Is my cell dying?

[mas985]

Definitely, I would try acid cleaning. I am surprised you went this long without an acid clean. That is usually the first thing I do when I detect a decrease in cell output. Manual cleaning only gets the deposits you can see which is basically the ends of the cell. The internals are not easily cleaned manually.

Also, I clean my cell with acid several times during the season and the cell is over 7 years old and still going strong. I don't use full strength (1:4) and just long enough until all the fizzing stops.

[JimK]

Definitely, I would try acid cleaning. I am surprised you went this long without an acid clean. That is usually the first thing I do when I detect a decrease in cell output. Manual cleaning only gets the deposits you can see which is basically the ends of the cell. The internals are not easily cleaned manually.

Also, I clean my cell with acid several times during the season and the cell is over 7 years old and still going strong. I don't use full strength (1:4) and just long enough until all the fizzing stops.

Thanks. That gives me the confidence to try an acid cleaning. I was hesitant before because the manual had me thinking that acid washing could harm the cell, hence the instruction to only use acid if scaling was "severe".

I do need to order a cleaning stand so I don't have to immerse the cell into a bucket.

So the solution you use is one part muriatic acid with 4 parts water?

[mas985]

So the solution you use is one part muriatic acid with 4 parts water?

Correct.

[JimK]

Correct.

Thanks.

How do I safely dispose of the acid solution when I'm done?

[mas985]

Probably the safest place is back in the pool. You would be adding CH back to the pool but it is probably small compared to what is already in the pool. Just keep track of how much acid is in the solution so you don't add back too much at once. Basically your normal dosing. I clean my cell in a dosing bucket so I just use it for dosing at a later time.

Otherwise, you would have to dilute it further and perhaps neutralize it before disposing in a drain.

[BigDave]

Remember (9th grade chem) when diluting acid, you put acid into water (A->W). Never water into acid. Wear goggles, gloves, avoid the fumes, have a plan for if it spills.

I'm sure you know all this already, but if not... See Using Muriatic Acid to Safely Lower Your Pool's pH.

[JimK]

Remember (9th grade chem) when diluting acid, you put acid into water (A->W). Never water into acid. Wear goggles, gloves, avoid the fumes, have a plan for if it spills.

I'm sure you know all this already, but if not... See Using Muriatic Acid to Safely Lower Your Pool's pH.

Thanks for the tips.

Yes, I've read that link (will do so again to refresh my memory) and always put acid into water. I remember seeing a demo on TV where they put a drop of water into acid and the results were quite explosive!

I know there are strong fumes when pouring the acid, are the fumes still strong once diluted for cell cleaning (4 parts water, 1 part acid)?

I guess I should do this in the yard somewhere. I'm thinking worst case if I accidently spill some of the solution it's just kill a grass spot (much easier to fix than a damaged patio).

For disposal, any idea how much to dilute the solution to make it safe to put down the drain?

[JimK]

Probably the safest place is back in the pool. You would be adding CH back to the pool but it is probably small compared to what is already in the pool. Just keep track of how much acid is in the solution so you don't add back too much at once. Basically your normal dosing. I clean my cell in a dosing bucket so I just use it for dosing at a later time.

Otherwise, you would have to dilute it further and perhaps neutralize it before disposing in a drain.

Thanks for the tips.

Since I'll be using a cleaning stand and just filling the cell with the acid solution (as apposed to soaking the cell in a bucket), I expect I won't be using that much acid. However, I'd prefer not to add CH back into the pool if possible. I'm hoping to let it drop this year. At closing last year CH was at about 250 ppm. This will be my first season not adding anything with calcium, ie - I use to use Cal Hypo to shock, this year it will be strickly plain bleach to shock when needed.

This will be the first time I've done this, so I'm trying to be prepaired to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Tips and suggestions are most welcome.