Considering a salt system in Austin, Texas

[frogkick]

Hi guys. I'm considering transitioning to a salt system, but I'm not sure I fully understand what it would look like for me. Can anyone with experience using a salt system in a warm climate like Austin/Central Texas help me understand what the reality of them would be here?

I read that in arid places the salt might cause more problems for the stone coping or surrounding landscaping. We aren't a desert in Austin, but we can be dry. Anyone have experience on how splash out and backwashing has impacting limestone coping or the plants/grass in this area? My neighbors and I all have pretty nice yards and gardens. I'd hate to do anything that can damage the plants.

I understand SWGs don't generate chlorine when the water goes below a certain temperature and that typically people dose manually with liquid during that time. How long of a time would that be in Austin? 2 months? 3? I can't say I pay any attention to my water temperature once it's too cold to swim.

What about a pool that sees a lot of swim time in a warm climate? I'm in it everyday when it's warm and often so are other people. Our summer temps are easily in the 90s and often hit the 100s. My water temp sits between 86-91 in summer. Would I be manually bumping it up with some liquid daily under those circumstances?

My pool builder initially talked me out of it and told me that it could shorten the life of equipment. Has that been the case for long time users of salt systems?

All of my equipment is Pentair, and I do have the ScreenLogic app. Would you recommend sticking with Pentair for an SWG in that case?

Thanks!

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Hi frog,

SWG phobia seems to be mostly a Texas thing. Lots of reports of pool builders in TX warning against the horrors of salt. A SWG requires 10x less salt than ocean salt levels. The low levels of salt required for a SWG do no more damage to pool materials than the water itself. Modern pool equipment is designed to withstand SWG salt levels. Traditional forms of chlorine contain salt as a byproduct. It' not unusual to see non-SWG pools with salt levels above 2,000 ppm and up.

Not sure about the climate in Austin, but my SWG shuts down with water temp at about 60 degrees. For me, that's only a couple of winter months when FC demands are minimal. In peak summer times with heavy bather loads, it hurts nothing to bump levels up a bit with liquid chlorine. My SWG can easily keep up with my pool's FC loss.

With automation, it's best to stick with Pentair equipment. @Jimrahbe may be able to help with recommending the components you'll need.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Frog,

I have three saltwater pools in the DFW area. I converted them to saltwater about 7 to 12 years ago. I have seen no saltwater damage of any kind. All three have Pentair EasyTouch automation with an IC40 salt cell and 3 HP IntelliFlo pumps. All the original Pentair equipment is still working perfectly fine. My pumps run 24/7 as I like to make a little chlorine all the time and skim all the time. My pool has a large cartridge filter, and my two rent house pools have Hayward DE filters, that were there when I bought the properties. They will be replaced with large cartridge filters whenever they finally die.

Two of my pools have concrete coping and one has flagstone coping. I have no experience with limestone coping but agree fully with Mike above. I cannot see how the same salt level that is in your tears could hurt your coping.

You are correct about the SWCGs not working in the winter. This is about 3 or 4 months depending on the weather. I use liquid chlorine then, but not much as pools do not use much FC (Chlorine) during the winter.

I'd just as soon fill my pools in as have the not be saltwater pools.

If you have ScreenLogic, then you must have an EasyTouch or IntelliTouch automation system. You have a 14K pool so you will need an IC40 salt system. It would be wired into your automation so that you'd get screens like this one...

Chlorinator tab.PNG

• Jimrahbe
• Jun 22, 2017
• 1

Here is link for reference... Pentair IntelliChlor IC40 Complete Salt Chlorinator System

They don't last long once they are in stock.


Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[jedigrover]

I've run a SWG in Plano for 18 years. Austin will be fine. When it gets extra hot & sunny in August, you might have to supplement with LC if the SWG cannot keep up. Don't worry about damage to tile or stone. Don't worry about damage to equipment. No problems whatsoever. It's not much salt. The first few years I even ran it with an old Stainless Steel Nautilus filter. That eventually developed a pinhole leak, but I think it was from being 20 years old more than exposure to salt. All the modern equipment is built knowing that salt is a possibility. As a matter of fact, it's always been a possibility...liquid chlorine adds salt to a pool. Chlorine is the corrosive part of salt. So anything built to withstand a normal pool environment should be fine.

I shock with LC...I don't use the "superchlorinate" function...it just eats the cell up faster.

If your automation is Pentair, I'd go with Pentair.

 

[newdude]

I shock with LC...I don't use the "superchlorinate" function...it just eats the cell up faster.

While this is entirely true, it no longer makes sense given the state of things.

My supply shortage overpriced SWG costs $0.15 an hour to run. ($1500/10k hours).

If my 2X unit was on for 12 hours anyway, using boost mode adds 12 hours of production for $1.80. The gallon of chlorone to do the same would be $5+.

If you are close to minimum and need a now boost, you need LC.

If you are close to target range, prep/post party or weather event, boost mode is great. All it does is set the unit to run 100% for 24 hours and then reverts back to its preset level. These days it's far cheaper to use cell life than LC.

I loved boost mode when the 2 methods were similarly priced for the convenience alone. (Anytime I didn't need a 'now boost'). I'd still use it if it cost twice what the LC did.

 

[frogkick]

Frog,

I have three saltwater pools in the DFW area. I converted them to saltwater about 7 to 12 years ago. I have seen no saltwater damage of any kind. All three have Pentair EasyTouch automation with an IC40 salt cell and 3 HP IntelliFlo pumps. All the original Pentair equipment is still working perfectly fine. My pumps run 24/7 as I like to make a little chlorine all the time and skim all the time. My pool has a large cartridge filter, and my two rent house pools have Hayward DE filters, that were there when I bought the properties. They will be replaced with large cartridge filters whenever they finally die.

Two of my pools have concrete coping and one has flagstone coping. I have no experience with limestone coping but agree fully with Mike above. I cannot see how the same salt level that is in your tears could hurt your coping.

You are correct about the SWCGs not working in the winter. This is about 3 or 4 months depending on the weather. I use liquid chlorine then, but not much as pools do not use much FC (Chlorine) during the winter.

I'd just as soon fill my pools in as have the not be saltwater pools.

If you have ScreenLogic, then you must have an EasyTouch or IntelliTouch automation system. You have a 14K pool so you will need an IC40 salt system. It would be wired into your automation so that you'd get screens like this one...

Chlorinator tab.PNG

• Jimrahbe
• Jun 22, 2017
• 1

Here is link for reference... Pentair IntelliChlor IC40 Complete Salt Chlorinator System

They don't last long once they are in stock.


Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks! With three salt pools, you haven't noticed any damage to the landscaping with backwashing? I really don't want to damage any of my plants or trees.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Frog,

I never backwash anymore, I even removed my backwash valves from my DE filters. I just open and clean them twice a year. I don't see any lawn damage in the area where I clean my grids.

In the DFW area, most cities require you to backwash to the sewer system. For me that was more of a pain that I wanted to put up with.

How often do you backwash that you are worried about your lawn??? If you have to backwash often, something is wrong. With an IntelliFlo running at about 1200 RPM, my filter pressure on the DE filters is about 4 or 5 lbs. On my large cartridge filter it is about 1 lb.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[frogkick]

I have been backwashing monthly. That's what they taught me to do when they installed it. I do feel like it runs better afterwards, moves more water. Is that not a thing people are doing?

 

[jedigrover]

It depends on a lot of factors:
High bather load, lots of trash (dirt, leaves,etc.) in pool, algae blooms, etc. will increase filter load.
Larger filters can go longer between cleaning.

What size FNS filter do you have?

You only need to backwash when filter pressure rises 10lbs above the starting (clean) pressure. You need to deep clean when backwashing won't bring it back down to the original clean pressure.

Backwashing more often than that just uses lots of DE and water.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Frog,

TFP teaches a general rule that you should backwash when your filter pressure goes up about 25% over your clean filter pressure.

Although 25% is most likely less than 10 pounds of difference, I don't personally see anything wrong with waiting until it gets to 10 lbs.

Once a month seems pretty excessive to me, but as @jedigrover posts out, there are several factors about what can increase your filter pressure.

What is your normal filter pressure, and at what speed do you normally run?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[frogkick]

Frog,

TFP teaches a general rule that you should backwash when your filter pressure goes up about 25% over your clean filter pressure.

Although 25% is most likely less than 10 pounds of difference, I don't personally see anything wrong with waiting until it gets to 10 lbs.

Once a month seems pretty excessive to me, but as @jedigrover posts out, there are several factors about what can increase your filter pressure.

What is your normal filter pressure, and at what speed do you normally run?

Thanks,

Jim R.

Normal pressure for me (clean) has been about 20 PSI since it was installed. That's what the pool builder told me it should be at and I never did bother to research it.

The pump runs at 2800 for 4 hours a day and then 2200 for 8 hours a day. This is also just what they set up and I never bothered to investigate.

If any of this factors in - I'm in a warm climate, with summers at least in the 90s, often in the low 100s, and the pool is in full sun. There are some nearby trees which definitely drop some flowers and leaves into the water.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Frog,

If you don't have a spa or heater that is way too fast to be running your pump from and electrical point of view.

I run my IntelliFlo 24/7 at about 1200 RPM for less than $20 bucks a month. I do this because I like to make a little chlorine all the time and I like to skim all the time. At that speed my filter pressure is about 1 lb.

Now that I think about it, I am not sure how fast you need to run your pump to dissolve those chlorine tablets that I suspect you are using..

Since you have a good test kit, you can reduce your speeds, and monitor your FC, and see what works best for you.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[frogkick]

It depends on a lot of factors:
High bather load, lots of trash (dirt, leaves,etc.) in pool, algae blooms, etc. will increase filter load.
Larger filters can go longer between cleaning.

What size FNS filter do you have?

You only need to backwash when filter pressure rises 10lbs above the starting (clean) pressure. You need to deep clean when backwashing won't bring it back down to the original clean pressure.

Backwashing more often than that just uses lots of DE and water.

Um...I have no idea what my filter size is. The sticker on it says Pentair Quad DE 60. Does that tell me what size it is?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

That would be a 60 sq ft filter.

One thing to keep in mind while talking about filter pressure, make sure when taking baseline and subsequent readings, pump speed and valve settings are the same. Pressure readings can vary widely depending on the direction and speed of the water.

 

[frogkick]

Seeing as how I have been backwashing once a month, would you guys anticipate that could damage plants and trees?

 

[jeffchap]

Seeing as how I have been backwashing once a month, would you guys anticipate that could damage plants and trees?

The salt content in a pool is only 1/10th that of seawater, about the same as human tears. I've never noticed any damage to my yard.

 

[newdude]

The salt content in a pool is only 1/10th that of seawater, about the same as human tears

Actually, people are 7000- 9000 ppm salt compared to the 3500 ppm in the pool. So we are more than double.

 

[Jen318]

I saw an airbnb with salt pool in buda a few years back and all of its surrounding stone patio was disintegrating - it was all just flaking off . Owner said it was from the salt system.

 

[Jimrahbe]

I saw an airbnb with salt pool in buda a few years back and all of its surrounding stone patio was disintegrating - it was all just flaking off . Owner said it was from the salt system.

What else could it be but the evil salt system.

Or could it be that the owner used a pool guy who had no clue what he was doing?

I want proof, and so far no one has come forth with any.

One of my rent house pools has Flagstone coping that is shedding very thin layers. I could blame it on the salt, only the pool was a chlorine tablet pool for three years before it was converted over to a saltwater pool. The Flagstone started shedding almost immediately. It still sheds today, but no worse than it did for the three years before I converted to saltwater. Cheap stone is cheap stone.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[jedigrover]

Flagstone (especially the Oklahoma chop that I have and so many have here in Texas) disintegrates. What we mostly get here is sandstone. Sandstone + water = disintegration. I've seen mine flake, and I've seen mine melt. And it did both of those things for years before I switched to salt. If it's not sealed, it will spall, flake, and melt (erode into sand).

If you have something like travertine, I doubt that would happen. It's the cheap "stone" that does it & it has absolutely nothing to do with the salt.

Some people just don't understand it and come up with all kinds of wacky reasons to fearmonger.