SWG water killing grass

[A1Texan]

Okay, I just met with PB and they made the comment that if I went with SWG then I run the risk of killing the grass when I back wash the sand filter. They offer the SWG at no additional charge(upgrade) from their Rainbow 300. They showed me pictures of salt pools damaging the flagstone coping. Am I just being paranoid on this subject?

 

[ajw22]

I am sure you can find damaged flagstone in non-SWG pools also. But PB dont carry those around and blame them on something else.

Here is an older thread on the topic to not rehash it all - Pictures of Salt Water flagstone or coping damage?

You might want to look into Texas Pool Coping Sealers Cleaning: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio

 

[A1Texan]

Thanks ajw22 for including this thread. Just me being paranoid.

 

[ajw22]

You might want to look into Texas Pool Coping Sealers Cleaning: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio

 

[Jimrahbe]

a1,

I would be suspect of any SWCG that they would install that is the same price as an Rainbow feeder.. You need to get the exact model and P/N before deciding.

I would think it would not be a good idea to feed your yard saltwater all the time, but how often do you plan to backwash? I don't have a sand filter, but I only clean my filter about twice a year. In a TFP pool, you should not have to backwash all that often unless you get tons of debris.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[pookiesunshine]

a quote from ajw's link "[FONT=&quot]Salt water resistant sealing stones are the best choice of sealant for a salt water pool since they are designed to provide effective and long-lasting protection for salt water pools." I think "sealing stones" is supposed to be sealing silanes, but that is also awkward. not really sure.

What i am sure of is that decorative acrylic sealers for concrete around SWG pools does not work very well. i know this doesn't really address the main point of your OP.[/FONT]

 

[Killer95Stang]

I agree with above... So he is offering you at no charge a SWG unit installed? PB's usually charge something like $1500.00 for the equipment and install of a Pentair IC40, which is probably the most common unit installed in a Pentair equipped pool. In contrast, that Rainbow costs about $79 retail and $5 in fitting and glue.... hmm... I'd try to talk customers out of a salt water pool too, if I could pocket a $1000 extra profit.

Also, if you are worried about the grass, they sell a backwash hoses in 100ft lengths, so you can send your backwash water anywhere you want.

 

[iamtexmax]

Hi Lonnie - just for kicks - who was the PB making this comment? Most PBs in the Austin area are extremely reluctant to add SWG - some of them outright refuse to do it - excuses given are - will damage coping; destroy furniture, etc etc and in addition to that they will tell you that they cannot give warranty

Also addition of a SWG normally costs around $1500

 

[Jimrahbe]

Lonnie,

While I don't buy into the saltwater is what kills flag stone, I do buy into flagstone is not what to have next to any pool.

Why not just pick another product for the coping?

Jim R.

 

[A1Texan]

I wasn't going with flagstone. That's just what they offered. I like clean lines so looking at travertine, concrete coping or poured concrete. Very light in color. I was mainly worried about the yard and not so much about the coping. Thanks for the feedback from everyone. The SWG they have is the Hayward - Aqua Rite T-15.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Lonnie,

That is a great SWCG!! As long as your pool is less than 20K gallons and it appears to me it will be.

Jim R.

 

[chiefwej]

Texas pool builders love to work with local Texas stone. It’s relatively cheap. It’s soft and easy to work with. It also looks great. Unfortunately because it’s a relatively soft stone it is prone to damage from salt in Texas’s dry climate. In almost any other climate or with almost any other stone, it wouldn’t be a problem, but in Texas......

That’s the reason Texas pool builders seem to steer customers away from salt. As far as your problem with backwash water, you could just go with a cartridge filter and avoid it. Get an over sized one, use hair nets in skimmers and you won’t even need to clean it very often. My filter gets cleaned only once per season.

 

[cowboycasey]

I empty my 600 gallon Saltwater hot tub on my grass about 2 times a year, no issues at all... there are some plants that do not take well to salt but remember it is only about 3500 PPM, most NON SWG pools have between 500 to 2000 PPM salt in them already...

 

[domct203]

I backwash my sand filter into my yard, maybe 4 times a season. I've been doing this for my second season now, no damage to the lawn at all.

I target 2800-3000ppm salt.

 

[zea3]

The saltwater level in a pool is generally not high enough to damage your lawn. If you have some delicate landscaping that needs to be babied to grow then I would not backwash towards it. I would find out if Austin has any regulations where backwash water can and cannot go. If you can connect the backwash to the waste water system for your house that eliminates the saltwater in the yard problem. You can also go with a cartridge system like chief said, but if you do make sure they add a waste line between the pump and filter so you have the option to vacuum to waste if needed in the future.

To be honest I think some of the push-back we see from builders about SWGs is because a well maintained SWG will result in less business down the road. A lot of builders have pool maintenance crews as well. They can't charge for marked up chemicals if they aren't adding them to the pool, and if you have the SWG dialed in right the pool won't go green and need an expensive clean up.