Considering transitioning from chlorine to salt

by Steven
(San Antonio, Texas)

1) My sand in filter is eight years old. (Filter is a Baker II Hydro-Model HRV-30, installed in 1983.) Should it (the sand) be replaced as part of transition?

2) 30,000 gallon in-ground concrete pool was installed in 1962, so plumbing that runs into pool is old. It has only one intake--the skimmer and three outputs--one in shallow end + two in deep end. (Main-drain was sealed in 2010 when pool was replastered due to leakage under the pool.)

3) I have been told--that while more expensive--two cells would be better than one as pool filtering system would not have to work as hard.

4) Also--pool is in second home--I can only attend to it 2-4 days per week.

Thank you for your help.

Hi Steven. The integrity of the sand should be alright but you want to check the freeboard which is the measurement from the top of the sand to the top of the filter. Normal range is about 6 - 8".

For the plumbing, that would need to be on as as-needed basis. My parents outdoor pool in AZ is about 40 years old and is still going strong. I've seen other pools that have had issues within a couple of years. Their sand is about 25 years old and the pool is perfect. Sand only needs to be replaced if the filtration quality diminishes.

2 cells are fine but they need to be plumbed correctly. One cell will work but you want to make sure to oversize it. And for the last question, TX is hot like FL and AZ so you'll want to maintain the pool a couple times per week in the Summer and once per week in the Winter.

Hope this helps

Robert