How often having to add salt?

[BowserB]

Matt and Newdude, you guys sound a little like my new cardiologist. The old one, now retired, ran a nuclear stress test every 18 months and a sonogram (I think that's what it was) every year. The new one says "just get quarterly visits and EKG, as long as you feel OK. If anything changes or you want a stress test, we can do it."

Problem I have is with manuals like Pentair's that give operating instructions without explanations. What happens if salt is too low or too high? What if pH is too low or too high? What happens if your flow rate exceeds 80 gpm and you don't have a bypass loop?

Matt, we are in Katy, a suburban city about 27 miles west of downtown Houston and about 30 miles from the industries on the ship channel. When I've checked rainwater pH here, it has been 8.0 or above every time. Yes we have a wall drain for overflow protection. Interesting point about layers and water not rapidly mixing. Main drain is usually open about 20% of the way. I've had it closed for a few weeks though as the Eagleston Hollies drop heavier than water seedpods and they end up in the pump basket from the floor drain. Also, I get better surface skimming with the pump at 1650rpm when the floor drain is closed. Is there a downside of running salt at 3900 ppm? Rain will dilute it, but will anything materially increase it, other than evaporation? Evap is taken care of with autofil. I understand that adding muriatic acid raises it, but I can't imagine the small amounts of HCl I put into the pool would be significant in their effect on salt content.

Thanks to all of your for your help and advice. My goals with the SWCG were to have consistent FC levels, avoid chlorine shortages, and a salt cell that lasts a long time.

It's raining again here, and the forecast is for more and harder rain through the weekend. I'm going to have to buy salt.

 

[Newdude]

What happens if salt is too low

The idiot light comes on.

What happens if salt is too..... high

The other idiot light comes on....... errr..... goes off.

Trust me here. Ignorance is bliss. Your salt tests will be more accurate but not agree with the cell. Sometimes you will have to feed the cell regardless of what your tests say. If the cell is happy, let it be.

 

[kellyfair]

You are totally overthinking it. I live in Florida, where it monsoons regularly in the summer. I just gained two inches of water since yesterday! I rarely add salt. Full disclosure - I check it two or three times when the weather starts to warm up, then ignore it for the next few months. Light kicks on if I need to pay attention.

 

[needsajet]

I add salt twice per year. After biblical rains which we get every two or three years, that adds an extra time. Most chlorinators have a wide range, for example mine is 3500 to 5000. I add salt to get to 4500 and then don't worry about it for a fairly long time. I test salt once a month at most. We average around 4 feet of rain per year here in Sydney. For your size pool, I'm guessing 3 bags at a time, less often than you've preferred so far.