Electrolytic Chlorine Generators
Are these the Facts or is it all Fiction?
This is the sales hype: "Install a Salt Chlorine Generator, pour 250 pounds of granular salt into your water, set it and forget it. Salt generators remove the need for any regular pool maintenance and will sanitize your pool without chemicals. They are fully automatic chlorine free systems - you never have to buy chlorine again or suffer any of its unwanted side effects . . . and you'll swim in silky smooth water"
The fact is that chlorine generators, when working, do just one thing - They generate chlorine from the salt you put in the water, so you won't have to go and buy it, store it or handle it. Nothing more and nothing less.
You'll never need to buy chlorine again! This is the touted advantage. Gone are the trips to the pool store to purchase chlorine, hauling it home and handling it. You'll save all that money you previously spent buying chlorine tablets and liquid chlorine. Then they follow with the further false premise that, once a unit is installed on your pool, it pretty well takes care of everything. Forget all about the other tests and the balance chemicals. Then the clincher is when they state that it will make your swimming experience smoother to the skin.
Today these units are being sold as if they are the very latest state-of-the-art technology, when in fact the technology has been around for decades and they are only now again making a comeback in popularity as poolside electric devices for producing chlorine. Over the last number of years we've witnessed several manufacturers of salt generators, such as the Arion, Lectranator, UniClor, Kreepy Klear, and others that have been in and out of business, we know as we misguidedly sold and installed many of them. The past popularity of these units gradually vanished from the marketplace due to their disappointing engineering that could not provide the promised performance, durability and longevity. The older units were not as costly as those being offered today. Some of the current units range from $900.00 to as much as $1500.00.
Yes, Tri-City Pool Service over the years has sold many of these salt-water chlorine generators, all in good conscience and intentions and I dare say none of those we installed continue to be in service today. They have all self-destroyed or caused enough peripheral damage to be intentionally removed. What we have learned over time is that negatives associated with their operation greatly outweigh the purported benefits. Therefore we no longer recommend the concept of poolside chlorine generation, unless you first understand the problems and you insist on becoming a owner. Today we fail to see them as a practical method for providing and adding chlorine to swimming pool water. Plus, the financial payback so eagerly claimed possible by folks that advocate their use simply cannot be substantiated, in our opinion.
Yet, some dealers continue to favor the idea of salt generators for swimming pool chlorine. We surmise their reason is the possible incentive of a quick sale and a nice profit. Their rationale is that they can make more instant profit selling one salt generator, than by selling you years of chlorine tablets or liquid chlorine.
While most of what they express in their sales brochures could be considered merely sales hype and exaggeration, they wrongly fail to acknowledge the obvious negatives to the use of salt chlorine generators. Omitting the negative issues can be very unfair to the consumer who experiences costly and detrimental defects later on. Pool owners deserve all the facts necessary for an intelligent buying decision, both good and bad..
Some dealers fail to tell you the need for the continued weekly adjustments of the balance parameters and the extent of the associated cost of these required chemicals, (specifically); pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness and cyanuric acid.
They may also fail to remind you that these electric chlorine generators use an abundance of salt and electricity that translates to a monthly operational cost of anywhere up to $20.00 to operate.
They also may fail to disclose that the expensive ruthenium coated titanium plates in the generator cell itself have an estimated design life of only approximately 10,000 hours of operation before requiring replacement. This translates to a need to replace the expensive cell unit after just 2 to 3 years. You'll need to anticipate purchasing an expensive new replacement unit with a dollar amount that will probably offset all or more of your savings gained from not buying chlorine for that period of time.
The claim that the water will leave a soft and silky feel to the skin, while may in fact be true, it is the salt that leaves this feeling. Is this a benefit or as many who swim in salt water say they feel a need to shower off with fresh water after swimming? So while the salt in the water may seem to be an advantage to some, and is a requirement to the operation of the generator, may not be desirable to others. Matter of fact, if one wanted the "soft feel" of salt water you could just add salt to your pool with your conventional chlorine system. Or better yet, to avoid the corrosiveness of common salt, the chemical 20 Mule Team Borax (intetraborate) can be substituted with much better results.
Next, there is the problem with corrosiveness as a result of salt water. When salt is added to pool water it is a if you were creating a 20,000-gallon electrolyte battery that results in the occurrence of galvanic corrosion. Often called electrolysis, this corrosive action attacks all the metal components in contact with the water, the interior finish of the pool plus the cementaceous decking and coping around the pool.
Follow these links for more information on the disadvantages of salt-water chlorine generators:
A Television News Report on Youtube.com
An Article Appearing on Poolnerd.com
These interesting links with topics relative to your swimming pool will provide you with additional information regarding salt-water generators.
Remember all chlorine is the same once it is in the water. A chlorine generator's only function is to produce chlorine from the salt in the water so you'll not need to buy and handle it. There are more conventional chlorine compounds and delivery systems that are time tested that avoid the potential corrosive results. When considering what the best method of introducing chlorine automatically into your swimming pool should be, our recommendation is the installation of a Stenner automatic chemical feeder and tank system.
The Stenner feeder dispenses liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) automatically without the negatives of the corrosive salt needed for salt generators or the excessive cyanuric acid byproduct when using 3" chlorine tablets (trichloro). The Stenner is a 50-year-old manufacturing company right here in Florida and their equipment is the perfect chemical feeder for adjustable and accurate feeding and injection of chlorine into pool water and probably the most popular system in our industry. This is the same chemical feeder of choice on all commercial swimming pools and spas that we have under contract for weekly maintenance.
In addition, all chlorine, regardless of its source, is considered to be the first line of defense against the many recreational waterborne illnesses (RWI's) and we now know alone may not be enough to assure safe pool water from the perils of chlorine resistant viruses, bacteria and other protozoa introduced into the pool by swimmers and the environment. Therefore to be assured that your pool water is fully protected, we suggest the installation of a revolutionary product that utilizes ultraviolet technology as a second layer of protection.
We recommend that you consider the installation of a Delta Ultraviolet Sanitizer to be included to work in conjunction with the Stenner chlorine feeder. Thereby assuring safe and healthy swimming pool water.
Don't you owe it to yourself to have the cleanest and safest pool water possible for your family and friends?
For more information and pricing regarding Salt Water Chlorine Generators, the Stenner Automatic Chemical Feeder and Tank System or the Delta Ultraviolet Sanitizers please call and ask a Tri-City Service Representative481.4122 locally or toll free 1.800.741.1780
