Sodium or Potassium for chlorine generators.

[Guest]

I have a water softener system on my full house. I would be using this water for the pool. I use Potassium Chloride as the softener salt instead of Sodium Chloride.

Is there an issue with having Potassium Chloride instead of Sodium Chloride?

I know that the salt turns into ions in water, so you would still end up with the Cl- being available for the SWG to use. From what I understand KCl requires 30% more to get the same Cl- ions when compared to NaCl.

 

[JasonLion]

Potassium chloride costs more and you need to use more of it, but otherwise is fine for use with a SWG. My understanding is that you need 17% more by weight to get the same level.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the information.

Since the Potassium Chloride is already being used by the water softener it is already in the water so the additional cost is minimal.

I just wanted to confirm from those in the know that it would be ok technically.

The question then becomes, how do you test for the level? I have found sodium chloride test strips (aquachek white), but not KCl strips.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the information.

Since the Potassium Chloride is already being used by the water softener it is already in the water so the additional cost is minimal.

I just wanted to confirm from those in the know that it would be ok technically.

The question then becomes, how do you test for the level? I have found sodium chloride test strips (aquachek white), but not KCl strips.

You would have to use a titration test for chloride ions or a conductivity meter calibrated for potassium chloride. Also, the amount of chloride ions in your water from the softener is going to be minimal so the expennse is still going to be a lot higher than if you used salt. If you tested the chloride levels in your water currently you will find that they are not that high and a LOT of additional salt or potassiium chloride is going to be needed! For Example, for a 15k pool you would need between about 350 to 600 lbs salt, depending on the brand of SWG and it's recommened salt level and if you used potassium chloride you would need an additional 17% by weight. The amount of salt that is already in your water from the softener would amount for AT MOST about 100 lbs of salt and in most instances MUCH less.

There is really NO advantage to using potasium chloride in the pool but it will raise your operating costs. Save it for the softener.

 

[Vegasmom]

I agree about the cost being high because you're going to need to add a lot more to the pool water. We use Potassium in our softener because my husband has high blood pressure. We don't use it in the pool, but he doesn't swim that much. So, for those with health issues, there is a difference.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the information!

I was not planning on using the potassium, but since it is already present thanks to the water softener, I wanted to make sure it would not negatively impact the SWG.

 

[Guest]

The amount added by your softener system is going to be inconsiquential, whether sodium chloride or potassium chloride so the error in the chloride from a small part being potassium chloride is nothing to worry about. Just add the amount of salt needed to bring your salt level to the recommended amount for your SWG and forget about it!