Muriatic Acid

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Reed Kadavy

Reed Kadavy

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Nov 22, 2015
149
Gilbert AZ
If my acid demand averages around 8 oz a day to maintain a 7.6 PH, what options do I have for adding this to the pool? I assume it would not be worthwhile to implement a stenner pump injection. I often have added acid daily or every other day. Could I add it on a weekly basis? When away for two weeks could I bulk up on acid before leaving and be okay?
 
A more complete view of your water chemistry is needed to answer. Your fill water is no doubt driving this also. I assume this acid demand is primarily in the warmer months and declines in the winter months.

Never drop your pH lower than 7.2. So 'bulking up on acid' does not work. In fact, the pH will rise rapidly from the lower point you take it to its 'happy' place. Depending on your CSI you may be able to have a higher pH.

A continuous feed acid system is an assist to those of us in the area it is needed. I have found I can use a couple trichlor pucks while away and that keeps my pH in a reasonable range.
 
mknauss said:
A more complete view of your water chemistry is needed to answer. Your fill water is no doubt driving this also. I assume this acid demand is primarily in the warmer months and declines in the winter months.

Never drop your pH lower than 7.2. So 'bulking up on acid' does not work. In fact, the pH will rise rapidly from the lower point you take it to its 'happy' place. Depending on your CSI you may be able to have a higher pH.

A continuous feed acid system is an assist to those of us in the area it is needed. I have found I can use a couple trichlor pucks while away and that keeps my pH in a reasonable range.
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Acid demand does occur more in the warmer months. I often let the PH drift between 7.6 and 7.8 to have one thing to do when it’s 110 outside. I’m leaning toward a Stenner pump for the chlorine and was trying to determine the best way to handle the acid. I used a tab feeder while gone for 17 days last summer although I did have to dump some water when I returned.
 
The best setup for the desert is a SWCG for chlorine and a acid injection system. I have considered the acid injection but would prefer to have one that uses a pH probe instead of a set amount of acid. As yet I have not found a reliable system for ONLY pH management. With my small pool volume I just supplement my SWCG when we are gone with trichlor pucks and that has worked to keep our pH under control.
 
mknauss said:
The best setup for the desert is a SWCG for chlorine and a acid injection system. I have considered the acid injection but would prefer to have one that uses a pH probe instead of a set amount of acid. As yet I have not found a reliable system for ONLY pH management. With my small pool volume I just supplement my SWCG when we are gone with trichlor pucks and that has worked to keep our pH under control.
Click to expand...

Guess I’ve wavered back and forth on SWG/liquid CL at least five times. I keep hearing of SWG’s that go bad and some difficulty In getting them zeroed in. Maybe I just need to experience there use to really see. Liquid CL even added manually has not been that bad this past year. I spent $255 for 12 months of CL.
 
Anything mechanical can fail. But most 'stories' about SWCG issues is because the pool owners do not know how to manage their chemistry. Maintaining your CSI in the slightly negative region (-0.3 to 0) eliminates nearly all issues with a SWCG.
 
Reed, I’m in Palm Desert and I keep revolving closer and then back away from an SWCG also. I have heavy chlorine demand in hot months and we’re in a pool lifestyle area, but many PBs I know don’t like SWCG in their own pools, but maybe it’s still just a newer technology for old school pool guys and gals.

Been curious about Stenner pumps for Ph management due to heavy need in summer, but the containers concern me with kids and animals abound. I agree with Marty that on here I don’t see mention that the systems that have probes to truly manage the Ph don’t seem to be available.
 
KDpoolguy said:
Reed, I’m in Palm Desert and I keep revolving closer and then back away from an SWCG also. I have heavy chlorine demand in hot months and we’re in a pool lifestyle area, but many PBs I know don’t like SWCG in their own pools, but maybe it’s still just a newer technology for old school pool guys and gals.

Been curious about Stenner pumps for Ph management due to heavy need in summer, but the containers concern me with kids and animals abound. I agree with Marty that on here I don’t see mention that the systems that have probes to truly manage the Ph don’t seem to be available.
Click to expand...
 
I live in an active adult community with no kids. I still keep my 5’ gates to the backyard and pool locked just in case. My thought about liquid CL is that it is so easy to monitor and I don’t see much that can go wrong although I’m certainly looking for a user to advise why my thoughts may be wrong. I didn’t mind the manual dosing this year, but I think a Stenner would make everything easier. Still have to purchase and lug chlorine bottles, but I was buying 8 at a time from Home Depot which would last close to a month in the summer.
 

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If you wanted to add a SWCG, you would wait until late February/early March. Your pool water temperature is now under 60F most likely and SWCG's will stop producing chlorine once the water temp is in the mid-50's.
 

I’m still using solar to keep the water temp up so I don’t have to wait as long to heat up the spa with the Mini Max. My current water temp is 75. I probably will continue this until or if I see a real cold snap coming, but I don’t recall what water temp I can maintain if nighttime temps get into the mid 30’s. With that in mind I can go for awhile before the water hits the mid 50’s, but maybe it still would not make sense to switch to salt now.
 

It’s been at least a month since I checked and it was 260. My water was new 12/1/17 and I have been on a 2 year schedule, but I felt that was mainly due to high CYA when I was using tabs. If I keep that in check at what point would I have to consider new water due to CH.
 

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