Clean Water Pools

Looking for a Hayward salt cell replacement for a saltwater pool system? Maybe you’re interested in switching from a chlorine pool system to a saltwater pool system. Let’s look at some of the maintenance costs, conversion costs, and replacement costs for chlorine and saltwater pool systems and the alternatives.

The cost of maintaining a chlorine or saltwater pool system

An average salt system replacement cell is around $400

A little shopping around, and you’ll see that the national average cost of maintaining a chlorine or saltwater pool per year is around $230 with a range of $160-$690, depending on your location. This cost is what you would spend in a year on chlorine and chemicals alone to treat the pool water. Keep in mind that most traditional feeder systems and salt systems (as well as most UV light and mineral treatment systems) require the use of chlorine (at the very least) as well as salt, algaecides, stabilizers or other minerals to treat the pool water on a weekly basis. So even if you make the switch from chlorine to a saltwater pool, you’ll still be paying for large amounts of chlorine and/or salt to maintain the pool.

The cost of a salt system replacement cell

Saltwater pool systems have cells that need to be replaced every 3-5 years. This cost is in addition to the cost of salt or other installation costs. An average salt system replacement cell is around $400. Since this cost is incurred every 3 to 5 years, you can divide this cost by 5 and factor it in to what your yearly maintenance costs are, but also note that saltwater systems also erode masonry and interior pool lighting over time, so there will be hidden costs of repair over the lifespan of the pool.

The cost of a chlorine free pool system

The average cost to switch to an oxygen pool is around $399

One of the options we get asked about is the Oxygen Pools. While the system looks appealing, the cost and water quality issues over the long run doesn’t stand up against a salt system. Oxygen Pools requires a weekly dose of their formula, 1lb per 10k gallons and its not cheap. If you have water quality issues, and you will, it’ll require a double dose of formula and running the pump none stop. The low residual of oxidizer in the water often results in different types of algae blooms or pink slime that will require other specialty chemicals and dosing extra formula. Some people like it and deal with the issues to avoid chlorine. Chlorine its the number one best sanitizer for pool water, you don’t want to play around with dunking your head in dirty water. Unless there is an extreme allergy to chlorine, we recommend chlorine for the safest water.

Conclusion

Salt cells can be expensive to replace but if taken care of with regular maintenance it can offer lasting value and connivance. With a salt system you also have the added benefit of on site chlorine production.  If you don’t go with a salt cell replacement, chlorine powder and tabs work just fine. Check out the Pool Chemical Calculator for help on balancing your chemicals.