DIY Friendly Guide to Converting ANY Pool to Saltwater
Saltwater pool conversion" might sound like there is a lot involved. If you're wondering how you convert to salt, it
really doesn't involve any big procedures...
Buying a saltwater system for your pool is a big step!
It makes sense to do a little research before you buy, right?
If you want to convert from chlorine...
When it comes to saltwater pools vs chlorine pools, there are a lot of differences to consider, but we think salt pools
come out on top! Discount Salt Pools is here to help you with ...
The simple criteria for the best salt chlorine generator is that it should be able to provide plenty of chlorination
power for your pool, be a good value...
[EDIT: These example price scenarios have been updated as of spring 2023, and may not reflect current
pricing]
If you own a pool, there’s no doubt you’ve heard about how great a salt water pool can be. You may be
wondering how much you'll invest. Luckily, it is a lot more budget friendly than you may think!
We’ve put together three common scenarios to help you get a good idea of what your initial investment might
be:
an low-cost scenario for an average pool size with light use;
a mid-range cost scenario for a larger and more heavily used pool;
a high-cost scenario with retail prices.
Please keep in mind these are not the absolute cheapest or the most expensive possibilities, but are intended to reflect average circumstances and help educate how things might range.
We'll go over what is involved for the basic “salt pool conversion” process for almost any
backyard pool out there:
The price of the saltwater chlorine generator
What you might spend on the actual salt to put in the water
What you might spend on installation if needed
If you're new to this, the most important thing to remember is that once you convert your pool, a salt
system can save up to 40% or more over traditional pool chemical maintenance over its lifespan! A saltwater
pool system
eliminates the need to buy chlorine, shock, and algaecide, so it pays for itself pretty quickly and gives
years and years of savings. Also remember, it's not necessary to drain your pool or replace your other pool
equipment in
normal circumstances, and the whole start-up process usually takes about an hour.
Keep in mind that every pool is unique, and that there are dozens of brands and models of salt systems, so
these are simply average examples! We’re glad to work with you individually to help
meet your needs - whether that’s finding the lowest price, finding the best long-term value, or finding how
premium or commercial-grade models might be a good fit for your pool.
Scenario 1 - Low Cost - Average Pool Use, Temperate Climate, DIY Capable
Matthew is 30, married, no kids, and living in his first home in Parkville, MD. The house came with a 15,000
gallon pool, and after the initial excitement wore off, he and his wife will swim maybe on the weekends
during the
summer, with the occasional get-together at their pool with some of their friends.
1) Equipment Cost
- Given the usage and environment of the pool, Matthew goes by the system sizing recommendations and chooses
a system that is about 50% larger than his pool size. In this case, he chooses a 25k gallon pool system,
which does
make sense for his climate and pool usage. For example purposes, an average market price for this system
could be in the ballpark of $950 (though you can certainly find one priced lower or higher).
2) Salt Cost
- Based on Matthew's pool size of 15k gallons and the specs of the equipment, he needs about eleven forty
pound bags of salt. At about $8.00 each, he's spending $88.00 on salt. However, that is still drastically
cheaper than
buying chlorine tablets, and unlike those tablets, the salt will only need to be replaced in smaller amounts
over the years when there is a physical loss of water, Chances are, unless there becomes a need to drain the
pool, that
he won’t have to repurchase such a large amount of salt again.
3) Installation Costs
- Matthew is decently handy. He already has a hacksaw lying around to cut the PVC pipes on his pool
plumbing, but can't find any PVC glue or primer in his garage. At the hardware store, he buys a small combo
package of PVC glue
and primer cans for about $10, and decides to buy a little extra PVC pipe and PVC fittings just in case he
measures wrong and needs to redo the pipe joint like he did when he fixed the lawn sprinkler head last
month. Playing
it safe, he's out the door for $20.
Matthew cuts and glues the pipe to plumb the salt system into his piping in about fourty-five minutes, and
connects its power cord to his pool pump's timer in about five minutes. He dumps the salt into the pool in
just about
ten minutes. Matthew has converted his pool to a salt system in about an hour!
4) Total Cost - $1,058 - Total Estimated Cost. Looking back a year
later, Matthew was shocked that he only spent about $40 dollars on his pool for the rest of that year for
some muriatic acid to balance the pH.
So as you can see, a DIY installation is very simple to do and a pretty fast process! More importantly, it
does save you money. But what if you don’t feel comfortable installing it yourself and rather leave that to
the professionals? We’ll go over that now.
Scenario 2 - Mid-range Cost - Heavy Pool Use, Tropical Climate, Local
Installer
Kim is 52, and lives in Gulfport, MS. Her young grandkids are constantly swimming in her 15,000 gallon pool,
and she has done a lot of research and knows for sure that a saltwater pool is the best way to go. She has
even picked out the exact system that she needs. However, she doesn't want to bother with installing any
equipment on her pool.
1) Equipment Cost
- Given the usage and environment of the pool, Kim wants to make sure her pool stays clean even during those
hot summer months when there might be a bunch of kids swimming in it, all the time. Since she knows the
benefits of choosing an over-sized system, she doesn't think twice and chooses a larger 40k gallon pool
system. Generally, an average price for this system could be in the ballpark of $1,250 (though you can
certainly find one priced lower or higher).
2) Salt Cost - Based on Kim's pool size of 15k gallons
and the equipment's salinity requirement, she needs about eleven forty pound bags of salt. At about $8.00
each, she's spending $88.00 on salt.
3) Installation Costs
- Kim finds a local handyman online with good reviews. He's installed other saltwater systems, and he says
"besides, even if I had never done this before, it's just cutting and gluing PVC pipe and connecting a set
of wires. It will take me less than an hour, but my minimum rate is $200."
Kim's handyman cuts and glues the pipe to plumb the salt system into the piping, and connects its power cord
to the pool pump's timer. He dumps the salt into the pool. Kim's pool has been converted to a salt system in
well under an hour.
4) Total Cost -
$1,538.00 - Total Estimated Cost. Looking back a year later, Kim was delighted that she only had to spend
$40 on her pool for the rest of the year for some muriatic acid to balance the pH and some clarifier to help
the filter remove all the sand and dirt the kids tracked into the pool.
If you have a pool, you may already have a company that you pay for chlorine and service- so you may wonder
"how much it would cost if I ask them to do it?” Many local pool stores and pool services provide are great
companies that are wonderful to work with and have great prices. Unfortunately there are some companies that
want to want to bill for as much chlorine and service as possible; if that's the case, this is the scenario
to avoid.
Scenario 3 - High Cost (what to avoid )
David is 44, living in Huntington Beach, CA, and always uses the pool with his kids at least a couple times
every week. He hears friends and neighbors talking about their saltwater pools. He's been happy with his
pool service, so he asks them what they think about it. The pool company tells him that they've "been in the
pool business for a long time and they don't prefer saltwater pools, but a lot of people want it and they
can certainly convert his pool for him", and since he uses their pool service they tell him installation
will be free.
1) Equipment Cost
- This pool service company prefers traditional chlorine maintenance, so it only uses one system for every
saltwater pool they do, and it might not be sized exactly right in order to generate all of the chlorine
needed for David's pool. The quote for it is about $2,250, which means David is paying a lot more than
retail.
2) Salt Cost
- Based on David's pool size of 15k gallons and the system's salinity requirement, he needs about eleven
forty pound bags of salt. Billed at the premium price of about $18.75 each, he's spending $206.25 on salt,
which is almost double what the others paid in other scenarios.
3) Installation Costs - David's pool company is giving
free installation.
David's pool company cuts and glues the pipe to plumb the salt system into the piping, and connects its
power cord to the pool pump's. They dump the salt into the pool. David's pool has been converted to a salt
system in well under an hour.
4) Total Cost - $2,456.25 - Total Estimated Cost (unfortunately).
Ouch! That is over double what he could have paid.
Looking back a year later, David wasn't very happy to realize that the pool company was still charging him
$100 every month for chemicals on service visits, because he thought that he didn't need all that chlorine
they were still putting in. What were they still charging him for...?
Even if you don't convert your pool to saltwater yourself, you can get one installed for usually half as
much as might hear from a company that doesn’t like how salt systems take away chemical sales & service. But
if you have some basic DIY skills or a handy friend, many people can convert their pool to a saltwater
system and save big. Discount Salt Pool also offers unlimited customer support to try and make things as
easy as possible for you! If you’re ready,
come check out our wide selection and we’ll be happy to help you along the way with
whatever you may need!
Converting your pool to salt just means adding a chlorine generator! Use our intelligent product
recommendation system to see what the best choices for you might be. See more now
▶
Greetings Tim, it would be good to know some other information like your climate, typical pool use, etc... to see what capacity model might be best for you. We can walk you through the process and help you pick out the right system if you call: 866-766-5243.
Does it matter if I have solar on my pool? I already have a solar panel in my pool house similar to the one you are showing for the Salt Water system. Will I be able to hook both of them up?
I'm on a condo board in Kansas City, MO. This article was amazing to me. All 3 examples were in temperate climates. Any differences because of Midwest winters? Our pool is open from mid-May to early October. Thanks so much for this info & your reply.
The more northern the climate, the less hard the equipment has to work on average because of cooler temperatures and shorter seasons. Compared to a southern climate, a salt system would probably last longer because its getting less wear-and-tear.
Rodney Young
Date
5/1/2020
Good afternoon,
My wife and I are in the process of building a 20x40 pool. We are looking for ways to save money. I am pretty handy with tools so when I saw your post, I thought it was worth looking into. Please provide me with any information that you believe would be appropriate.
Sincerely,
Rodney Young
Rodney, a good place to start would be at this linked page. Feel free to reach out to our experts at any time and we can help you go over all the details or questions you might have: 866-766-5243
Jorge Castillo
Date
2/1/2021
hi , i want to change my chlorine pool system to salt system for this summer. i was wonder if i can have a appraisal
thanks
Thinking of changing over to saltwater from chlorine. We can DIY, however, living in Pensacola, FL, what is the danger of rusting? Is there any way to prevent corrosion?
It is not normal to see rust/corrosion just because a salt chlorine generator is being used. The rule of thumb is that if materials are pool-grade and meant to be around chlorine (which is corrosive), you should not see any differences. If cheap or inappropriate building materials have been used, things aren't installed correctly, if the pool is not properly bonded, etc... then those existing issues will continue to get worse.
Nancy Stevens
Date
5/11/2021
I need an estimate on changing my fresh water to a salt water pool
thank you
Nancy
Greetings, we can help you do that with a little information about your pool size and its environment. We can walk you through the process and help you pick out the right system if you call: 866-766-5243.
We have a community chlorine pool. I was hoping to get an estimate on the annual savings of salt vs chlorine pools. What info would you need to give us a somewhat accurate estimate?
Thank you,
James Barry
James,
The industry rule of thumb is an estimate of cost savings of salt chlorination of up to 50% or more, as mentioned here: https://www.discountsaltpool.com/assets/doc/hayward-salt-chlorination-LITSLTB15.pdf
Please let us know what other questions you might have. You can speak with our experts at 866-766-5243
Generally speaking, salt chlorinators can use both. They typically come pre-configured to accept 240V (which is most common for pool equipment), but will usually have instructions in the manual to configure them to accept 120V.
A "saltwater pool" just means a pool that has an electronic chlorine generator (instead of having to manually buy and and chlorine). You might take advantage of our equipment packages for you pool, which include the core items for the pool system: chlorine generator, variable speed pump, and cartridge filter. https://www.discountsaltpool.com/Packages_c_16.html
At Discount Salt Pool, we're pool owners who want to help other pool owners enjoy the
simplicity and the savings of saltwater chlorine generators. Unlike the pool store
or pool
pros, we're not the last step of a long & overpriced distribution chain. We're
lifelong
swimming pool enthusiasts & experts with decades of experience in the industry
who want
to give other pool owners direct access to the best pool technology that's out
there- along
with unlimited access to our friendly customer support and online DIY resources.
Discount
Salt Pool is a BBB member with an A+ rating.
Did You Know?
DiscountSaltPool.com is America's largest specialty provider of saltwater swimming
pool
equipment. Since 1997, we've helped hundreds of thousands of people convert their
pool to
salt! Order online today, come visit our Texas headquarters, or call in for
personalized
help and recommendations.
Comments (0)
Add CommentTim Robles
hello my name is tim robles, my pool is 5,800 gallons . How much including labor to make it a salt water system?
DSP Staff
Greetings Tim, it would be good to know some other information like your climate, typical pool use, etc... to see what capacity model might be best for you. We can walk you through the process and help you pick out the right system if you call: 866-766-5243.
In the meantime, you can read more about how to choose and size your equipment here: https://www.discountsaltpool.com/how-to-choose-the-right-salt-system-for-your-pool
Ryan Lillis
Does it matter if I have solar on my pool? I already have a solar panel in my pool house similar to the one you are showing for the Salt Water system. Will I be able to hook both of them up?
Terry
I've worked on pools that have both solar and salt systems.
Joey
I would like to convert my pool to salt water and want to buy a full system
DSP Staff
Greetings Joey, we can walk you through the process and help you pick out the right system if you call: 866-766-5243.
In the meantime, you can read more about that here: https://www.discountsaltpool.com/how-to-choose-the-right-salt-system-for-your-pool
Steve Schneider
David should sue the pool company to recoup the charges!
Barbara Banck
I'm buying a house and looking into a converting the pool into saltwater
DSP Staff
I'm sure you'll be glad to did! You can learn more about how to easily convert the pool here: https://www.discountsaltpool.com/DIY-Friendly-How-to-Convert-Your-Pool-to-a-Salt-Water-System
Francie Hall
I'm on a condo board in Kansas City, MO. This article was amazing to me. All 3 examples were in temperate climates. Any differences because of Midwest winters? Our pool is open from mid-May to early October. Thanks so much for this info & your reply.
David
The more northern the climate, the less hard the equipment has to work on average because of cooler temperatures and shorter seasons. Compared to a southern climate, a salt system would probably last longer because its getting less wear-and-tear.
Rodney Young
Good afternoon, My wife and I are in the process of building a 20x40 pool. We are looking for ways to save money. I am pretty handy with tools so when I saw your post, I thought it was worth looking into. Please provide me with any information that you believe would be appropriate. Sincerely, Rodney Young
DSP Staff
Rodney, a good place to start would be at this linked page. Feel free to reach out to our experts at any time and we can help you go over all the details or questions you might have: 866-766-5243
Jorge Castillo
hi , i want to change my chlorine pool system to salt system for this summer. i was wonder if i can have a appraisal thanks
DSP Staff
Greetings Jorge, we carry the equipment you need to do that and deliver it to your door.
We can walk you through the process and help you pick out the right system if you call: 866-766-5243.
Or you can read more about that here: https://www.discountsaltpool.com/how-to-choose-the-right-salt-system-for-your-pool
Suzanne Workman
Thinking of changing over to saltwater from chlorine. We can DIY, however, living in Pensacola, FL, what is the danger of rusting? Is there any way to prevent corrosion?
James
It is not normal to see rust/corrosion just because a salt chlorine generator is being used. The rule of thumb is that if materials are pool-grade and meant to be around chlorine (which is corrosive), you should not see any differences. If cheap or inappropriate building materials have been used, things aren't installed correctly, if the pool is not properly bonded, etc... then those existing issues will continue to get worse.
Nancy Stevens
I need an estimate on changing my fresh water to a salt water pool thank you Nancy
DSP Staff
Greetings, we can help you do that with a little information about your pool size and its environment. We can walk you through the process and help you pick out the right system if you call: 866-766-5243.
Or you can read more about that here: https://www.discountsaltpool.com/how-to-choose-the-right-salt-system-for-your-pool
James Barry
We have a community chlorine pool. I was hoping to get an estimate on the annual savings of salt vs chlorine pools. What info would you need to give us a somewhat accurate estimate? Thank you, James Barry
DSP Staff
James, The industry rule of thumb is an estimate of cost savings of salt chlorination of up to 50% or more, as mentioned here: https://www.discountsaltpool.com/assets/doc/hayward-salt-chlorination-LITSLTB15.pdf Please let us know what other questions you might have. You can speak with our experts at 866-766-5243
Timothy
Good article
Asepavof
Bravo, this rather good
Richard dennis Nims
do the systems use 120 or 240 volt power
DSP Staff
Generally speaking, salt chlorinators can use both. They typically come pre-configured to accept 240V (which is most common for pool equipment), but will usually have instructions in the manual to configure them to accept 120V.
Jane See
I am interested in your business
DSP Staff
Jane, we're happy to assist you! Don't hesitate to call us at 866-766-5243 and our experts will be able to give you fast, friendly help.
Faye Jury
Thank you
Dorothy Rasmussen
I'm going to go ahead with this on my Miami pool
Nicholas Green
I'm surprised that I was able to convert my pool in about the same ball park of cost even though this was probably written somewhat long ago!
Daniel Hodges
I'm doing it this summer finally...
Ray
I’m currently looking to build a pool preferably salt water I’m thinking 12 x 20 some configuration around there. What kind of money would I need?
DSP Staff
A "saltwater pool" just means a pool that has an electronic chlorine generator (instead of having to manually buy and and chlorine). You might take advantage of our equipment packages for you pool, which include the core items for the pool system: chlorine generator, variable speed pump, and cartridge filter.
https://www.discountsaltpool.com/Packages_c_16.html