Salt Water Chlorine Generator for New Pool Build

[CarlD]

And since we're doing the unsolicited opinion thing I would also add that you consider an acid pump, like the IntelliPH from Pentair, as part of your equipment pad. SWCG pools tend to have constantly rising pH which, especially in the beginning, means very frequent acid additions. An acid pump will also add to your "peace of mind / ease of use" factor.

I have an IC40 and it's worked just great for me. I'm kind of surprised your not going more with Pentair since you're going to use their IntelliTouch/EasyTouch control system. Usually Pentair offers a three year warranty if you bundle three pieces of their equipment in a single order, otherwise it's only 1 year. Would you be willing to share your pool build and equipment specs just so we all can "kick the tires"

I have to disagree. While it is true many SWCG owners have a rising pH problem, not all of us do. In fact, I NEVER do. You can always install an acid pump later if you find it's a problem. You WILL have rising acid when your pool is new, but if you just buy a couple of $10 floating chlorinators and fill them with Tri-Chlor tabs, they will control your rising pH during the 6-8 week curing period and add some of the CYA you need, too. You CAN use chlorine with an SWCG without a problem.

It's too easy to get into the buy, buy, buy mode when it's new and while we can frequently all be equipment junkies, it's better to learn and master the BBB method FIRST and use the equipment to augment that, not replace it.

[JimK]

In my case the strips usually read about 200-300ppm higher than what my SWCG reports. I figure this is close enough to get me in range.

You just talked me out of getting the Taylor kit.

[JimK]

I have to disagree. While it is true many SWCG owners have a rising pH problem, not all of us do. In fact, I NEVER do. You can always install an acid pump later if you find it's a problem. You WILL have rising acid when your pool is new, but if you just buy a couple of $10 floating chlorinators and fill them with Tri-Chlor tabs, they will control your rising pH during the 6-8 week curing period and add some of the CYA you need, too. You CAN use chlorine with an SWCG without a problem.

It's too easy to get into the buy, buy, buy mode when it's new and while we can frequently all be equipment junkies, it's better to learn and master the BBB method FIRST and use the equipment to augment that, not replace it.

I agree with Carl.

I seemed to have found the sweet spot with TA and borates in my pool (TA about 80, borates about 60). This is the second season I haven't had to add a single drop of acid to adjust pH. It seems to level off at 7.5-7.6 and stays there the whole season.

[SunnyOptimism]

Have to go to church but I'll add this to all you acid-pump haters - vinyl pools are a very different beast than gunite/plaster pools. Also, east coast fill water is very different than western water. My fill pH is 8.0 on a good day, my fill TA is 120ppm minimum and my CH is 280ppm. That plus plaster means an ever rising pH.

Acid pumps help a lot with that rise and I have used borates quite successfully. I totally agree with the "keep it simple, stupid" principle but I am definitely planning on an acid pump install in the near future.

Just my $0.02 opinion....

[JimK]

Have to go to church but I'll add this to all you acid-pump haters - vinyl pools are a very different beast than gunite/plaster pools. Also, east coast fill water is very different than western water. My fill pH is 8.0 on a good day, my fill TA is 120ppm minimum and my CH is 280ppm. That plus plaster means an ever rising pH.

Acid pumps help a lot with that rise and I have used borates quite successfully. I totally agree with the "keep it simple, stupid" principle but I am definitely planning on an acid pump install in the near future.

Just my $0.02 opinion....

Touché

[CarlD]

Have to go to church but I'll add this to all you acid-pump haters - vinyl pools are a very different beast than gunite/plaster pools. Also, east coast fill water is very different than western water. My fill pH is 8.0 on a good day, my fill TA is 120ppm minimum and my CH is 280ppm. That plus plaster means an ever rising pH.

Acid pumps help a lot with that rise and I have used borates quite successfully. I totally agree with the "keep it simple, stupid" principle but I am definitely planning on an acid pump install in the near future.

Just my $0.02 opinion....

This is just silly and a bit insulting.

I don't hate acid pumps any more than I hate filters other than sand filters. And while I am a vinyl pool owner, it doesn't mean, after a dozen years or more at PF, that I haven't seen hundreds, even thousands of threads on the issues of masonry pools. There's lots of ways to achieve an end and I'm just not a big fan of spending money when it may not be needed. If Toybuilder finds that pH is rising, then it may be appropriate to add an acid pump. But to assume one is needed before it is established may well be wasted money. Toybuilder hasn't given us a reading on the local fill water so its pH may well be normal, not excessively high. (Which, of course, makes me wonder about your water works managers, who let public water go out with high pH.)

And if there's one philosophy that has always flowed through PF, it's that wasting money on your pool isn't a good thing.

[SunnyOptimism]

This is just silly and a bit insulting.

I don't hate acid pumps any more than I hate filters other than sand filters. And while I am a vinyl pool owner, it doesn't mean, after a dozen years or more at PF, that I haven't seen hundreds, even thousands of threads on the issues of masonry pools. There's lots of ways to achieve an end and I'm just not a big fan of spending money when it may not be needed. If Toybuilder finds that pH is rising, then it may be appropriate to add an acid pump. But to assume one is needed before it is established may well be wasted money. Toybuilder hasn't given us a reading on the local fill water so its pH may well be normal, not excessively high. (Which, of course, makes me wonder about your water works managers, who let public water go out with high pH.)

And if there's one philosophy that has always flowed through PF, it's that wasting money on your pool isn't a good thing.

@CarlD,

My post was written in jest and not intended to offend. That said, I am sorry for offending you.

I agree with your position that all pools are different and one should exercise caution before wasting money on unnecessary equipment. I have waited a full swim season before I feel comfortable justifying my eventual purchase of an IntelliPH. I'm glad I waited to get to know my pool water life cycle. I was only trying to help out @Toybuilder to consider potential options, nothing more.

Thank you for your experience and willingness to share it for the benefit of others.

[Toybuilder]

SunnyOptimism, can you tell me a little about the EasyTouch? What's good and what you think is bad? We've used the Aqualink RS previously and loved it. Hoping this is similar.

[SunnyOptimism]

Toybuilder hasn't given us a reading on the local fill water so its pH may well be normal, not excessively high. (Which, of course, makes me wonder about your water works managers, who let public water go out with high pH.)

They can't lower it too much because it causes plumbing to corrode. Here's the quick summary -

Arizona primarily steals....ummm, I mean "borrows" water from the Colorado River (surface water) and produces water from a few deep aquifers. The water is all fed through something called the CAP (Central Arizona Project) which, like California, is a series of large reservoirs and aqueducts to deliver water to us desert-dwellers. The water from the CAP is shipped down to Tucson BUT, before it gets here, it is injected back into the ground and pumped back up again before processing and delivery. This process of injection makes the water's mineral balance and pH closer to local conditions and saves a lot of water from evaporation.

Because of this and other factors, if you lower the pH of the municipal water too much relative to the local ground water, you run the risk of destroying household plumbing by, in effect, creating an electrochemical cell. Also, pH 8.0 water is not at all unusual in the West. The water here is "sweet" compared to the more acidic nature of water found east of the Mississippi. We also have substantial differences in soil composition which is why western water is heavy in calcium (and bad for making pizza dough) and eastern water is heavy in iron (great for pizza dough)....This is from an Italian boy from Long Island (me) who sorely misses his NY pizza

[SunnyOptimism]

SunnyOptimism, can you tell me a little about the EasyTouch? What's good and what you think is bad? We've used the Aqualink RS previously and loved it. Hoping this is similar.

I have an 8-channel unit (meaning you can program up to 8 circuits with it). I use mine to run the Spa, Pool, High-Speed setting on VS pump, Waterfall pump, lights, etc. It's not fancy and I like it that way. It's a basic 4-line LCD display and it communicates with the IntelliTouch panel by RF link (no Blutetooth, WiFi, etc). So while it may not have all the gizmos and functionality that the more advanced interfaces have (like the ScreenLogic system), I'm very happy with the more solid, low tech approach (and it's water proof so I could drop it in the pool as opposed to my iPad...).

Downsides - the setup and programming of it is a little arcane but not impossible to understand. So if you're really geeked-out by doing automation and checking your pool parameter via iPhone apps, the EasyTouch is not for you. It has a limited range unless you buy the powered antenna for it (which I have) so if your electronics are far from the house, it won't work without the additional boost from the antenna.

All-in-all, I really like it and it saves me a trip out to the equipment pad if I want to turn on the pool lights or get the spa running.