Frank and Jacque discuss how saltwater chlorine generation pools work and the benefits and drawbacks of saltwater pools.
00:00-05:05 – introduction
05:06 – the great debate is about what is better, salt or traditional chlorine pool. A salt pool is a chlorine pool. Saltwater chlorine generation pools generate much or all of their chlorine.
07:18 – saltwater pools typically have 2600 to 4000 ppm of salt concentration, human tear 4000 ppm, and the ocean has 35,000 ppm
09:00 – use salt that is made for swimming pools. you can stain your pool with non-pool salt
11:05 – how the salt system makes chlorine
12:00 – two types of salt chlorine generators, brine tank, and in-line generators. This show is all about in-chlorine chlorine generators
13:29 – salt systems raise pH. this is one of the drawbacks of salt systems
15:10 -break
15:30 -salt systems introduce chlorine gas into the water.
16:49 – salt cells scale up. When salt cells scale up, it leads to false low salt level readings in the systems. This leads to people over-salting their pools. Test your salt levels independently of the salt system reading.
18:12 – as cells reach the end of their usable life, they will give a false low salt reading, leading to pool owners over-salting their pools. Test your salt levels independently of the salt system reading. salt cells can be expensive to replace
18:55 – In theory, salt in a salt pool should regenerate, resulting in a continuous salt level. but in our experience, this is not usually the case
20:15 – don’t store large amounts of salt. It isn’t worth it. Frank’s story is about his storm cellar turning into the world’s largest pot of stew due to salt being stored in hundreds of cans of food. salt is corrosive and will damage metals.
24:25—How much chlorine can a salt chlorine generator produce, and is it enough for your pool? You have to add stabilizer to a salt pool. Even with adequate stabilizer, the sun will still burn about 1 ppm of chlorine out of your pool per day.
26:04 – how does percentage setting on a salt system work? It is a percentage of time the system generates, not the amount it generates.
27:30 – the number of hours you run your pump reduces the amount of chlorine you can produce with your saltwater chlorine generators.
28:40 – you still have to generate enough chlorine to maintain the minimum residual required to kill algae faster than it multiplies. you have to overcome loads on your chlorine
30:00 – running a salt system 24 hours a day is very beneficial
32:39 – break
34:05 – you still may have to shock your salt pool. The chemistry and maintenance of a salt pool are the same as with a traditional chlorine pool. Environments, bather loads, and combined chlorines may require occasional or frequent shocking or super chlorinating. Extra contaminants still have to be oxidized. all of the five basics of pool maintenance still apply to salt pools
37:23 – salt can be harsh on natural stones and metals in and around pools.
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The Deep End Pool Podcast focuses on residential pool maintenance and may not cover commercial pool requirements. Please consult the CDC and local authorities regarding the code requirements for commercial pool maintenance.
Do you have a pool question for Frank? You can email him at [email protected]. He just might read and answer your question on air!