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Replies

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  Ted Arunski March 5, 2011 at 11:21am

  Exactly and we have to professionals.
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  Scott Tarr March 5, 2011 at 10:37am

  Ted,

  The sad reality is that a guy with a truck, a pole, a few chems, and limited knowledge from a CPO course (if that) will be coming to a market near you!!  We definitely need more education in our industry.
  
  Ted Arunski said:

  Seem like another case of a Pool Maintenance company with no experience and is not familiar with salt.  I would go see the neighbor and get a new account.  Good opportunity.   It is tragic the this industry has service company's with no experience or training on Pools.  We have to come up with a better education system in our industry.

   

  Ted Arunski

  SaltCells.com
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  Ted Arunski February 28, 2011 at 9:22am

  Seem like another case of a Pool Maintenance company with no experience and is not familiar with salt.  I would go see the neighbor and get a new account.  Good opportunity.   It is tragic the this industry has service company's with no experience or training on Pools.  We have to come up with a better education system in our industry.

   

  Ted Arunski

  SaltCells.com
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  Richard A. Falk February 26, 2011 at 4:00pm

  I agree that it isn't salt, but rather low pH, sunlight, and high chlorine levels (specifically, a high FC/CYA ratio, not FC alone) are more responsible for problems with vinyl liners.  Also note that any concentrated chemical, but especially acid and chlorine, should be added slowly over a return flow with the pump running and then the sides and bottom should be lightly brushed to ensure thorough mixing.
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  Scott Tarr February 26, 2011 at 9:14am

  Unfortunately, many liners from years back had lead in them which contributed to them lasting much longer.  With restrictions on lead and much of the liner material coming from overseas, liners today will never last as long.
  
  Kevin Misley said:
  

  Salt is corrosive to everything. Not sure yet of it's effect on liners in my area.

  Liner problems are not only caused by acidic conditions but also by sunlight and high chlorine levels. Todays liners chemical makeup are nothing like they were 20 years ago. We have installed liners 25 years ago that are still holding water. They're not pretty but...

  We replaced a liner on a pool we built after 9 years. On the flip side, my neighbor's pool is 50 years old with the original aqua blue liner-ugly! Wood walls to boot! Still functions with a couple of patches and dozens of kids!
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  Kevin Misley February 26, 2011 at 8:52am

  Salt is corrosive to everything. Not sure yet of it's effect on liners in my area.

  Liner problems are not only caused by acidic conditions but also by sunlight and high chlorine levels. Todays liners chemical makeup are nothing like they were 20 years ago. We have installed liners 25 years ago that are still holding water. They're not pretty but...

  We replaced a liner on a pool we built after 9 years. On the flip side, my neighbor's pool is 50 years old with the original aqua blue liner-ugly! Wood walls to boot! Still functions with a couple of patches and dozens of kids!
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  Scott Tarr February 26, 2011 at 8:30am

  It's not the salt causing problems with the liner, it is low pH that contributes to fading or wrinkles in vinyl liners.  Salt is corrosive to niches, handrails, ladders, and diving board bases and springs.  Salt is not all it is cracked up to be.  We sell a lot of vinyl lined steel panel pools in the Southeast and see many problems with corrosion to the panels as well as those items mentioned above.
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  Richard A. Falk July 20, 2010 at 8:34am

  The conductivity of the water is roughly proportional to the amount of salt in the water. Even non-saltwater pools have salt in them but usually in the 500-1000 or 1500 ppm range and not the 3000 ppm salt most saltwater chlorine generator systems need. Higher conductivity increases corrosion rates. Whether that matters or not depends on the absolute rate of corrosion relative to normal equipment life.
  
  Also, chloride ions directly interfere with stainless steel's ability to "heal" reforming the passivity layer. Again, whether this is a problem depends on the quality of the stainless steel and the level of oxidizers in the pool. A pool with no Cyanuric Acid (CYA) in the water, such as most indoor pools, is typically going to have 10-20 times the active chlorine (hypochlorous acid) concentration and be much more corrosive so compounding that with salt can be more troublesome.
  
  A blog that talks about salt corrosion is here. If a sacrificial zinc anode is properly connected to the bonding wire and buried in moist soil, it will normally protect equipment unless the voltage from other sources is higher and overwhelms such protection. My pool builder hasn't found increased corrosion in his pools except for submerged aluminum header bars in automatic covers for which a sacrificial zinc anode has worked to protect them. So every situation is different.

  The Pool Biz

  Most people come here with questions about why their pool is disintegrating. Lots suspect it's because of their salt system. Look at the Labels and f…
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  Rick Hamilton July 19, 2010 at 7:40pm

  Yes, that is what I'm seeing; niches being eaten up, ladder steps rusting, liner coping corroision, pump and filter parts falling apart in half of normal time etc. Systems are great for convience, but cells and damage repairs making me money but not saving the customer money, and I tell them so.
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  Bruce R. Roache July 19, 2010 at 6:38pm

  I have seen increased corrosion on old light niches, copper niches from the 60's and 70's rot holes and rot the conduit conection, all parts of the pool and equipment need to be considered before changing over to salt. Even some new stainless niches are labeled "Fresh Water Only"