A chlorine generator gives you more convenience and lower environmental impact.But I would not recommend it to everyone.After installing one on our pool, here are my findings:
Before you try a chlorine generator, consider using a phosphate scavenger such as PoolPerfect plus PhosFree.(I reviewed this product too).It can give you clearer water, less work, less environmental footprint.After that, you may find that it's pretty easy to care for your pool and you may not want to bother with a chlorine generator.I installed my chlorine generator before I knew about that products.
This review applies to large in-ground pools.If you have an above ground pool then you can get a "clip-on" chlorine generator for a lot less money.So that's a different situation than this expensive unit that requires installation by a professional or a very handy-man (or woman).
What about the salt thing?Read the web site, [...], to see how the thing works.Yes, you add salt to your pool water.No, we did not find this offensive.We could taste the salt, but just barely.You have to maintain a salt concentration -- a small one -- to provide chloride ions (as in sodium chloride).Our 25,000 gallon pool required about a dozen bags of salt, 40 lbs per bag, to achieve the required concentration. This cost $8 to $10 per bag.It might seem like a strange idea, but it's no more weird than adding chlorine.
First let me list the Negatives.After reading these, if you're still interested, I'll list the positives from my own experience.
The biggest problem we had is that our pool was losing water.It's a big in-ground pool and we hardly noticed adding water every week.We did not know it was leaking.When water leaks out it takes salt with it, and you have to add more salt. (When water evaporates it leaves the salt behind.No need to add more).It was annoying that I had to add a bag of salt every week.It took me weeks of grief to find and fix our leak, so I'm still peaved about that.I'll get over it.But if your pool loses water, you'll be in the same boat that I was.
The obvious down side is the cost to buy and install the unit.I was not intimidated by the plumbing and wiring required, but it took some time and was not trivial.For safety and code compliance it requires both grounding and Ground Fault Protection.Pool people do this all the time and no handyman should overlook these important requirements.I'm pretty sure that the electrical panel is rated for outdoor use, but I was much happier putting it under a roof.It's safer, and I am less likely to have nuisance tripping of the Ground Fault Protector.
The instructions say to connect it to the same circuit as your pump.When your pump gets turned off, the chlorine generator gets turned off too.I connected it as instructed and I had nuisance tripping of the GFI circuit breaker. I don't know whether this was a ground fault or whether it was overcurrent protection.But I converted the pump and panel to run of 220 (another $100 for a 220 volt GFI breaker) and the problem went away.If each of these problems had been a service call, it would have been expensive.
Another limitation is that the chlorine generator only works down to about 55 degrees.I wanted to generate lots of chlorine when I opened the pool last spring.Didn't work.That's when I tried PoolPerfect with PhosFree.If I had done that earlier, I might not have even tried the chlorine generator.I posted my review of that product too.
I used only the salt that is sold specifically for pools.I did not try the cheaper water-softener-salt because I did not want to give this machine any excuses not to work.
Now for the upside, David Letterman style.
10) The water is VERY clear, and very pleasant.Some credit for this goes to the aforementioned chemicals, but I give credit to the chlorine generator too.
9) Except for startup, I DID NOT BUY CHOLORINE AT ALL!
8) It generates chlorine at a constant rate, so you don't have peaks when chlorine is added, and valleys between.
7) You set the generator for zero to 100% output.Once you have done this you just make occasional corrections.If you are away for a week, the chlorine level should still be pretty good when you get back.
6) Fewer hazardous chemicals around the pool.
5) Lower environmental impact.The chlorine changes back in to a chloride ion, which gets recycled.
4) A pool guy told me that the chlorine generator oxidizes the chloramines that irritate your eyes.Otherwise we would have to shock to pool to oxidize chloramines.We did occasionally run the generator at 100%, which boosted chlorine to 5 ppm, but we never added chlorine to shock the pool.
3) You can impress your neighbors with how cool you are. OMG, they still buy chlorine??What Luddites??
2) You can also use the salt to make Margaritas.
1) More time sitting by the pool.Less time messing with it.Other Notes.
Depending on where you live, the longer your pool season, the more you want one of these things.
There are other brands.Gold line has made many of these things, sold under many brand names, including the one being reviewed here.Hayward now owns Gold Line.With Hayward's extensive dealer network, I expect that you will see more and more of these things.
Some pool dealers are now installing these on every new pool, so they must have confidence in them.
I was in a nice hotel pool lately.I tasted slightly salty, so it must have had a chlorine generator.Obviously they are being used in commercial applications.
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