Chlorine generators, also called chlorinators make chlorine from salt that you have added to the water making it saltwater. Chlorinators have titanium plates with a special coating that when voltage is applied causes electrolysis and the breakdown of the water and the salt creating hydrogen, oxygen and chlorine. The plates have a life span that is typically 10,000 hours of chlorine production if the current to the titanium plates is kept below 0.2 amps per square inch. As the current increases above this value the life span of the plates drops to a value less than 10,000 hours. The current density is determined by the voltage applied to the plates and the spacing of the plates. And, the higher the current the higher the chlorine production (in most cases).

 Lower cost chlorinators typically exceed the 0.2 amps to require less titanium in the product as the titanium and the coating is the most expensive part and they can provide a lower cost product that will not last as long. For a swimming pool this may not be a problem for a one or two year warranty as the season for a pool is 5 months, and if it is on for 12 hours per day then in two years the chlorine generator would have only been on 3650 hours. Even if there is a longer warranty that may not matter as the manufacturer figures what are the chances after two years for a warranty claim.

When looking to purchase a chlorine generator and talking to your friends who have one it isn’t enough that they like the product. Almost everyone who has converted to a saltwater chlorine generator likes the change. When reading a blog about a particular chlorinator and the excitement of the writer on how wonderful the water is and how they endorse that particular product is sort of silly, especially if they bought a cheap one which makes lots of chlorine the first months due to the high current to the plates and they are in their first month. Instead look to those who recommend a chlorine generator where they are past the first year and any problems they may have had the manufacturer has backed up the warranty and service.