Broadhead H20 to Prevent Calcium Buildup

[Lewis714]

Does anyone have any experience with the Broadhead H2O system? I am in the process of building a new pool & I am trying to make it as maintenance free as possible. In the past I have been very careful about checking the saturation index and adjusting things to avoid calcium buildup. Unfortunately, I still had to deal with a fair amount of calcium buildup especially around where the hot tub water wood spill over back into the pool. Being that calcium is a salt (ions in water) and not magnetic, I don't understand how putting water through a magnetic field will affect whether calcium will precipitate or not. If someone has some experience with this and especially some knowledge regarding the use of it, I would be especially grateful if you would respond. I am trying not to spend money on snake oil but don't want to overlook the next miracle either.

Thanks!

 

[Jimrahbe]

Lewis,

Sounds like a lot of snake oil to me, but I honestly do not have a clue...

Let's see if Matt understands the science.. Calling @JoyfulNoise

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Lewis714]

Thanks Jim,

I will share that to avoid calcium buildup (more problematic in the summer with the higher temps) I have the auto pool filler take water from my water softening system. In the winter when the pool benefits from more calcium I switch it to the plain city water in the winter. Seems to help in avoiding dumping a lot of pool water unnecessarily.

 

[Donldson]

"Magnets" was all I needed to see. Only the oiliest of snake oil uses magnets to (my assumption based on the fuel line versions) "align the calcium molecules so they repel each other instead of collecting to form scale". I'm not looking it up, someone can confirm or debunk my guess if they feel so inclined.

The best way to prevent scale is to keep the CSI (Calcium Saturation Index) roughly neutral. PoolMath is one easy way to calculate CSI and record results.

Welcome to TFP! Hope you find the information here to be useful and don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have.

 

[Lewis714]

Thanks Donaldson!

I was hoping someone bought it, used it and actually has a plausible reason for why it works. Having a science background, this just makes no sense! I understand how MRI's work... the hydrogen in water when exposed to a magnetic field aligns with the magnet, but that is short-lived. Calcium not precipitating because of a short exposure to a magnetic field makes no sense unless the chemical balance is right. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts!

 

[Griswald]

Thanks Donaldson!

I was hoping someone bought it, used it and actually has a plausible reason for why it works. Having a science background, this just makes no sense! I understand how MRI's work... the hydrogen in water when exposed to a magnetic field aligns with the magnet, but that is short-lived. Calcium not precipitating because of a short exposure to a magnetic field makes no sense unless the chemical balance is right. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts!

A MRI machine is 3 to 5 Tesla's or 30000 to 50000 Gauss, that device might be 50 Gauss max. Not enough to even pull the iron out of your water!

 

[Lewis714]

Very true! I'm not saying they are the same strength or even close. I'm just asking if anyone has experience or understanding before I just chalk this up to being snake oil.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

My favorite pseudoscience debunking website for all questions water-related .... written by an ACTUAL scientist -

Water pseudoscience and quackery

 

[Lewis714]

Thanks! I looked through some of the stuff and as I expected no good scientific studies showing any benefit...SNAKE OIL!

 

[Dirk]

I had a massive calcium build up problem (left to me by the previous owners who used a pool guy that didn't know his stuff). I won't bore you with the solid tale, but I ended up replacing the plaster, and blasting the edge tile, which solved for the existing build up. By following TFPC religiously, I've eliminated the build up under the water, so far. I've been able to maintain the proper level by filling the pool only with soft water (which negates what the city water would do, did do, to the pool). That said, I'm just now seeing a hint of build up at the water line. I plan on just scrubbing that off when the water warms up. Others may have to correct me, but I'm of the belief that what I was seeing under water and what I'm now getting above are two different things. Same mineral perhaps, but different causes. I can now control calcium adhering under water, but I think it has something to do with evaporation at the water line, which I can't control. So I'll brush. Something like that. While I know even less than that about these magnets, if they could be shown to work at all, I bet they wouldn't circumvent this evaporation cause. That's why we have to manually maintain the water line, and things like water falls etc. Sorry, though, I can't answer your original question...