Buying a Salt Water Pool System

Salt water pools are incredibly popular because they provide silky soft water, eliminate the strong chemical odor of traditional chlorine, and save you from constantly buying, transporting, and storing heavy buckets of liquid or tablet chlorine. But how do you choose the right one?

How Salt Systems Work

A salt water pool is not a chlorine-free pool. Instead of adding chlorine manually, you add salt to the pool water. As this mildly salty water passes through the salt cell (installed on your equipment pad), an electrical charge causes a process called electrolysis, converting the salt into pure chlorine. Once the chlorine does its job sanitizing the pool, it reverts back into salt, and the cycle continues.

How to Size a Salt Cell

The most common mistake pool owners make is undersizing their salt cell. Manufacturers rate cells based on the maximum pool size they can handle when running 24/7 at 100% output.

• The Rule of Thumb: Always buy a salt cell rated for at least 1.5 to 2 times the actual volume of your pool.
• Example: If you have a 15,000-gallon pool, you should purchase a salt system rated for a 30,000 or 40,000-gallon pool (like a Pentair IC40 or Hayward T-CELL-9).
• Why? Sizing up means the cell doesn't have to work as hard or run as long to generate the necessary chlorine. This significantly extends the lifespan of the cell and saves electricity.

Maintenance

Salt cells require periodic cleaning to remove calcium scale buildup. This involves soaking the cell in a mild acid solution every 3-6 months. A well-maintained salt cell typically lasts 3 to 7 years before needing replacement.