After a reading from the local pool store, my CH was 120. The guy at the store says it's important to get it up to 200-250 range to protect equipment (especially heater). After reading the Pool School, it appears that my 120 is probably fine for a Vinyl pool. Is there any truth to the pool guy telling me I need a higher CH to protect my equipment?
CH levels for Vinyl pool
- Thread starter run53
- Start date
The only reason to raise CH in a vinyl pool is to avoid any risk of voiding warranties on new equipment. The only risk to the heater is if your CH level is too high, which could cause scaling.
Thanks Jason.....that's what I thought. So I'm not sure why he wanted me to raise the CH since it was already at 120. When I asked him why it needed to be higher, he mentioned equipment protection but perhaps I misunderstood his response. I'm not so sure I trust him now, since my CH is already 120 and he wants to get it to 200-250.
It is a common myth in the pool industry that CH is required to protect metal in the plumbing, such as inside the heater.
perhaps he/she would have liked you to purchase some CH from the store?...just saying
Just an FYI...the manual for my heat pump says to keep the CH in the 200-400 ppm range or I may void the warranty. I have naturally high CH in my fill/house water, ~200 -250, so it's not a problem.
There is copper piping in many homes and many water systems use or used chlorine at around 1 ppm FC or so with no CYA (so stronger than found in pools with CYA which is closer to 0.1 ppm FC equivalent with no CYA) yet the CH levels could be low such as 30 or 50 ppm yet do not cause serious corrosion issues. Yes, some water districts do use corrosion inhibitors (mine uses around 400 ppm phosphates), but not all do.
The controversy regarding having water saturated with calcium carbonate to prevent metal corrosion is discussed here.
The controversy regarding having water saturated with calcium carbonate to prevent metal corrosion is discussed here.
Thanks for the info. If my CH weren't naturally high I would not add any calcium to the water to get to the recommended level. I do tend to keep my pH a little low, in the 7.2 to 7.4 range to keeping scaling in check.
interesting stuff.........I suppose if for no other reason, I should try to keep my CH in the 200-400 range so my heater warranty will not be void. I just checked my heater warranty and sure enough, it states the CH range needs to be 200-400 to keep the warranty in tact.