Salt water Pools.
Do you have one and regret your decision or?

Does anyone have a heat pump/chiller do you have any feedback on them?

We had a heat pump chiller put in yesterday, so no review yet, but I’m excited about it. Waiting on electrician to hook it up. Our pool gets full sun and is 94-95 degrees. Looking forward to some 85 degree water!

I have a “salt” pool. First thing you need to know is that “salt water pool” is a misnomer. Only ocean creature swim in salt water pools. That being said they are nice enough just because of the smell or lack of. Unless you have a very small pool your “converter” will not produce/convert enough salt into chlorine so you will have to add chemicals. I go through. About 50 pounds of chlorine pucks a year and about a bag of shock a week on average.

Salt or chlorine is not really the question. Pool or no pool is the real question. LOL
Now if you have lots of kids or grandkids, lots of neighbors you like, or such, then a pool might, big might, be worth all the trouble. I have had two house with two pools. I will not have another. Now my hot tub, I will always have one.
Just my opinion.

I abandoned salt system after replacing 3 expensive generators in 10 years. Regulating chlorine levels takes practice but it's not that hard. I don't regret the change at all. I don't have chlorine smell or very very little occasionally because I am diligent in checking levels and have figured out just how much to add to not get spikes. It takes effort to check and adjust frequently.

Our pool is 36,000 gallons and has a 10 ' deep end. it never gets warm like some people complain about this time of year. It is basically craved out of solid bedrock ,has a lot of large tree to the west so its shaded by late afternoon. Waterfall feature running may help keep temp down also.

My wife and I spend a lot of time year round on our patio, enjoying the pool, cooking, and landscaping around it. We enjoy our pool A LOT. We both like being outdoors as much as we can. Many evening we don't go inside till a few minutes before we are ready to go to bed. I say that because some people may not spend a lot of time outside around the pool and such for whatever reason. If you don't have a large covered patio and a lot of shade then when it is hot you are kind of stuck being in the pool to enjoy the outdoors'

I have a 40,000 gal pool with a “salt system”. It generates plenty of chlorine without adding anything other than stabilizer and acid periodically. I usually run it 10-12 hours a day during summertime. I have gone through 3 cells in the last 15 years. It’s fine, but I could be happy with a chlorine pool. All pools are a PIA.

17 years here with a salt pool. I'll never own another pool, but if I had to make a choice it would be salt. Chlorine burns your eyes, skin and smells, whelp like chlorine. Salt is like swimming in very soft, silky water in comparison. No smell, burns and what nots. We've replaced 3 chlorine generators over the course of that time since converting it from Chlorine. You can now send in your old generator and have them rebuilt for about a 3rd of the cost for a new replacement. As stated above, all you need is stabilizer and acid. The by product of a chlorine generator is high PH, thus the need for occasional acid. I do find the up keep and overall maintenance of a salt pool over chlorine is less complicated, less chemicals to have on hand etc.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Thanks for the replies so far and please keep them coming.

We do have a large covered patio to get out of the sun. Our bigger concern has been does the salt travel from the pool? Does it rust patio furniture, eat away at rock/ tile finishes and stain up your walkway if you allow the salt water to dry in your passage ways?
The salt system seems attractive for the ease of keeping up with the water chemistry. Beyond that we keep flipping between which system is better.

if your pool smells like chlorine , burns your eyes and skin then you don't have a clue what you are doing. I open my eyes under water with contacts on every day and never feel any discomfort. If you wait till its low then shock it , yes, but that is a lazy man's way of maintaining. It takes 1 minute to check level and 1 minute to add just enough chlorine to get it perfect. Simple chemistry.

I do not have a salt water pool, but I do regret the decision

Had a salt pool , it was great very easy to keep balanced.

Could not be talked out of another if I was considering a pool build.

If you have a chlorine pool....I'm sorry but you will smell like chlorine and you will smell the chlorine. No way around it. I guess everyone needs to have their time with a pool at least once. Did a chlorine pool for 20 years and rest assured that I'll never make that mistake again. Pools are for fools....J/K

This is correct. We have chlorine and never smell like chlorine or have burning eyes/skin. A few years ago we went through a remodel and thought about going with salt. Just about every company we talked with about the remodel talked us out of switching to salt. Happykamper’s company is the one who did our remodel, maybe shoot him a PM and get his thoughts.

I have a pool, I will never own another pool, EVER!

A few romantic interludes in any pool and it gets salty

I just broke down and hired a pool maintenance guy yesterday, I’m starting to go Texdawg lite on pools.