New Salt system...questions

[Caracbeara]

We bought our house in September so this is our first season of ownership. We decided to switch to salt after lugging jugs for a month. We bought a Circupool RJ60 (after reading reviews here) and 17 bags of salt. Current test shows 600ppm currently in the water. Water is green..we are opening on Saturday.
I’m reading a lot about salt cells not working in cold temps. We live in Pennsylvania and don’t have a water heater.
My questions-
1. Was going salt a good choice if we’re going to have to lug jugs for half the season due to cooler temps? Can anyone from the northeast comment on this?
2. I bought Diamond Crystal solar naturals salt. Will this work?
3. Is it possible to power down the cell and just run the pump? Does this interfere with how the cell holds up?
4. How warm should the water be before we add salt and fire up the system?

I’m hoping we haven’t made a mistake by going the salt route. We’re doing our best to have a great first season. I’m currently soaking our filters because a mouse moved in and made a nest over the winter. We had a pool company close for us and they didn’t put the filter plug back. Mouse family moved in :/

Thanks for your help!!

 

[ajw22]

My water temperature has been around 60 in Northern NJ and my salt system has been running for about 2 weeks.

Add the salt, brush it around the pool to dissolve, run the pump for 24 hours, and then turn the cell on.

 

[mguzzy]

We bought our house in September so this is our first season of ownership. We decided to switch to salt after lugging jugs for a month. We bought a Circupool RJ60 (after reading reviews here) and 17 bags of salt. Current test shows 600ppm currently in the water. Water is green..we are opening on Saturday.
I’m reading a lot about salt cells not working in cold temps. We live in Pennsylvania and don’t have a water heater.
My questions-
1. Was going salt a good choice if we’re going to have to lug jugs for half the season due to cooler temps? Can anyone from the northeast comment on this?
2. I bought Diamond Crystal solar naturals salt. Will this work?
3. Is it possible to power down the cell and just run the pump? Does this interfere with how the cell holds up?
4. How warm should the water be before we add salt and fire up the system?

I’m hoping we haven’t made a mistake by going the salt route. We’re doing our best to have a great first season. I’m currently soaking our filters because a mouse moved in and made a nest over the winter. We had a pool company close for us and they didn’t put the filter plug back. Mouse family moved in :/

Thanks for your help!!

No you did not make the wrong choice.. but you will have a bit of a learning curve discovering how your new gizmo works. You said your pool water was green? sounds like you're going to need a to do an opening day SLAM. Use liquid Cl to bring your FC up to SLAM levels.. it will go a Lot faster. But leave the SWG off for that process, or at least during the time you do the OCLT so it doesn't skew your results.

1) I assume you close your pool in the winter? then no one is using it no need to haul jugs. You will need to do some jug hauling in the beginning of the season to get the FC up to target.. then let the SWG take over
2) That will work just fine.. I use the same or Mortons
3) Yes.. just turn it off, and no it doesn't affect how the cell holds up.. I just leave mine on all the time. Even when its dormant in the winter.. it turns itself off
4) The SWG controller will tell you if its too cold to generate and will suppress its function automatically.

Mice in your filter? ugh. If you opened your pool to a green monster then I don't think the pool company did a very good job closing it.. You might consider doing it yourself next time. Check this ... also lots of good stuff in the wiki.
Closing an In Ground Pool - Trouble Free Pool

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

I have done the slowest install known to man (and no because of the thunderstorms yesterday I didn't get it in, but this weekend I will and I'll tweak everything over Memorial Day weekend) of a Circupool Universal 40... but by doing it this way I have been burning off the originally 12 gallons of pool chlorine off and slowly getting the water balanced the way it should be for the SWCG. (I raised CYA a bit to 50 but not enough yet, and I have the salt at about 3100 PPM or the low end, but I did it a bag at a time. You can see my thread about mixing thoroughly, I recommend when you get close to the level you wait two days in between mixing as it took that long for mine to stabilize and you really don't want to add too much. Run the pump on high a lot and set it for 24 hrs when doing it.)

It's much more stable now, but there was a run on "pool salt" here a couple weeks ago when I started to do this, so I got a bag here, a bag there, etc.

My favorites in order:

1. Morton Pool Salt. Expensive but probably is just the right size.
2. Diamond Crystal Solar Crystals (blue bag Water Softener Salt). Almost the right size. $2 cheaper than the Morton. Better than:
3. Lowe's branded pool salt. Very fine. Almost too fine.
4. Diamond Crystal Pool Salt. Seems to dissolve slowly despite being fine.
5. Diamond Crystal "briquette" type water softener salt. Oddly enough if you don't care to check on it until the next day, it works fine. It's just annoying to look at in the meantime or swim in.

But those are all the different ones I ended up using over a two week period to get the salt level up. I started at 800 ppm salt, it's rather enlightening to look at the salt contribution of Bleach/liquid chlorine in Pool Math. IT's more than you would think.

From most of what I have seen, when the water temperature is at 60F you are good to run the SWCG. Some will run as low as 50F, but I think that varies on the unit itself.

Good luck with your install. It's not too bad to do, considering I had one of the more difficult installs due to limited space in the output of the filter to the returns pipe. It's actually done for me except screwing down the control unit, and putting the cell in. I have the bypass installed right now. I just need to get rid of some of my excess liquid chlorine stash, I apparently hoarded too much when it looked like we wouldn't be able to get any. Hopefully everything will be fine, I didn't intend on buying it a whole month before turning it on, but that is what ended up happening.

 

[Caracbeara]

No you did not make the wrong choice.. but you will have a bit of a learning curve discovering how your new gizmo works. You said your pool water was green? sounds like you're going to need a to do an opening day SLAM. Use liquid Cl to bring your FC up to SLAM levels.. it will go a Lot faster. But leave the SWG off for that process, or at least during the time you do the OCLT so it doesn't skew your results.

1) I assume you close your pool in the winter? then no one is using it no need to haul jugs. You will need to do some jug hauling in the beginning of the season to get the FC up to target.. then let the SWG take over
2) That will work just fine.. I use the same or Mortons
3) Yes.. just turn it off, and no it doesn't affect how the cell holds up.. I just leave mine on all the time. Even when its dormant in the winter.. it turns itself off
4) The SWG controller will tell you if its too cold to generate and will suppress its function automatically.

Mice in your filter? ugh. If you opened your pool to a green monster then I don't think the pool company did a very good job closing it.. You might consider doing it yourself next time. Check this ... also lots of good stuff in the wiki.
Closing an In Ground Pool - Trouble Free Pool

We plan on closing it ourselves this year. The previous owner had already scheduled the closing so we kept the appointment. Never again!!!

 

[Caracbeara]

I have done the slowest install known to man (and no because of the thunderstorms yesterday I didn't get it in, but this weekend I will and I'll tweak everything over Memorial Day weekend) of a Circupool Universal 40... but by doing it this way I have been burning off the originally 12 gallons of pool chlorine off and slowly getting the water balanced the way it should be for the SWCG. (I raised CYA a bit to 50 but not enough yet, and I have the salt at about 3100 PPM or the low end, but I did it a bag at a time. You can see my thread about mixing thoroughly, I recommend when you get close to the level you wait two days in between mixing as it took that long for mine to stabilize and you really don't want to add too much. Run the pump on high a lot and set it for 24 hrs when doing it.)

It's much more stable now, but there was a run on "pool salt" here a couple weeks ago when I started to do this, so I got a bag here, a bag there, etc.

My favorites in order:

1. Morton Pool Salt. Expensive but probably is just the right size.
2. Diamond Crystal Solar Crystals (blue bag Water Softener Salt). Almost the right size. $2 cheaper than the Morton. Better than:
3. Lowe's branded pool salt. Very fine. Almost too fine.
4. Diamond Crystal Pool Salt. Seems to dissolve slowly despite being fine.
5. Diamond Crystal "briquette" type water softener salt. Oddly enough if you don't care to check on it until the next day, it works fine. It's just annoying to look at in the meantime or swim in.

But those are all the different ones I ended up using over a two week period to get the salt level up. I started at 800 ppm salt, it's rather enlightening to look at the salt contribution of Bleach/liquid chlorine in Pool Math. IT's more than you would think.

From most of what I have seen, when the water temperature is at 60F you are good to run the SWCG. Some will run as low as 50F, but I think that varies on the unit itself.

Good luck with your install. It's not too bad to do, considering I had one of the more difficult installs due to limited space in the output of the filter to the returns pipe. It's actually done for me except screwing down the control unit, and putting the cell in. I have the bypass installed right now. I just need to get rid of some of my excess liquid chlorine stash, I apparently hoarded too much when it looked like we wouldn't be able to get any. Hopefully everything will be fine, I didn't intend on buying it a whole month before turning it on, but that is what ended up happening.

Your salt info is super helpful, thank you! I’m encouraged that we might be able to use the salt cell sooner than I had thought!

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

Sure.. it's been my obsession for weeks now. It's been a fun project, and I think it will greatly improve the overall experience with the pool. It takes some of the "daily" tasks out of the picture and I imagine if needed I could go a week with the SWCG and not have to do anything. But yeah, just avoid "Chlorox" branded salt and you'll be good. In general Morton and Diamond Crystal brands are the go to, but the Lowe's branded pool salt had all sorts of seal of approvals on it, so who knows. I only used 1/7 bags of that. At 28K and 600 ppm you'll use about double of mine, or 14-16 bags. Stop at about half, measure. And then add half of what you need for the rest. Then do that again until you are at the low end of the salt level (3000 PPM) .. then install. You will need one to two bags to tweak afterwards.... maybe....

The K-1766 test kit is really kinda cool. It starts off yellow like an OTO test. Then it becomes cloudy white-yellow with the first drop of pool water. Then eventually it turns brick red in what looks like a witches brew.. It's probably my favorite test because of that. Though you do have to clean the graduated cylinder up more thoroughly than other tests because of a residue it leaves. But even that is fun, IMHO.

 

[mguzzy]

Your salt info is super helpful, thank you! I’m encouraged that we might be able to use the salt cell sooner than I had thought!

Just stay away from the Clorox brand salt. I still see it for sale at Walmarts... its been known to have iron contamination and will stain your pool. You'll never know which batches have the contamination and which ones don't so it recommended to just not use it at all. It got my pool one year.

 

[Caracbeara]

Sure.. it's been my obsession for weeks now. It's been a fun project, and I think it will greatly improve the overall experience with the pool. It takes some of the "daily" tasks out of the picture and I imagine if needed I could go a week with the SWCG and not have to do anything. But yeah, just avoid "Chlorox" branded salt and you'll be good. In general Morton and Diamond Crystal brands are the go to, but the Lowe's branded pool salt had all sorts of seal of approvals on it, so who knows. I only used 1/7 bags of that. At 28K and 600 ppm you'll use about double of mine, or 14-16 bags. Stop at about half, measure. And then add half of what you need for the rest. Then do that again until you are at the low end of the salt level (3000 PPM) .. then install. You will need one to two bags to tweak afterwards.... maybe....

The K-1766 test kit is really kinda cool. It starts off yellow like an OTO test. Then it becomes cloudy white-yellow with the first drop of pool water. Then eventually it turns brick red in what looks like a witches brew.. It's probably my favorite test because of that. Though you do have to clean the graduated cylinder up more thoroughly than other tests because of a residue it leaves. But even that is fun, IMHO.

I just got that test kit. It’s what gave me the 600ppm reading. It was fun to watch it turn!

 

[Caracbeara]

One more question....Last year when we opened our filter and drained it to clean the cartridges, the water drained into our yard.

Where do you all drain your water when you need to drain a little? I’m assuming the water will kill the grass...

 

[mguzzy]

Into your storm drain, if you have one. Some communtiies have specific guidelines as to where to drain your pool to.

 

[setsailsoon]

Car,

I don't know anybody that converted to salt and wished they hadn't. I'm like most and I just wish I had converted a long time ago. Here's another set of responses:

1. Was going salt a good choice if we’re going to have to lug jugs for half the season due to cooler temps? Can anyone from the northeast comment on this? Not in NE so can't help. Allen looks like he's responded from your neck of the woods.
2. I bought Diamond Crystal solar naturals salt. Will this work? Almost any water softener salt will work so long as it doesn't have additives for iron containing water. I've used Morton's granules and pellets and I know there are a lot of people on here that use Diamond.
3. Is it possible to power down the cell and just run the pump? Does this interfere with how the cell holds up? Yes, I do that a lot. During most of the year my cell puts out more FC than I need even at 40% so I run it less than the pump runs for my solar heat etc. Do make sure you have enough CYA. It makes a big difference.
4. How warm should the water be before we add salt and fire up the system? I would wait 'till it's over 60 or so but I don't think it really matters. May dissolve a little slower in colder temps.

My overflow goes to the storm drain. A small amount in the yard won't hurt but over time I'm sure it would be a problem for most lawns.

You're gonna love your salt system!!

I hope this is helpful.

Chris

 

[-MacGyver-]

NE'r by Lake Ontario. Pool is fluctuating between 54 and 48 this last week. If the air temps get better could turn on the SWG in another 10 days, hopefully less.

The worst here might be three/four weeks. Where you are should be less.

Had the SWG been installed last year, instead of mid-season, it could have used within 10 days of opening. Versus almost three weeks this year. In either case not even close to half the season .

 

[vjc103]

I have done the slowest install known to man (and no because of the thunderstorms yesterday I didn't get it in, but this weekend I will and I'll tweak everything over Memorial Day weekend) of a Circupool Universal 40... but by doing it this way I have been burning off the originally 12 gallons of pool chlorine off and slowly getting the water balanced the way it should be for the SWCG. (I raised CYA a bit to 50 but not enough yet, and I have the salt at about 3100 PPM or the low end, but I did it a bag at a time. You can see my thread about mixing thoroughly, I recommend when you get close to the level you wait two days in between mixing as it took that long for mine to stabilize and you really don't want to add too much. Run the pump on high a lot and set it for 24 hrs when doing it.)

It's much more stable now, but there was a run on "pool salt" here a couple weeks ago when I started to do this, so I got a bag here, a bag there, etc.

My favorites in order:

Just curious. Why does it matter what brand of salt one buys as long as % of contaminants is low below 1%) ? It's the same simple chemical compound (NaCl) regardless of the brand.

 

[ajw22]

Just curious. Why does it matter what brand of salt one buys as long as % of contaminants is low below 1%) ? It's the same simple chemical compound (NaCl) regardless of the brand.

Even less then 1% of contaminants like iron can stain the bottom of a pool. We have seen salt that is either improperly labled or have pool quality control stain pools. So we try and steer members to the brands we have good experience with and away from ones with known problems like Clorox pool salt..

 

[Caracbeara]

NE'r by Lake Ontario. Pool is fluctuating between 54 and 48 this last week. If the air temps get better could turn on the SWG in another 10 days, hopefully less.

The worst here might be three/four weeks. Where you are should be less.

Had the SWG been installed last year, instead of mid-season, it could have used within 10 days of opening. Versus almost three weeks this year. In either case not even close to half the season .

A salt pool in Rochester gives me confidence!

 

[vjc103]

Even less then 1% of contaminants like iron can stain the bottom of a pool.

Got it. Thanks.

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

Just curious. Why does it matter what brand of salt one buys as long as % of contaminants is low below 1%) ? It's the same simple chemical compound (NaCl) regardless of the brand.

Chlorox branded pool salt is known to have purity issues. (iron). Just like a lot of their pool chemicals. Some are okay. I added Chlorox CYA and it's fine. Some Wal-Marts still carry Chlorox salt as the "cheap" brand but I noticed it's getting replaced with Morton now at the ones that had it.

Otherwise, I posted this to be kind of fun and let people know I ran an inadvertent experiment of sorts. The supply has stabilized a lot but there was a run on salt about three weeks ago here that made me have to buy a bag here, a couple of bags there, etc. SO I used those five different types. All worked just fine. IF I would have known the little local Ace had enough Diamond Crystal "Solar Crystals" (they had a run on "pool salt" too...) I would have just bought all eight bags from them and been done with it. I figured that out at the very end!

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

The cells should last longer in the cold climates-- especially if you put in the dummy cells in winter,. This means the value proposition of them is not really any different than in the warmer climates. Assuming nothing stupid goes wrong (like lightning or a defect in the unit), the cell will produce it's rated lifespan of pounds of chlorine. If that is used 4 months a year versus the 8 that I'd use it here, it should last twice as long. In theory anyway.. but probably in practice too.

 

[-MacGyver-]

Pool was 62 on Saturday and almost 65 by end of Sunday. Put the salt cell in Sunday Morning (didn't start adding salt until Friday) and generating chlorine.