SWG Operation - Lessons Learned

[clone1008]

The only real negative I found was having to replace the powerboard on the control unit 3 times because of bad quality control on the original LS1000 unit.

Corrosion at the salt levels that the Poolpilot I use (3000 - 3500) has not given any instances of corrosion, other than having to wash the aluminum pool rakes and attachments, which were never designed for a saltwater pool any way. If you do find corrosion to the tile grout or coping, that is evidence of bad workmanship on the part of the pool builder.

In addition, I had to add a fresh water shower to prevent my wife and her swimsuit from being corroded away. BTW she was a pediatric nurse and understands that salty water hurts the eyes less than fresh water.

I think you will find that SWG operation is a far cry from Baquacil and you should find it less troblesome. Having said that make sure you keep your pool chemistry up to par, and you should have no problems.

Hope this helps in your decision.

Pat

Pat,

Thanks for the help. You raise another interesting topic...will the salt water at that low of a level really mess up swim suits? Also, do you really feel the need to fresh water rinse in this type of water? I know the salty feeling of swimming in the Gulf but I didn't think this would be an issue in a pool. In fact most of the websites talk about the "good" feeing skin and no more bleached out suits.

Ric

[PatL34]

Pat,

Thanks for the help. You raise another interesting topic...will the salt water at that low of a level really mess up swim suits? Also, do you really feel the need to fresh water rinse in this type of water? I know the salty feeling of swimming in the Gulf but I didn't think this would be an issue in a pool. In fact most of the websites talk about the "good" feeing skin and no more bleached out suits.

Ric

I think you were taking me too seriously. The fresh water shower is more a convenience to remove the salt from the body and suit, before going in and taking a regular shower. Even public pools without salt have showers for this purpose. And yes you do have "good' feeling skin in a salt water pool, probably better than in the sea.

But even when swimming in the Gulf, the salt content is 3 - 4 times higher than in a salt water pool, but you still take a fresh water shower to remove the sea salt. Sea water to my knowledge has never ruined a swimsuit.

Hope this clears things up.

Pat

[clone1008]

I think you were taking me too seriously. The fresh water shower is more a convenience to remove the salt from the body and suit, before going in and taking a regular shower. Even public pools without salt have showers for this purpose. And yes you do have "good' feeling skin in a salt water pool, probably better than in the sea.

But even when swimming in the Gulf, the salt content is 3 - 4 times higher than in a salt water pool, but you still take a fresh water shower to remove the sea salt. Sea water to my knowledge has never ruined a swimsuit.

Hope this clears things up.

Pat

Point well taken...and thanks for the hygene tips...LOL...just kidding...thanks for all the info you've been very helpful!

Ric

[steveinaz]

Thanks for this thread, great info for pool-newbies like myself.

[Spensar]

Very interesting. Are there considerations for winter storage in the North with several months of below freezing temperatures?

On Ebay I see there are several for $500 to $700. Any particular brand recommended? I saw Hayward Aquarite, The Pool Thing, Zodiac and Pentair for sale in that range.

Any caveats or raves or are they all about the same? Does one use the cell up quicker? Warranty and service support issues?

[PatL34]

I have revised the intial post on this thread, to reflect discussions I had with Chem_Geek regarding the SWCG process.

The main difference is that the pH does not rise. It stays steady. This is the anomaly I saw with members mentioning this with liner pools. However with plaster pools the continuous leaching of calcium hydroxide, will raise the pH and so muriatic acid is needed accordingly. My apologies for any confusion this might have caused.

Pat

[waterbear]

I have a fiberglass pool and have experienced a pH rise with my SWG. It is slow (and even slower now that I have 50 ppm borates in the water) but it is still happening.

[bbb]

Are there considerations for winter storage in the North with several months of below freezing temperatures?

Good question. I just closed my pool in the Northeast, and it's my first year with the Autopilot. 2 questions:

1) Do any of you bring your cell manifold assembly inside for the winter?

and

2) Since I have the Autopilot control assembly in my shed, I would not be able to bring the cables inside. How would I winterize the cables if I remove the cell manifold assembly (I was thinking in tightly sealed plastic bags)

[PatL34]

Tightly sealed bags should be sufficient. When re-opening in the summer, use a hair dryer to dry out the tri-sensor and cell connections on the cables and the cell manifold assembly.

Pat

[cschnurr]

I understand that when I take H20, and NaCl and pass them across the electrically charged plates, I can see how H2 and Cl2 can be formed.

Since the H2 comes from water, the remaining oxygen will dissipate.
However the Cl2 come from NaCl. What happens to the sodium, where does it go?