Is my new heater already corroding away?

[DavidArmenB]

Two month old Hayward heater. I do have a heater bypass valve and an in-line chlorinator after the heater with a jandy one-way valve directly after the heater outlet. The chlorinator is going in the trash today and being replaced by a Hayward SWCG. Looking in the inlet and outlet ports of the heater, I saw green on the copper piping in the heat exchanger. Did it rust this severely after only two months and being used only twice? Extremely concerning.

 

[mknauss]

What has your pool water chemistry test results been?

 

[DavidArmenB]

What has your pool water chemistry test results been?

Thank you for the response.

Taylor K-2006

pH: 7.6
Alkalinity: 120ppm
Calcium Hardness: 275-300ppm
Cyanuric Acid: 60ppm

Currently using liquid chlorine to maintain FC levels of 7-9ppm based on my CYA of 60ppm until I install the SWCG.

Recently moved about three months ago and became a first-time pool owner. Water was pretty well balanced when I moved. I replaced all aging pool equipment and removed the existing chlorine floater for an in-line chlorinator. Starting two weeks ago, I have had the goal of converting my pool to salt water after I learned about CYA from this wonderful forum. My CYA was 150ppm because of consistent trichlor usage. I drained and diluted the pool to decrease CYA but my tap water had Alkalinity levels of 160ppm. As a result, I slowly reduced alkalinity with HCl while aerating to keep pH steady. I never added too much acid at once to decrease pH lower than 7.2 and then I would aerate until pH went back up to 7.6 and repeat until I lowered alkalinity to 120ppm (ultimate goal is 100ppm). That entire time the heater was completely bypassed and drained of water.

My worry is that gases from the chlotinator somehow made it into the heater and started to corrode it.

 

[mknauss]

Great.
All copper ages some from exposure to water. I would not overreact to what you see.

The safest way to use an inline trichlor chlorinator is to only have trichlor in it when the pump is being run. So the pump must be left on 24 hours per day when using it.

 

[borjis]

Congrats on swapping out the chlorinator for an swg!

 

[DavidArmenB]

Great.
All copper ages some from exposure to water. I would not overreact to what you see.

The safest way to use an inline trichlor chlorinator is to only have trichlor in it when the pump is being run. So the pump must be left on 24 hours per day when using it.

Thank you for the information. That’s very relieving because at first I thought that at this rate the heater wouldn’t last a year.

During my 48 hour drain and refill a few days ago, the pump was completely off and I had half a dozen tablets in the chlorinator which I am sure did not help. I am very active in keeping my water as balanced as I possibly can. I will also not have to deal with the high acidity of trichlor tablets much longer since I will be removing the chlorinator completely when I install the AquaRite.

 

[DavidArmenB]

Congrats on swapping out the chlorinator for an swg!

Thank you! I didn’t have an issue with the in-line chlorinator until I learned all about CYA. I immediately ordered the AquaRite with the T15 cell. Waiting to be installed soon! Having a pool party today so it has to wait for tomorrow! Haha

 

[DavidArmenB]

SWG installed and salt added!
According to my calculations, my pool is somewhere between 15,000 and 16,000 gallons.

As per pool calculators, I needed to add ~420lbs of salt to reach my desired concentration of 3200ppm. I decided to add less salt just to be safe and then add more if needed. However, 18 hours after adding eight 40lb bags of salt (320lbs total) and leaving the pump on, I checked the readings on my Hayward AquaRite control box and it is showing 3,100ppm, both for the average and the instantaneous readings.

Either my pool is only 12,000-13,000 gallons, or the reading on the control box is higher than my actual salt concentration. I read somewhere it can be +-500ppm off. Pool calculators show my reading should be about 2,400ppm for 320lbs of salt for a 16,000 gallon pool. The correct cell is indicated on the control box (T-15). I will be receiving my K-1766 kit tomorrow so I will know my actual salt levels soon! Until then, I have the SWG off (I am sanitizing with liquid chlorine) and my pump running with the main drain and vacuum to properly and completely circulate the salt.

 

[mknauss]

It is likely your salt level in your pool was several hundred ppm. Chlorine, muriatic acid, people, all add salt to the pool.

 

[1poolman1]

Two month old Hayward heater. I do have a heater bypass valve and an in-line chlorinator after the heater with a jandy one-way valve directly after the heater outlet. The chlorinator is going in the trash today and being replaced by a Hayward SWCG. Looking in the inlet and outlet ports of the heater, I saw green on the copper piping in the heat exchanger. Did it rust this severely after only two months and being used only twice? Extremely concerning.

Other than a little discoloration from pool water (very normal) those tubes look great. If you look at the very end of the tube it is still as it came from the factory, no erosion. They start to get thin right on the ends if there is really bad chemistry or very high water flow.

 

[DavidArmenB]

It is likely your salt level in your pool was several hundred ppm. Chlorine, muriatic acid, people, all add salt to the pool.

That makes a lot of sense! God knows what other chemicals are in trichlor tablets other than chlorine and CYA.

 

[DavidArmenB]

Other than a little discoloration from pool water (very normal) those tubes look great. If you look at the very end of the tube it is still as it came from the factory, no erosion. They start to get thin right on the ends if there is really bad chemistry or very high water flow.

That is great to hear! Thank you!

 

[DavidArmenB]

It is likely your salt level in your pool was several hundred ppm. Chlorine, muriatic acid, people, all add salt to the pool.

That’s exactly what it was. Measuring with the 1766 kit today gave me a concentration of 3200ppm. The Hayward control panel is quite accurate with readings around 3100-3300ppm.

 

[mknauss]

The Aquarite does not measure salinity directly. It correlates the amps and voltage to get the salinity. As the cell wears, the reported salinity will be less than actual.