Anyone using salt w/o SWG in their chlorine pool?

[joelq]

Btw, if you're curious what the water tastes like at the ppms needed for a SWG, check out http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=1525&highlight=salt+taste.

Not sure how accurate it is, however.

[JohnInSoCal]

does anybody have a problem with salt water that splashes out on the deck or coping evaporating and leaving a salt residue/stain on it ? Or perhaps a waterfall that would have the same problem ?

[brent.roberts]

I haven't seen any on the deck. But we don't have kids (any more ) splashing.

I do see it on the solar cover. I leave it on the pool and hose it off a couple times a season.

[Scarlett]

How does the salt affect a pool heater? Is it corrosive?

Thanks!

Scarlett

[SLR_65]

Hi Guys,

Last year we had an Intex EasySet 12' pool. I followed the BBB approach from this forum and everything went very well - no major problems, no algae, etc..

Unfortunately my sister-inlaw's black labs ATE our pool last fall!!!! (and the pool toys, and the lawn furniture, and the insulation off the central ac lines!!! The puppies are no longer welcome guests . . . (and the jury is still out on whether my sister-inlaw is still welcome! <grin>))

This year I was set to buy a 16' pool, but a friend of ours gave us their 14' EasySet pool . . . they kept having algae, cloudy water, etc. last year and didn't use it much so they decided it wasn't worth the effort. I'm pretty sure it was just inattention to the water quality that was at the root of their problems last year.

They did a good job cleaning it up before storage last year - it was very clean when we got it, but I added enough bleach to bring the chlorine up to 20ppm last night and put the solar blanket on it. I bumped the chlorine high just in case any algae ickies were still lurking about. It's been cold here so we wont be swimming for a few days anyway, and I just added enough CYA to bring it up to 30ppm (used bleach calc to figure the amount) and it's currently disolving in a sock tied to the ladder so I figured with a low CYA level the bleach will dissipate fairly quickly anyway.

Well, onward to my question . . . I've been reading the discussion in this thread on adding salt to improve the water feel but there doesn't seem to be a clear target ppm. I've seen 900 to 1600 mentioned, and then 2,200 or so mentioned.

Anyone care to give a SWAG of what ppm to target? Maybe 1500 and call it good one way or the other??

Thanks for any input!

Steve

[poolbuoy]

I want to add the softener salt in a Esther Williams aluminum extruded vinyl 18x36 pool.
Questions:
how much to add to achieve 2k-3k ppm in 14,000 gallons?
Will it destroy the extruded aluminum or not affect it?
what is solar salt? IS it the same as water softener salt?

I want to try it soon.....

thanks, Scott

[SLR_65]

Hi Scott,

According to BleachCalc you will need 291.8 pounds of salt to reach 2,500 ppm in your 14,000 gallon pool.

TTYL,

Steve

[Watermom]

This thread is getting ridiculously long - 58 posts already. There have been numerous people who have tagged onto this thread with their particular problem. It is usually best to start your own thread. Please wrap up any loose ends that need to be finished and then we'll close this thread soon. It is getting unmanageable and hard to keep track of who needs what, etc.

Thanks.

[drumr]

Poulboy,
That amount of salt will not affect the aluminum extrusions.

[Ozzzz]

I have a SWC so I know I need to have salt in my pool, but I am a little confused as to why people think that soft-water = salt-water.

I was always under the impression that water softeners used salt in a brine solution that backwashed the resin or media that is used to take those hard minerals out of the water to make it soft. Salt is not added to the water to make it soft, even though I have read where softeners have warnings to people that are on a low sodium diet, and I assume thats because a small amount of salt is left in the softener media after backwashing it which can get into the soft water coming out of the softener.

[SLR_65]

I think we're getting confused in terms/meanings here.

I think many are saying the water "feels" softer and slippery and is less irritating to the eyes with salt in it. This is opposed to "being" soft as in having less calcium, etc..

It's a difference of a technical term versus a descriptive term.

/Steve

[poolbuoy]

Hi Scott,

According to BleachCalc you will need 291.8 pounds of salt to reach 2,500 ppm in your 14,000 gallon pool.

TTYL,

Steve


Wow ! 291 pounds of salt... 8.5 bags@40#. Not bad I guess since about $4 a bag. Where did you see that chart? just for future reference.

Thanks Scott

[Sherra]

It's not a chart...it's a program that one of our members created. Here's the download link. http://home.earthlink.net/~mwsmith70/data/BleachCalc262.exe (http://home.earthlink.net/%7Emwsmith70/data/BleachCalc262.exe) Just save it to your desktop. And don't forget to change the units of measure in the settings from metric to imperial if you use gallons instead of liters.;)

[slater1182]

I just added 2 of the 40 lbs bags of salt. worth a try. thanks.

[poolbuoy]

Wow ! 291 pounds of salt... 8.5 bags@40#. Not bad I guess since about $4 a bag. Where did you see that chart? just for future reference.

Thanks Scott


Yesterday I added four 40# bags of salt. the water feels great...but it tastes salty. I do not have a test kit to check it. I can't imagine putting in 8.5 bags of salt! I would order at test kit here but my season will be over by the time I get it.

[Tredge]

As you add more you go from bland crispy harsh sensations in the mouth, to knowing it's not the same any more, then to actually tasting something ... but it's hard to put a name to it, then to yeah, I think it's salt.

That made me chuckle.....I picture some of you wine tasting your pool :D

I have to add 850 lbs of Salt to my pool for my SWG. Filling it now as I type this.

850 lbs is a lot of salt!

[brent.roberts]

I'm starting the install on my SWG and increased the salt level to aobut 2800 last night.

Yeah there's something you can taste but in sure ain't likey the ocean. In fact it's not so easy to tell it's salt.

[dbleblanc]

Based on the year this ended, am I to "assume" that this died out and no one adds salt to their pool anymore like what has been discussed here? I would be interested to learn more "if" this was still going on.

[AnnaK]

We add salt to our bleach AGP at the beginning of each season and have done for the past three summers. It softens the water and seems to make it more sparkly.

We put in enough to bring it to between 1,800 and 2,200 ppm, calculated rather than measured since I don't have salt strips. Some time in the middle of the swim season we might add a bag or so to replenish what's lost from splash out and refilling.

We use "solar salt" which is something like 99% pure, either Morton's or Diamond Crystal. We slit the bag open lengthwise and drop it into the pool where it takes a couple of days to fully dissolve. I don't know if there would be any harm to the liner if the salt crystals were just dumped in; by dropping in the entire bag we avoid contact with the liner.

Hope this helps.