PB Opening Pool - Need Suggestions/Advice!

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aeromitch37

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Aug 5, 2014
51
Oviedo, FL
Our pool was just finished, ~12,500 gallons. We have a Pentair IC40 salt cell and 125K Heat Pump. Our builder has already (on day5) put salt along with all of the "chemicals" into the pool.

After reading the get started forum on this site, it makes me concerned because it appears they should have waited 30 days. My pool school isn't for a few days and when I asked a few of these questions to the builder, I was told they start all of their pools in this fashion.

I'm confused.... help? How should I proceed? P.S. This is a large pool company.
 
Welcome Mitch!

Not sure how to advise you since they did it already, but salt addition delay is standard 28 days. I assume this is a plaster/quartz/pebblle type finish? If so, that is ususally what is done for those finishes.

I would want to know why and ask them since everyone else seems to make this important recommendation. I would get some communication by a traceable source like email incase there are problems later.
 
What kind of pool do you have?

Please add your location (City, State or City, Country) to your profile and pool details to your signature as described HERE as it will help us help you.

If it is plaster, then yes, they screwed up and are not following conventional plaster recommendations.
 
Added the details in the signature. Finish is Aqua Pearl finish. And btw, the salt cell is currently turned on.

I asked why and was told that the salt cell manual is wrong (I guess the manual says to not turn it on right away, I'm not sure) and they have been adding salt to pools the first week for 5+ years. They start over 500 pools a year and they always put salt in. What are the ramifications of this?
 
I think it can impact the curing of the plaster ... and thus shorten its life. The pool company likely does not care about this since your warranty would run out before then anyway and no way to prove it was because salt was added too early.

Seems that pool builders are only good at that, building, and have no clue about maintenance or chemistry.

I think OnBalance has some posts that discuss the chemistry of it somewhere.
 
My PB has been building pools for almost 30 years and he is my neighbor and we still like each other. He put salt in my pool within a week and turned on the IC40. I didn't know enough to question or care since it was pre-TFP. So far so good, but it has only been about 3 years. Sooo ...

- - - Updated - - -

p.s. I have no idea where Oviedo is. :)
 
There's no real point in trying to convince them they are wrong after the fact. I would just make sure your warranty is in writing, and hope for the best. you might search for posts by "onbalance" on this forum. He's an expert in the field.
 

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Unless draining and refilling with fresh water will eliminate the potential problems associated with adding salt too early. I have no idea about that though.
 
I'm not sure about the salt and plaster chemistry but i do remember reading something about uncured plaster and salt crystals. It said that the salt crystals can rough up the still soft plaster a give it a sand blasted type of finish. Sounds somewhat logical but i think the salt dissolves too quickly and their is nothing rubbing the salt into the plaster unless there is a chemical reaction causing this.
 
My builder told me he had no problem with me adding salt quickly after he set everything up. He cited some studies he read about the pros and cons and how he read it had minimal impact these days. I CHOSE to wait, actually about 60days because I just didn't have the time after 30 days to get around to it. Point is, he knew about the general 30 day rule but seemed to think there were studies out there that made it a minimally important issue. Definitely didn't take a better safe than sorry attitude.
 
It is a fact that it is best to wait four weeks before adding salt to new plaster pools. The entire industry is aware of this issue now, and the PB should WAKE-UP about this and take an interest in doing what's right for the pools he builds.
However, it does not necessarily cause a major problem if added sooner than that. This issue is somewhere between being a "minor" or "insignificant" issue (or problem) and a "moderate" issue.
Whether or not any visible discoloration results is also dependent on the quality of the plaster finish and the subsequent water chemistry.

Since the salt has already been added, proceed with getting the pool water balanced and brush the pool often.
Post your current water readings and let us know how things are going. Document everything and take some pictures now to compare with pictures later.
 
onBalance said:
It is a fact that it is best to wait four weeks before adding salt to new plaster pools. The entire industry is aware of this issue now, and the PB should WAKE-UP about this and take an interest in doing what's right for the pools he builds.
However, it does not necessarily cause a major problem if added sooner than that. This issue is somewhere between being a "minor" or "insignificant" issue (or problem) and a "moderate" issue.
Whether or not any visible discoloration results is also dependent on the quality of the plaster finish and the subsequent water chemistry.

Since the salt has already been added, proceed with getting the pool water balanced and brush the pool often.
Post your current water readings and let us know how things are going. Document everything and take some pictures now to compare with pictures later.
Click to expand...

I very much appreciate your response. I will start taking pictures today and get a water reading from Pinch a Penny. I'm planning to buy a TF100 kit in the coming weeks.

It looks like the recommended levels that the finish manufacturer recommends for the first 30 days and subsequently after are different (see link below) than what the folks on the TF Pool forums suggest.

What do you advice as the best way to proceed? I want a troublefree pool!!

http://www.magicmarciteinc.com/PDF _ Magic/aquapearl_datasheet.pdf
 
aeromitch37 said:
I very much appreciate your response. I will start taking pictures today and get a water reading from Pinch a Penny. I'm planning to buy a TF100 kit in the coming weeks.

It looks like the recommended levels that the finish manufacturer recommends for the first 30 days and subsequently after are different (see link below) than what the folks on the TF Pool forums suggest.

What do you advice as the best way to proceed? I want a troublefree pool!!

http://www.magicmarciteinc.com/PDF _ Magic/aquapearl_datasheet.pdf
Click to expand...

At the great risk of being pushy, the best thing to do is start getting it balanced. You need the kit for that straight away. Don't wait until the coming weeks, go ahead and order. It's a tiny amount to spend considering the value it will provide in protecting the investment you just made. The is a direct link in my signature to click on.
 

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