Monday, February 25, 2008

How To Use This Blog

You're probably here because you own a salt system and you're having problems with it damaging your pool or pool equipment. That seems to be the bulk of the traffic that I get. If you are, look over at the Labels and look for your symptom. Click on whatever looks like it's close to what's going wrong with your pool. That will open up a window with the blog entries where I talk about those issues. There are over 50 blog entries, so there may be anywhere from 2 to 10 blog pieces that deal with your topic.

You may also want to watch the video that WFAA did about how much salt sucks. There's a link to it after the labels, along with a link to a text that explains how salt damages stone and concrete. It's pretty technical, but any layperson can understand it. It will come in handy if you're looking for ways to explain to whoever sold you your salt system why they ought to be paying to recope your pool.

If you're here because you're considering buying a salt system, then just click on any of the labels and start reading. Everything you've been told by whoever is trying to sell you a salt system is a lie, and I have done all I can to document the sources that refute the most common lies that they tell when they're trying to twist your arm into buying these things.

2 comments:

frozenorth said...

Pool guy: I recently stumbled upon your blog site while looking for published negativity concerning salt water pools. Coming from 30 years experience in the pool industry as a design build contractor with a heavy emphasis on service and gas heating I am very pleased to find the mother lode of truth and negativity. Our company has never sold a SWG although lots of clients have sourced them elsewhere and they are now, or about to start paying the price. We looked into selling SWG years ago (HYPERCELL) but decided not to. In the back of my engineering mind my conscience was saying. Salt… Concrete…steel… not a good idea. I live in Canada where we have severe winters and lots of salt (Calcium and Sodium Chloride) is used on the roads. If one looks at their vehicles, their parking lots, garage floor or bridge decks the salt damaged is extensive. The public and private infrastructure repairs to reverse the ravages of salt are costing hundreds of million of dollars to the local economy.

After reading the majority of your posts I have to say you are basically repeating word for word most off the issues that we have also noticed and have been bringing up to the pool industry manufacturers for years to no avail.

Thank you, I was beginning to believe I was crazy, that I was wrong, that I was jumping to conclusions. I was considering swallowing my pride, ignoring my conscience and starting to CASH in on the wealth of selling SWG’s. Since there is little or no negativity published (Until Now) It is difficult not to sell SWG’s when all of ones competition is caught up in the smoke and mirrors of mass marketing, sales promotions and mistruths spewed by the manufacturing segment.

I have plenty of first hand experience on the deterioration of heaters from salt water corrosion in the gas delivery the control, and the water circuit. Dry-o-Tron failures, copper pipe failure, filter failures etc. which I am now convinced is common world wide not just here on my pools.

However there is another important part of the industry that you have not even touched upon and I think that you need to be brought up to speed. Vinyl pools are falling apart
I know that many pool people in the industry look down on vinyl BUT it is a major component of what fuels the pool industry overall. I have pictures etc and would like to share these if possible.

Thank you
Frozenorth

The Pool Guy said...

Congratulations on never having sold salt systems. And more than that, congratulations on resisting the temptation not to jump on the bandwagon and line your pockets like everybody else.

The thought process that kept you away from salt, of living in a part of the world where salt is used heavily to keep the roads clear in the winter, and seeing first hand the damage that it does, and allowing that to overcome the sales hype of, "well, yeah, but salt pools are different!", is a lot more uncommon than you would think. I talk to bright, capable people every day, people who know that salt isn't good for a lot of things, but just absolutely won't even entertain the idea that maybe just maybe those problems could extend to salt pools. Like I've said many times before, it's like living in Bizarro Pool World. I congratulate you for not caving in.

And you're not at all crazy. You weren't jumping to conclusions. And the people you were talking to who were telling you that you were seeing things were probably sales reps, or tech reps who've been instructed to keep their mouths shut about the problems. There is a ton of profit in these systems for the manufacturers, lots more than the markup that the installation activity gets when they sell a system to the end user, and guys like you and me are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Also, your mention of vinyl liner pool problems with salt reminds me that I have to go back and make a label to point to the blog pieces where I talk about that. I don't have any experience with vinyl liner pools, but a prominent builder who I've been communicating with since shortly after I started the blog has tried to fill me in on many of the issues that vinyl liner pools face. I believe that salt systems are even more dangerous on vinyl liner pools than they are on gunite pools, because the vinyl liner acts as an insulator and tends to focus any stray currents to the metal grabrails and metal coping, resulting in even more safety issues. You're right. It's an area that needs thorough documentation. And I'm sure that as soon as the mfgs are done making money on all of this stuff, they'll get right to the investigation.

In your comment you say; I have plenty of first hand experience on the deterioration of heaters from salt water corrosion in the gas delivery the control, and the water circuit. Dry-o-Tron failures, copper pipe failure, filter failures etc.

Write them up and send them to me and I'll get them into the blog.

Thanks for reading. I appreciate it.

TPG