I bought a pool and was sold on the salt system as the better option. I was told that there is less chlorine in the pool and it is more comfortable for bathers. I was told that there was less maintenance because the salt system makes chlorine so I wouldn't have to buy chlorine.
After owning a pool for 4 years, I am not so sure. I was curious if anyone performed a true analysis of the return on investment for a SWG electrolytic salt system. My pool came with the Zodiac Aquapure 1400 Nature2 Fusion system. My pool is approximately 20,000 gallons. I have an auto-cover that remains closed 95% of the time. I maintain it myself.
Things they did not tell me.
1. You will have to check pH and buy acid or PH minus and add it to your pool weekly, I usually add 4.5 cups of muriatic acid per week.
2. You will have to check your chlorine level and add chlorine when there is high swimmer load or your pool gets dirty.
3. The salt system is a maintenance headache and the salt cell will need to be replaced every 3 years at a cost of $600. It frequently spits out error codes and does not reliably talk to the PDA remote.
Cost of chlorine pool:
No significant start up costs, maybe $50-100 for chlorine feeder or you can just place in skimmer baskets.
$2/lb for chlorine
Test strips (which you need either way)
no other maintenance costs
Cost of SWG pool:
Salt system $1250, generates 1 lb chlorine per day
Electricity cost - assume 100w x 10 hours/day = 1kwh/day x 120 days = 120kwh x 20c = $24 per year, not much
Cell replacement $600 every 3 years
Salt $10 per 40lb bag, 3 bags/ year
Acid cost $10/gal about 8 gallons per year = $80
In summary, 10 year cost:
SWG = 1250 + 240 + 600 +600 +300 + 800 = $379/yr
Chlorine 120 lbs = $240/yr
I think we have been duped by the pool industry. Chlorine costs maybe $250/year. The salt systems cost less to run ONLY if you do not count the cost of the salt system and the replacement cells which you will need. Over the long run, chlorine is 35% less than salt systems.
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