Follow-up ... will SWG work safely with a Heat Pump?

[tnthudson]

I posted earlier regarding the quality/use of Pentair's IntelliChlor SWG, and am probably going to order one today (our PB's once/year sale)...BUT I just need to be sure, will this SWG work okay with my existing heat pump (AquaCal). The PB says they'll install the SWG after the Heat Pump, but it hit me this morning...I hope the Salt, electrolysis, etc. won't hurt the heat pump (?) and conversely, I hope the heat pump won't adversely affect the SWG (?)
thanks

 

[JasonLion]

A SWG and a heat pump together are fine. If the heat pump has a copper heat exchange coil you need to worry about low PH far more than you need to worry about the effect of salt on the copper. If it has a titanium heat exchange coil then you have nothing to worry about at all.

 

[tnthudson]

cool, mine's Titanium
thanks Jason

 

[tnthudson]

One other thing, if I may:
This is from the IntelliChlor manual...it says it's in line with APSP professionals...I've read alot of the other SWG posts here and I was wondering if these chemistry recommendations sound right:

Free Chlorine: 2.0 - 4.0 ppm. Above 4.0 ppm may cause corrosion of metal components
Combined Chlorine (Chloramines): None (super chlorinate to remove all chloramines)
pH: 7.2 - 7.8 (USE MURIATIC ACID to lower pH and Soda Ash to raise pH.)
Cyanuric Acid: 50 - 80 ppm
Total Alkalinity: 80 - 120 ppm
Calcium Hardness: 200 - 400 ppm
TDS (includes salt): 3000 minium to 5700 to 6000 maximum ppm
Salt: 3000 - 4200 ppm (ideal 3400 ppm)
Metals (Copper, Iron, Manganese): None
Nitrates: None
Phosphates: Less than 125 ppb

This sounds 'more or less' in line with other posts I've read in the SWG section of the forum, but again, I'm running this with a heat pump (and Legend vac)...if that matters.
thanks

 

[JasonLion]

I essentially agree with those numbers. I normally recommend TA 60-90, CH 350-450, and CYA 60-80 with a SWG. I don't think there is any reason to worry about FC above 4 if your CYA level is indeed 60-80. Limiting FC is crucial when CYA is very low or zero. Lowering TA and raising CH will help reduce PH drift but otherwise is a trivial difference.

 

[Guest]

If it makes you feel any better Aquacal is the same company as Autopilot, which is one of the reasons they use titanium. Their heatpumps are designed to be used in salt pools.
As far as the numbers go I basically agree with Jason but I would put the CH at around 300 or a bit higher. This will help avoid scaling of the cell as quickly in event that the pH rises above 7.8 and should not present any problems to the plaster surface n as long as the pH is kept at around 7.6 (except for brief periods that might be needed to lower TA.) Low pH is very rarely a problem with a SWG but high pH is very common, along with the resultant scaling.

 

[tnthudson]

cool, that's great to hear...I'm going to order the SWG today, and I'm on the back end (I hope) of my conversion from Baquacil. Boy, I've learned alot about pool chemistry in the last week!
thanks again