How do YOU handle your acid?

[Tredge]

I go through a lot of Muriatic Acid. (Over 300 TA problems and a SWG system)

Anyways....I must be a slob because I keep getting holes in all my shirts and shorts :)

I know to add acid to water and I try and be carefull but I always seem to get a spot or three on me during the week.

Anyone have an "Acid Delivery System" they care to share :D

[west1745]

I go through a lot of Muriatic Acid. (Over 300 TA problems and a SWG system)

Anyways....I must be a slob because I keep getting holes in all my shirts and shorts :)

I know to add acid to water and I try and be carefull but I always seem to get a spot or three on me during the week.

Anyone have an "Acid Delivery System" they care to share :D

I learned on here to pour it carefully into a jet of water with the pump on. I don't add that much and I pour carefully close to the surface just next to the return jet stream.

That is a very high TA - but I am sure the people on here will help you.

Good luck!!

I was having to add a lot of acid for a while too - new plaster pool with SWG.

[sevver]

I started with over 250 TA and I add the same way, so far no holes. lol Just pour it in front of the jet close to the surface of the water and be careful not to splash it. I generally only add around a quart at a time to my 18 foot round, that seems to drop it to 7.2ish so I can aereate it back up. Looks like you may just have to get a new wardrobe.

[Tredge]

Thats part of my problem.....I'm adding a gallon a day or more (40,000 gallon pool)

I suppose I could add in smaller quanitities in the morning and evening.

Thanks for the advice about putting in near the jets....that will deffinitely help.

[Condo Steve]

I add about 8 oz. at a time to keep the pH from drifting too high. I bought a 5 gallon bucket on a Home Depot trip and keep it in the pump house with an 8 oz. disposable cup.
When I dose, I fill the bucket with pool water half-way, carefully pour out an 8 oz. cup of muriatic and pour it into the bucket. I dump the bucket in the deep end near a return. Haven't roasted my shoes or shirts yet. I figure that if I get a little splash, at least it's not full strength, it's bucket strength.

It's an extra step or two, but so far, so good.

Good luck, you've got painting clothes. Don't tell the wife!

Condo Steve

[waterbear]

I trickle it into the return stream near the water surface.

[medvampire]

Verrrry carefully (lol)
I have a pryex mesureing cup I use for pool chem. Place cup on ground, pour acid in cup as far from me as possable, check handle for splashes, the cary cup to pool, and pour into the return stream slowly. I rinse cup in pool. I got a healthy respect muratic acid after seeing it smoke when it hit the ground.

[let_her_flicker]

I wear rubber gloves and safety glasses when adding acid to the water coming out of the return.

[sailork]

I've got an old plastic pitcher. I put 12oz and 24oz graduations on the side. I popped open a beer and poured it carefully into the pitcher and then recorded the depth with a magic marker all the way around. Then I added a second beer and repeated. Then I consumed the beer.

I typically measure out 24 oz of acid in the pitcher and then pour it into a bigger pitcher 1/2 full of pool water. If I'm feeling dramatic I may pour the mixture back and forth between the two pitchers to mix things up. I always do this part while standing in the water on my steps so that any spills don't end up on my concrete. I tend to somewhat carefully broadcast the whole lot into the middle of the deep end. So far no holes in my shirts or my suction side cleaner. Probably due to the fact that I don't have to "graduate" the pitcher every time.

[JohnT]

I just pour straight from the jug into a 4 gallon bucket of pool water, let it sit for 20 or 30 seconds, then heave it in the pool. I add only a few ounces to the bucket at a time. I'm almost always adding acid, so I add less than I think I need, and wait until the next day to retest.

[dep78737]

I have a SWG and add acid 1 or 2 times a week, about a quart at a time. I pour directly from the jug into the pool by a return with the pump running. No measuring, just go by feel for about 1/4 jug. Slowly pour it in a couple of inches above the water so it comes out in a steady stream and does not "glug" out. For me, getting the seal off a new jug is the time I'm most likely to get a tiny splatter where it does not belong.

[JohnT]

For me, getting the seal off a new jug is the time I'm most likely to get a tiny splatter where it does not belong.

Those things are the most hazardous part of the operation. I took a plastic knife from Wendy's and sharpened it to a little more of a point. Pretty handy for taking them off.

[Simmons99]

Those things are the most hazardous part of the operation. I took a plastic knife from Wendy's and sharpened it to a little more of a point. Pretty handy for taking them off.

Good idea - last time I open a jug I stabbed it with a plastic fork, but was to afraid to try to get the whole seal off. Especially since I accidently got a good whiff of it and I think it burned my nose hairs off :o

[aquarium]

I'm beginning to really hate the acid part of the pool operation. Almost to the point that I'd rather spend the money on an automatic acid doser over a bleach doser.

TW

[waterbear]

I put on a pair of vinyl or latex disposable gloves (NOT the thin ones that look like they are made out of a plastic sandwich bag) when I need to open the seal on a new jug. I use a wooden or plastic skewer to punture it and then my gloved fingers to get it off. I put the cap back on so the fumes don't get too bad, dip the seal and my gloved hands in the pool to wash the acid off, and then throw it away.

My question is what does everyone do with the empty jugs? Seems a bit dangerous to just throw them in the trash but I don't want to put water in them to wash them out....It's acid into water, not water into acid! Anyone have any ideas?

[Tredge]

I let the jugs "air out" and toss them when dry.

Not sure if thats the best but it seems to work.

[aquarium]

I dip the jug in the pool and wash it out. I don't think there's enough acid left to cause a reaction adding water to it. We recycle so I don't want to send in a jug with any acid in it.

[waterbear]

I dip the jug in the pool and wash it out. I don't think there's enough acid left to cause a reaction adding water to it. We recycle so I don't want to send in a jug with any acid in it.
I was thinking of doing that but didn't know if it would react violently or not. I saw firsthand what adding water to acid can do in freshman chem lab in college!

[Ganyonman]

I've got a plaster pool with a clorine generator and very hard water. I have to a gallon of acid every other week to maintain the PH (15,000 gallon). Is this normal and what could be causing this?

[aquarium]

I also have a 15,000 gallon plaster pool with very hard water and high alkalinity. Hard and alkaline tend to go together, but it's the alkalinity that affects pH.

I add one cup (8 ounces) of muriatic acid each day to hold the pH steady at 7.4, so one gallon (128 ounces) lasts two weeks. Same as your experience just dosed differently.

I know that bleach is very basic, so it tends to push pH higher, but I don't know if a chlorine generator does that. Also, I've seen that chemically adjusted water pH will tend to lose the adjustment over time, so water with a high pH that is chemically adjusted to a lower level will trend back upward. Dunno why.

[waterbear]

Swg's do cause a steady pH rise since they produce sodium hydroxide as a byproduct of chlorine generation.

[Ganyonman]

The "pool guy" at the store mentioned that the majority of pool owners have a problem with the PH being too low so I wasn't sure how common my problem was. My theory is that due to the hard water and that I live in very hot and dry climate, I have a great deal of calcium buildup (very difficult to manage) and as I add acid it breaks the calcium down and thus acts as a base to reraise the PH (perpetual cycle).

I like the cup per day method since it maintains the PH with less stress on the mettalic parts in the system. The "pool guy" also mentioned that PH can be raised by certain vegetation around the pool. Ever heard that one?

[waterbear]

The "pool guy" at the store mentioned that the majority of pool owners have a problem with the PH being too low so
This is probably because he has most of his customers using trichlor puck, which have a pH of 2 and shocking with di chlor which has a pH around 6! Most plaster pools will have a high pH naturally becasue of the plaster and most all other forms of chlorine have high pH and can cause the pH to drift upward.
I wasn't sure how common my problem was. My theory is that due to the hard water and that I live in very hot and dry climate, I have a great deal of calcium buildup (very difficult to manage) and as I add acid it breaks the calcium down and thus acts as a base to reraise the PH (perpetual cycle).

I like the cup per day method since it maintains the PH with less stress on the mettalic parts in the system. The "pool guy" also mentioned that PH can be raised by certain vegetation around the pool. Ever heard that one?
Hope this helps.