Bromine, Chlorine Prices: Justify Salt Conversion?

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mknmike
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Joined: Fri 02 Jul, 2021 21:00

Bromine, Chlorine Prices: Justify Salt Conversion?

Postby mknmike » Mon 12 Sep, 2022 00:15

I’m considering draining my bromine pool this fall to resurface or just re-paint it. I’m new to pool ownership, and bromine was $250 last year, $350 this spring, and now $450 for 50 LBS buckets. My pool does get some direct sun, which is not good for bromine stability. Now the “set-it-and-forget-it” of the bromine pool has been nice. I’ve been able to ignore the pool for over a week without any serious negative consequences. I’ve only had green water once in two years. I’m learning when to shock.

I wonder if I should convert the pool to something different. I am pretty sure I’m going to need 100 lbs of bromine per year, and if the prices don’t come back down, it seems like maybe a salt conversion will make sense financially paying for itself over about three years. Right?

I see we lost a chlorine plant in Louisiana and another was damaged in New Jersey. Add the pandemic pools, and Chlorine prices are up too. Right?

Well, what about salt? That’s cheap right? Is the electricity cost a major concern to run the device that converts the salt to chlorine?

Should I just figure “it ain’t broke”, and leave it be? Maybe figure out how to get some shade on my pool and maybe use a solar cover some of the time? Maybe plant a tree?

My wife complains about indoor pools and her skin and eyes. So maybe chloramines are a big problem to her, and maybe that’s a reason to stick with bromine? Maybe salt water will also produce chloramines?

If my pool is painted (hopefully epoxy paint), will chlorine and/or salt water be worse for the surface?

Thanks again for all the help here!

Sincerely,
Mike


mknmike
Swimming Pool Superstar
Swimming Pool Superstar
Posts: 221
Joined: Fri 02 Jul, 2021 21:00

Re: Bromine, Chlorine Prices: Justify Salt Conversion?

Postby mknmike » Mon 12 Sep, 2022 00:26

Crap. There are bromine saltwater pools? I’m clueless. I thought the salt was where the chlorine came from, NaCl. They have bromine tablets for salt water pools too? Oh man.

https://inlandempirepoolbuilders.com/sa ... ine-pools/

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