BBB, Salt, and relevance to bearings?

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C

crumley

0
May 24, 2011
30
Austin, TX
Background: Many years ago I gave up on chlorine pucks and switched to liquid chlorine (BBB) to keep the CYA in check (amongst other things). I've noticed the water tasting more and more salty. I assume as the sodium builds up from the liquid chlorine.

Question: Is there a point that using liquid chlorine raises the salt levels in the water high enough to need a bearing kit specific for salt water pools?

I am going to be replacing my pump with a new Hayward VS pump and want to make sure it has as long as life as possible.

Thanks in advance!
 
No matter which type of chlorine you use, it will raise the salt level by exactly the same amount (assuming identical FC targets). Chlorine has the same reaction path independent of the source.

The bearings in a motor should never touch water so that is not an issue either. However, the reason bearings rust and seize is because the pool owner fails to monitor the pump for leaks and once the shaft seal starts to leak, it doesn't take long for the bearings to rust and seize.
 
No. I don’t think there are any bearings in the pump exposed to pool water.
 
Cute marketing. It’s not Hayward OEM parts.
 
crum,

A quick check and the seals are Viton which is an upgrade. But that's only part of the story. Wear ring material is important too. Bottom line to me is probably not really needed right away. Just keep checking the pump for seal leak. When you do need to replace use the better kit and it will probably last longer. Many of the cheap seal sets (and even some OEM) are not high quality. Even when you replace with high-end materials you still need to monitor and change seal at first sign of leakage. Also for new motors, remove the 4 long thin bolts on the motor that hold it together and put some anti seize on the threads.. You can do this without removing the motor. Just turn off power and do one bolt at a time. Don't do this on old motors since you will probably break one of the bolts off. The anti seize prevents the bolts from seizing so you can replace the bearing later when needed instead of the whole motor.

Hope this helps.

Chris
 
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Basic seals have Buna Elastomers, a Phenolic (Plastic) Primary Ring and a Ceramic Seat. Theses are junk due to the primary ring composition.

"Ozone/salt" seals have Viton Elastomers, a Carbon Primary Ring and a Polished Ceramic Seat. These are acceptable.

The best seals have Viton Elastomers, a Silicon Carbide Primary Ring and a Silicon Carbide Seat.

It's definitely worthwhile to use the "ozone/salt" seal. The regular seals will wear out and leak. The silicon carbide seals are the best, but usually too expensive to be worthwhile in most cases.
 
JamesW said:
Basic seals have Buna Elastomers, a Phenolic (Plastic) Primary Ring and a Ceramic Seat. Theses are junk due to the primary ring composition.

"Ozone/salt" seals have Viton Elastomers, a Carbon Primary Ring and a Polished Ceramic Seat. These are acceptable.

The best seals have Viton Elastomers, a Silicon Carbide Primary Ring and a Silicon Carbide Seat.

It's definitely worthwhile to use the "ozone/salt" seal. The regular seals will wear out and leak. The silicon carbide seals are the best, but usually too expensive to be worthwhile in most cases.
Click to expand...
So do they refer to them as "Ozone/Salt" seals? I always thought they were just different model seals made of different materials.
 

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+1 and will file that info under 'good to know' if the situation arises.
 
setsailsoon said:
Also for new motors, remove the 4 long thin bolts on the motor that hold it together and put some anti seize on the threads.. You can do this without removing the motor. Just turn off power and do one bolt at a time. Don't do this on old motors since you will probably break one of the bolts off. The anti seize prevents the bolts from seizing so you can replace the bearing later when needed instead of the whole motor.

Hope this helps.

Chris
Click to expand...


Big Big fan of anti-seize. I used it primarily in automotive restoration.
So what was the first thing I did when I replaced my seal kit 2 years ago?
Coat the main bolt threads with anti-seize.
 
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