Can anyone comment on these? I have a 20x40 inground pool (33,000
gallons) and I keep hearing how great these are. One thing that isn't
great is spending so much on chlorine tabs and shock every year so I'm
very interested in putting one of these in for the spring.

I looked at a few brands briefly online, the Hayward Aqua Rite seems to
be the one I see mentioned the most, reliable manufacturer, etc.

From what i learned, it's good to get one of the newer self-cleaning
ones to avoid buildup on the plates.

Any comments and good sources as far as where to buy it from would be
great. I'd probably self-install, doesn't look too tricky.

Salt Generator are def. worth the money in the beginning and as time
goes on they will benefit your budget. I would stick with Goldstar
brand. They are the leader in salt generators. The cost will be buying
the generator and then all the salt. You have a big pool so that will
be a lot of salt. You will still sometimes need to shock the pool but
over all the generator will superchlorinate. Just a note, every pool
in Disney World runs a salt generator because it's less maintenance and
you will experience less maintenance. So if that is what your going for
than this is the product for you.

On a more techincal note if you were interested what a salt generator
is, is a piece of pvc pipe that needs to be installed in your return
line. Inside this pipe are two titanium plates that generate an
electric charge causing the salt in your water to form into a chlorine
gas. You should keep your pool running at 3ppm (Parts per Million) of
chlorine. Most generators come with a button that you can push to super
chlorinate your pool. That brings your chlorine up to 10 or 13 ppm
which is called Breakpoint Oxidation. At that point any dead bacteria
killed by chlorine gets gassed off (oxidation)

If you have any other specific questions just relpy to the discussion.

http://www.swimuniversity.com
http://www.niagarapool.com

From what i learned, it's good to get one of the newer self-cleaning
ones to avoid buildup on the plates.

Yes getting a self cleaning one would be wise, but to avoid build up,
always keep your pH and Alkalinity levels perfect and your calcium
levels good

pH should be between - 7.4 to 7.6 ppm
Alkalinity should be between - 100-150 ppm
Calcium should be between - 175-225 ppm

I'm sure you know that already, its the least you can do since you
won't have to worry about adding chlorine anymore right!

Any comments and good sources as far as where to buy it from would be
great. I'd probably self-install, doesn't look too tricky.

Sounds to me like your looking to purchase online. Maybe I'm wrong but
I would probably visit a local pool store and get as much info as
possible. Now I've never installed it but I won't mess with water and
220 volts of electricity. Just looking out

http://www.swimuniversity.com
http://www.niagarapool.com