LevelGroundPool.Com - Pros and Cons of Salt Chlorinator

Swimming Pool Chemicals And An Alternative To Chlorine Tablets

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Benefits (Pros) of a Salt Water Chlorine Generator

  • With this salt water chlorinator, you don't have to use packaged chlorine tablets. And packaged chlorine is a hazardous substance to have sitting around the house. In contrast, the salt chlorine generator uses only ordinary table salt that has not been iodized.
  • The salt needed for the pool only needs to be added once, and then periodically added in small quantities to make up for pool water splashed out. No need to be adding chemicals daily.
  • The salt, pure sodium chloride, is available at virtually any hardware store as water softener salt. This is handy for pool owners in areas lacking pool supply stores.
  • The salt used is very inexpensive. A 40 pound bag of water softener salt costs about $5 or $6 and two and a half of these bags are needed for an Intex 15 foot 48" above ground pool. The total cost of salt was only about $15 for our 15 ft Intex pool.
  • The system is programmed to run automatically. So you program it once and then monitor it to make sure there are no alert codes.
  • The chlorinator has built in sensors to alert you if salt levels are too low. Also, the sensors alert you if water flow is not high enough - the low flow indicator also serves as a handy alert you that you need to change a filter.
  • The water is only about 1/10th as salty as ocean water. It does not sting the eyes and has a barely salty taste.
  • The salt chlorine generator will pay for itself in about 4 months of use.
  • The salt-chlorine generator is extremely easy to program. Simply press left and right buttons as shown in this video clip.

Drawbacks (Cons) of a Salt Water Chlorine Generator

  • Initial cost is high for those on a budget. It costs around $200 for this salt based chlorinator, with some online specials as low as $165 (if you are lucky).
  • If power is interrupted, you must reprogram the chlorinator. It does not take long - press a few buttons (left button, right button, enter hours, left, and then right). But you must reprogram. So if your filter is on a timer, it must be on a different power source than your chlorinator. You can accomplish this with a simple extension cord splitter.
  • The titanium ionization plates need to be cleaned occasionally, perhaps at the end of each season or every few months.
  • The titanium ionization plates have been reported by some to need replacement after a few years. These plates cost a little over $100.
  • A few people have reported this unit failing after 2 or 3 years. If this is assumed to be true, the savings experienced would be somewhat negated. With the chemical option, however, you can count on $50/month in costs as discussed on the Pool Chemicals page so if you got only two years of use you would be no worse off.

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