salt water system and rusty frame

[maiseyme]

Hi all! We have been using an Intex salt water system for several years, on various pools, and have enjoyed the ease and effectiveness of it greatly. We upgraded our pool last year to a 22'x52" metal frame (Coleman instead of our usual Intex pools) and had horrendous problems with rust! The ladder (which we take out any time the pool is not in use), the top rail and almost every leg was rusty after not even three months of use. These parts have been replaced for this year's use. My question is: how do I prevent this from happening again? Do I need to recoat the metal parts? Do I need to add something along with the salt?
Thanks so much for your input/advise!!!

 

[kcindc]

I would not blame the salt... I would probably blame the manufacturer for not making the parts rust resistant. Many pool owners have salt systems and metal stairs and don't have this problem.

 

[JVTrain]

Welcome to TFP!

Unfortunately, kcindc is correct. Most of the time with rust problems it's an issue of poor materials from the manufacturer. Yes, salt water is more corrosive, especially to metals. But if a higher quality stainless steel is used, it's not an issue. Some parts may not even be stainless from some manufacturers. If you had less issues with the Intex, I'd go back to them for your next pool or upgrade to another major manufacturer that specifies materials compatible with SWG systems.