When installing your salt water pool or replacing your existing salt chlorination system, you must ensure you purchase a system up front that matches your needs and your pool size. There are several factors you should consider to ensure you pick the right system and don’t have buyer’s remorse because your chlorinator system should last 10 years or more.
With the increasing level of pool automation that exists, you don’t want to buy a system and then realize it doesn’t include a feature you could really use when you consider the cost of the system and also the amount of time and effort a good chlorinator can save you.
And just so we’re clear, the salt water chlorinator is the control panel that manages your pool and automates chlorine production, something a regular chlorine pool doesn’t require or include.
Here are 5 factors to choose a salt water pool chlorinator to adequately meet your pool needs now and in the future.
Your pool volume
Instead of picking a chlorinator and salt cell that matches your pool size in volume (gallons or liters) pick one that has a capacity of 1.5x – 2x your pool size. So if your pool was 25,000 gallons in size, get the 40,000 gallon salt cell which is typically the next size up.
Why does this make sense?
If a salt cell has a rating of say 15,000 gallons, it means that this salt cell is capable of producing chlorine for a 15,000 gallon pool if the chlorinator is run at maximum capacity which most people don’t do. The average chlorinator runs 8 hours per day and is normally set at 50%, meaning half the time the pump is on, it’s producing chlorine which in this case would mean 4 hours per day.
The last thing you want to do is buy a chlorinator that doesn’t fit your pool size in the sense that it’s unable to produce enough chlorine for your pool water volume. The whole point of a chlorinator is to produce chlorine so you need to get this right, up front.
NOTE: It’s actually your salt cell that determines the water capacity so keep an eye open for salt cells that offer different size options. Hayward AquaRite salt cell models are offered for 15,000, 25,000 and 40,000 gallon pools which typically cost around $300, $450 and $600 respectively. So if you had a 25,000 gallon pool, you’d be better served spending an extra $150 and getting the 40,000 gallon salt cell.
Your expected pool usage
If you have a small household and will only use the pool yourselves, that’s pretty normal usage. But if you like entertaining and having pool parties, and you have kids who expect to have their friends over and might have more than usual pool usage, that’s another.
Modern chlorinator systems often come with useful features such as Super Chlorinate that enables you to bump up chlorine production in anticipation of heavy pool usage. If you hear about “shocking” a pool, for a salt water pool it involves using the Super Chlorinate feature. It’s often recommended to do this up to once per week during hot summer weather to help temporarily bump up chlorine production to keep the pool sanitized (clean) when chlorine is most needed.
Chlorine gets used and killed off every time humans or animals enter the pool and it’s also very susceptible to direct sun which also kills it. Super Chlorination turns chlorine production on 100% for a set period of time that you choose to ensure your pool water remains clean and clear.
Your pool environment
Where do you live and how can it affect your pool? As mentioned above, direct sun kills chlorine so the hotter the weather, the more chlorine you will require. It has been reported that direct sun can reduce chlorine effectiveness by up to 90% within 2 hours so the more sun you get the more chlorine you will require.
While using a solar pool cover and stabilizer can help to shield your water from the sun’s rays the reality is that your pool is generally going to be exposed to the sun and it’s the hot sun that makes us want to swim in the first place.
Also, do you have a backyard filled with plants, trees, soil, etc? Wind will draw leaves, twigs, soil and possibly small rodents, worms, etc into the pool which helps to contaminate the water and use up chlorine. The more organic material that gets into your pool, the more you’ll also have to deal with phosphates.
A major problem for many pool owners are phosphates entering the pool which can lead to algae growth. It also eats up chlorine which in turn make algae growth more likely. Phosphates enter the pool from a variety of sources including fertilizer used by you or your neighbors that blows into your pool as well as dead leaves that also fall in. Leaves, twigs, etc rot and add to the problem.
Plus, you and other swimmers may also bring phosphates into the pool from shampoo and soap products that you use.
The more sun and external contaminants like phosphates enter your pool, the more chlorine you will need and the more your chlorinator will need to be able to deal with these factors.
Your desire for automation
One of the great things about salt water pools is the chlorinator itself. Whereas a regular chlorine pool typically just has a pool pump, a salt water pool chlorinator additionally has the salt water chlorinator unit which is usually a box with controls inside it that manages the pool functions including the creation of chlorine.
But depending on the model you choose it can also offer other features that will make your life as a pool owner easier. Features like:
- Pump timer and scheduling
- Live chlorine level monitoring
- Auto salt cell cleaning
- Integration with a heater, light and water feature
- Salt level monitoring in real time
- Water flow monitoring
- Troubleshooting features
This is a very short list but it includes some of the big ones that you will probably find very helpful.
If you own a higher end chlorinator already, you may assume that all chlorinators offer these features but they don’t. The first chlorinator I had was a first generation old school Lectranator model (they are now out of business) that literally just had an on/off switch and a dial that went from 1-10 for chlorine production.
Even today, cheaper entry level models may seem like a good buy but you’d be amazed at how spending more on a better chlorinator model will make your pool ownership easier and more relaxed.
Your future needs
Some pool owners might look at the pool as being the start of something bigger. A pool is a big cost – $30,000 to $80,000 to build an inground pool isn’t out of the question. Many pool companies will suggest that you build the pool and then worry about other stuff later on so you don’t go too deep in the hole right away in terms of costs.
Specifically, some people like to add things like a pool heater, spa pool, water feature, lighting and other cool things in their backyard in and around their pool in the future. All of these cost money of course and you might want to plan for these things in the future rather than doing it when building the pool.
Cheaper salt water chlorinators – and even quality models from well-known chlorinator manufacturers – don’t always come with the same functionality. Higher end models enable you to automate many aspects of your pool and related effects such as the ones we mentioned above and have the ability to control them through the chlorinator.
Plus, some chlorinators are now smartphone-enabled so you can monitor pool functions and turn them on and off while away from home. While you might not appreciate these features in theory, you might actually grow to use them once you realize the benefits. A few years back the thought of remotely operating your home lights, thermostat or electric blinds was out the question but many people take advantage of this regularly now. Your pool can offer similar functionality.
So if you are thinking about adding a whirlpool, a waterfall, lighting or some other feature, look for a chlorinator that has the ability to add it to the system. Some chlorinators have the ability to add numerous other devices to the system and even manage multiple flow valves which would be required if adding a hot tub onto the same system.
Summary
A few last things to think about when choosing a salt water chlorinator for your pool:
- Ensure you choose the correct salt water chlorinator to meet your current needs up front as you’re installing it. It is important that you pick a model that is actually capable of serving your pool size in terms of water volume.
- Think about the type of pool usage you have planned and you can decide whether or not it’s expected that your usage might require features that can quickly increase chlorine production during events such as pool parties or even heavy rain storms.
- Also consider your home environment including your local area’s weather and sun exposure and specifically your backyard area’s vegetation and plant life.
- A salt water pool is a still a chlorine pool. A salt water chlorinator turns salt into chlorine albeit a form of chlorine that doesn’t come with the strong smell that we associate with pools. It’s a chlorine that is easier on the skin and eyes too.
- An amount of actual liquid or crystal chlorine is used by the system each season typically in the spring when the pool is opened and perhaps at the end of the season when the pool is closed. So chlorine is still used by a salt water pool at times. You need some chemical chlorine to get the system up and running.
- Some chlorinator models can be directly plugged into a wall socket whereas others need to be hard wired. Take this into consideration because if you buy a hardwired model you might need to hire an electrician to figure it out, at an extra cost to you. If you’re building a new pool, you might want to put the pool equipment close to the house rather than at the end of the backyard as that will lead to an increased cost to lay wiring for a hard wired unit.
One final note: I didn’t include your budget as a factor for choosing a salt water chlorinator because quite frankly if you’re spending tens of thousands of dollars on building a pool, a cheap chlorinator for several hundred dollars versus a professional and quality one that probably costs $1,200 – $1,800 installed isn’t a huge factor when you consider the total cost. The last thing you want to do is build (or already own) a nice pool and then go cheap with the chlorinator which is the driving force behind the salt water pool in the first place.