maybe too much but I'm doing it).Our soon to be pool area looks so bare.

Like Jefford said, love swimming in salt and heard it is easy to maintain. I hear back and forth on salt eating things, many say it won't and just to wash your deck off once a week. I know the ocean water destroys things but this is a much, much lower concentration I'm told. We don't have a pool railing and the seller just put in a new pump that is supposed to be "approved" for salt. I know he is also replacing the heater but not sure on the components in that.

 

No prob & congrats on the new home by the way!

My math was pretty spot on! I stopped by the store this past weekend to restock on supplies; bill was $46.12:
- 1 tub tablets
- 2 containers refilled
- 1 adjustable poll (previous poll wouldn't adjust anymore)

If it weren't for the poll at $19.99, bill would've been $26.13.

Other than what we've been told by someone who doesn't have a salt pool themselves, I can't really knock you for going that route. It's possible it may very will be cheaper to maintain? I'd like to know what the expenses are 3 to 4 months into it once you've settled in.

Landscaping is next on the list for us; grass, black stones, & topiary trees in the front yard.

You should get a thread up soon!

 

Thanks man, I've stopped researching the pool because we have another lawyer as of today, an open permit, no closing scheduled because the title company blows, and no closing info that we have to sign by midnight tonight because they suck too.

Damn, I've always heard people saying closing is rough just never experienced so much shit and random $1k fees every other day, grrrrrr

Thank you for the info and I'll update once we figure it out.