compatibility of salt systems and stainless steel gutters and bull nose?

[maintman]

Does any one have info on the compatibility of salt systems for generating chlorine and their compatibility with stainless steel?

[aylad]

Hi, maintman, and welcome to the forum!!

I can't answer your question, but wanted to just remind you that the forum traffic slows WAY down this time of year, which means you will probably get several responses to your question, but it may take a long time for that to happen. So don't give up on us!

Edit: Just letting you know too, that the reason you didn't see your post immediately was because new posters' threads to into a moderated queue until Ben or one of us approves it, then it goes to the general forum. It's a pain, I know, but it's a procedure Ben (the site owner) put into place to help block access of spammers and hackers to the forum. At some point, if you keep posting with us, Ben will remove that restriction and then you won't have to wait for your posts to show. I deleted the duplicate post.

[Vytuolisno]

Admin note:
Turns out this spammer is associated with the cheap pool products DOT com and over night pools DOT com domains, and spams to promote those sites. You might want to keep that in mind, before purchasing from those domains!

I'm not sure about the compatibility thing you are referring to but as far as I know adding excessive salt or over-salting will not create any damaging effect to your chlorine generating system but will make your pool water taste salty. In short, your pool can turn into a miniature sea and some swimmers wouldn't mind this.

However if salt level reaches beyond 6000 ppm then corrosion damage can occur to metallic equipment such as stainless steel and the next thin you'll know is you have to replace your handrails, ladders, light rings, skimmer fittings et al. Reducing the salt level can be done by draining some water and refill with fresh water - technically termed as dilution.

Hope this helps.

[PoolDoc]

Unfortunately, Vytuolisno is just a spammer. Judging from the response, I'm guessing he/she/it is a SEO 'grey-hat' hired gun who is trying to promote some swimming pool websites of one sort or another. His registration email address, "momoko29182o@gmail.com" is just a throw-away.

So . . . you can ignore the advice. It's not totally bogus, but it's not particularly helpful, either. In particular, there is no magic corrosion level (6000 ppm) where corrosion starts.

All pool water has some salt in it -- since all chlorine turns to salt after it's used -- and corrosivity increases as salt level increases. The typical salt-levels recommended these days (3000 - 5000 ppm) are not a problem for decent quality stainless components. But, even low levels of salt (with no SWCG) can cause rusting or discoloration in low quality or low grade stainless. Using a recognized American brand of pool components reduces, but does not totally eliminate, the chance of low grade stainless. Still, all the major US brands, like Hayward or Pentair, are VERY aware that their equipment is likely to end up in salty pools.

Corrosion problems seem to be a consistent problem in two areas: heaters, and with deck equipment in dry climates.

To avoid heater problems, only use salt-rated pool heaters with an SWCG. Most older (5+ years old, in 2011) heaters are NOT compatible. Even today, you need to check, and make sure.

Decks and deck equipment is a harder problem.

If you install an SWCG in most areas in the East, there's enough summer rainfall, and enough humidity, to prevent salt levels from building up too high on the deck.

But, in the South-West, it's a different story!

Where there is low humidity and little summer time rain, salty splashed-out pool water rapidly evaporates, leaving its salt behind. The same thing happens the next time, . . . and the next, and the next. It doesn't take long before salt levels on the deck are 50,000 ppm or more. Doing a fresh water deck rinse once a week can control the problem, but ONLY if you do it faithfully.

There have been enough verified reports of problems with both metal deck gear AND aggregate and stone deck materials, to make it clear that this can be serious problem.

It can happen, even without an SWCG, if the pool is chlorinated. But it's much more likely to occur on a pool with an SWCG.

Ben / PoolDoc