Salt Question

[Philo]

If there is NO Splash Out or Rain Flooding do you ever have to add salt to the pool?

Thanks

 

[skylar18]

Nope! We have very little rain most seasons in Texas so very rarely does the rain get the water over the overfill and I have very little splash out and I rarely have to add salt. At most 2 bags a year.

One time I did top off my pool, left it on for hours.....and it rained. Because it was raining I didn't go outside to check the pool. When I realized my mistake I was adding all sorts of chemicals including Salt to get everything in balance, and I had a large water bill. Now set my timer when I top off the pool!

 

[bdavis466]

If there is NO Splash Out or Rain Flooding do you ever have to add salt to the pool?

In this case, the salt level would likely rise from adding other chemicals. Acid is the chief offender of this, but nearly everything you add to your pool also adds salt (chloride) to some extent.

Every gallon of acid added is the same as adding nearly 5 pounds of salt

 

[AUSpool]

You will need to replace what is being used by your SWCG but nothing due to dilution. From skylar18's experience and comparing pool sizes maybe 3 bags a year.

 

[skylar18]

In this case, the salt level would likely rise from adding other chemicals. Acid is the chief offender of this, but nearly everything you add to your pool also adds salt (chloride) to some extent.

Every gallon of acid added is the same as adding nearly 5 pounds of salt

I remember before I added my initial bags of salt after waiting the 30 days after plaster, My salt ppm was 1100 before I added my first bag of salt. I assumed it was mostly from the MA as I seemed to be dumping it in by the gallons (Probably exaggerating but it seemed like it at the time) to keep my PH in check and my bleach. I also found that there was salt in my fill water. I quickly stopped my pool builder from adding all the salt he wanted to by about a third....came in right at my target 3500 that I was aiming for.

 

[jmastron]

You will need to replace what is being used by your SWCG but nothing due to dilution. From skylar18's experience and comparing pool sizes maybe 3 bags a year.

My understanding is that the SWCG doesn't "use up" the salt -- it converts the chloride to chlorine, and as the chlorine is used in the pool turns back to chloride again. So any salt level decrease would be from splashout/draining, not the SWCG process.

 

[skylar18]

My understanding is that the SWCG doesn't "use up" the salt -- it converts the chloride to chlorine, and as the chlorine is used in the pool turns back to chloride again. So any salt level decrease would be from splashout/draining, not the SWCG process.

That is my understanding as well, The compound that makes up salt gets split somehow when goes over the electrodes in the Salt Generator and one of the by products then is Cl. Somehow magically it goes back to Salt. Since I am not a chemist or that smart I could be wrong but that is my understanding. I am sure Chem Geek or these other chemists can explain.

 

[AUSpool]

I believe your right, I had never thought about it much and with all the rain we get we tend to add salt quite regularly so it's easy to assume it's being used. I was starting to think however that if we were using the chloride ion why doesn't a SWCG pool slowly become a solid block of sodium. A very small amount of chlorine gas is out gassed but Chem Geek explains in Pool Water Chemistry how it all happens.