Mineral Chlorinators - better than SWCs

[Milan]

Hi all,

I am in the process on buying a new SWC - when the guy from the pool shop strongly recommended that I go with a Mineral Chlorinator. He explained that this is gaining heaps of popularity - and the water is a lot nicer. I don't think it is the Silver / Copper anode type - I am not exactly sure what it is to be honest.

Does anyone know about this system?

https://www.aiswater.com.au/product/mineralchlor

May I ask this question - Is there an alternative to SWCs or normal pool chlorine systems that give that gives a natural feel or mineral feel that is effective?

Thank you in advance,
Milan.

PS pool is 55,000L - Australian based.

 

[JohnT]

No, there is not. They are all scams and are not safe for swimmers.

Stick with chlorine for safety. Mineral systems don't provide any special water feel unless they are using salt, and you don't need a special system to add that to your water.

 

[robl45]

The thing you linked appears to be a Salt Chlorinator although it does seem to talk about some other minerals as well.

Hi all,

I am in the process on buying a new SWC - when the guy from the pool shop strongly recommended that I go with a Mineral Chlorinator. He explained that this is gaining heaps of popularity - and the water is a lot nicer. I don't think it is the Silver / Copper anode type - I am not exactly sure what it is to be honest.

Does anyone know about this system?

https://www.aiswater.com.au/product/mineralchlor

May I ask this question - Is there an alternative to SWCs or normal pool chlorine systems that give that gives a natural feel or mineral feel that is effective?

Thank you in advance,
Milan.

PS pool is 55,000L - Australian based.

 

[JasonLion]

In most contexts "mineral" tends to mean copper, which we strongly recommend avoiding. However, this particular system seems to have nothing to do with copper, and instead uses magnesium chloride, rather than sodium chloride, which is a different thing entirely. Their main point seems to be that they work with lower salt levels. Entertainingly, essentially all US salt systems work with lower salt levels, just as they do, while Australian systems have historically required higher levels. It is also interesting to note that no SWG really cares what kind of chloride you use, magnesium chloride and sodium chloride, and various other chlorides, are all interchangeable.

Using a system that works with a lower salt level is fine, but I don't get where the rest of their claims are coming from as nothing else seems different about this system.

 

[Milan]

In most contexts "mineral" tends to mean copper, which we strongly recommend avoiding. However, this particular system seems to have nothing to do with copper, and instead uses magnesium chloride, rather than sodium chloride, which is a different thing entirely. Their main point seems to be that they work with lower salt levels. Entertainingly, essentially all US salt systems work with lower salt levels, just as they do, while Australian systems have historically required higher levels. It is also interesting to note that no SWG really cares what kind of chloride you use, magnesium chloride and sodium chloride, and various other chlorides, are all interchangeable.

Using a system that works with a lower salt level is fine, but I don't get where the rest of their claims are coming from as nothing else seems different about this system.

Yes - The pool guy explained that I needed to add some sort of minerals (instead of salt). So what stops me from doing that with a standard SWC?

 

[JasonLion]

There is nothing stopping you, other than it being a bit more expensive. Also, with most Austrian SWGs you will need a higher chloride level than you would need with the Mineral Chlor, but that is really an unrelated issue.

Magnesium has the nice property of noticeably lowering the odds of calcium scaling in the SWG, though on the other side it does just slightly increase the odds of metal staining.

The effect on water "feel" is debatable, with some people liking it a great deal and others being unable to tell any difference.

There are few on the forum who have tried adding magnesium so I can't really give you a definitive answer.

 

[Sticky]

Hi Milan ,

Did you go with the mineral chlor system , I was at the pool shop today as this system was suggested mainly because my mother has sensitive skin .

A quick look here is my take on it : still still uses chlorine just less 1.5ppm not 3-4ppm so how does it kept the bact algae down , uses proprietary blend of minerals with secret ingredients so I bet it is more costly per bag so cant can not just use any bag of salt .

 

[chem geek]

Same question asked and answered here. The pool shop is not talking about a magnesium salt, but rather more likely copper ions because they are an alagecide that would let one lower the active chlorine level (FC/CYA ratio). However, copper ions can stain pool surfaces, especially plaster (and pebblecrete) and can turn blond hair greenish if you don't carefully manage the copper ion concentration and prevent the pH from getting too high. This is why we don't recommend it. See my post responding to you in the other thread for more info.