If you have a pool that you sanitize by adding chlorine directly to the water and you've decided you'd like to try a saline system instead, you can install a saline chlorine generator in just a few steps. The saline system is itself a chlorine system, but differs from the standard system in that it generates the chlorine using electric current to dissociate a chlorine atom from the salt molecule. When you're done, you can enjoy the advantages offered by the saline system, which include less maintenance and expense, without spending too much time, money or effort to make the conversion. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Drain all the water from your pool's filtration system.
2. Check the length of the saline cell piping by measuring it with a tape measure. Measure the same length in the filter return line and cut out a section of it that same length. This is where you will install the saline cell. The return line will be the line returning water to the pool on the discharge side of the pump.
3. Apply 3 or 4 drops of the PVC glue, equally spaced around the outside of each end of the 2 adapters you will use to attach the cell to the return line, evenly smearing the glue until it covers the end of the each fitting. Attach each adapter to the cut ends of the filter lines by gently pushing them together. Wipe off the excess glue.
4. Apply another 3 or 4 drops of the glue on the outside of both ends of the generator cell line, spreading the glue around until it evenly covers each end of the generator line. Attach each end of the generator assembly to the already-glued Jacuzzi adapter fittings by gently pushing them together. Use the band clamps to secure both glued fittings tightly. Wipe off any excess glue.
5. Wire the saline cell into the circuit that provides electricity to the filter pump and timer so that the system will only generate chlorine when the filtration system is running. Connect it directly to the electrical subpanel (pony panel), ensuring that you connect the positive wire on the panel to the corresponding positive terminal on the cell and the negative wire on the panel to the corresponding negative terminal on the cell. Also ensure that you attach the ground wire on the cell, which should be green, to the ground connection on the pony panel.
6. Add about 1 50-pound bag of salt for about every 700 gallons of water to your pool to raise the salt concentration to the optimum level for generating free chlorine, which is about 3,200 parts per million (ppm). The generator panel will display the concentration to enable you to adjust it by adding more salt if the level is too low.
7. Test the water once or twice a week to be sure you're keeping the chlorine level between 1 and 3 ppm. Wiring the saline generator to the filter timer will ensure that it runs every day when the filter is running. You'll also need to run the generator on the super-chlorination cycle once a week to shock the pool water and keep the levels above 1 ppm. Besides that, you only need to add more salt when the generator display shows your salt concentration below 3,200 ppm to maintain the water chlorine level at above 1 ppm.
