WIll Phosphates damage the pool heater?

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Northern cannonball

Northern cannonball

Bronze Supporter
Sep 12, 2021
147
Toronto, Canada
Pool Size
9250
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
So my pool company was adamant that a high level of phosphates (>1000ppb) will eventually damage my pool heater and void it's warranty. Any element of truth to this or are they just trying to sell me more phosphate remover?
Thanks
 
I've never heard that... I'm not sure how they would from a chemical standpoint. Acidic water is what is most known for damaging a heater, perhaps also calcium if you get to the point that scale is forming. I would be more concerned about what's in the phosphate remover than the phosphate itself.
 
It can happen if the phosphate is really high, but I don't know exactly where it goes from no problem to a big problem.

At 1 ppm (1,000 ppb), I don't think that you are going to have an issue.

Make sure that you are getting enough water flow through the heater to keep the water temperature in the exchanger to less than a 15 degree Fahrenheit rise.

https://aquamagazine.com/service/the-case-of-the-mysterious-pool-deposits.html
 
So i emailed Jandy / Fluidra for an official answer on my specific heater. Thought I'd share the reply. Responses below.

Thank you for contacting us. I would be more than happy to assist. In this case, you will want the phosphate level to be at 0 and as well as the nitrates. Thank you.
Click to expand...

I pressed again for an acceptable range...

Thank you for your email. There wouldn't be any documentation on this as we do recommend following the pool and hot tub alliance standards. We recommend getting the phosphates as close to 0 as possible. Thank you.
Click to expand...
 
"There wouldn't be any documentation on this as we do recommend following the pool and hot tub alliance standards."

Ask them to provide the standards that are published by the pool and hot tub alliance.
 
Gotta take all that with a grain of salt as they follow the industry standards as any pool place does, which use government guidelines that haven’t been updated since the 80s. No joke. Imagine going to the DR like it was ‘86. It’s insane. But the ‘industry’ a.k.a the large pool stores see zero reason to update anything as it’s such a cash cow to fleece the unsuspecting pool owners. Here is hundreds of dollars worth of chems that will mask your issues short term and make you come back spending hundreds more. No, no, don’t elevate your FC more than 1.5. Chlorine is bad.

Why *would* they want to give that up ? You’re here now. Follow the advice based in modern science and fine tuned by up to 288k real world members.
 
You will never get phosphates to zero parts per BILLION. You’d spend more money on phosphate removers than you would a new heater every year. Take that bit of advice and toss it into the trash as it’s horrid.

That said, yes phosphates can mess up a heater, but at very high levels. A user would also need VERY high calcium levels. If I may ask, are you concerned because your phosphate levels are high, or are you worried because your pool company said to worry?
 
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Here are the pool and hot tub alliance publications that mention phosphate.

None set any recommended limit.

Below, are two quotes from the publications.

One says “low concentration”, but does not specify what that is.

However, certain substances even at low concentration— such as heavy metals, phosphates and nitrates—could potentially create issues in both pools and spas.

Phosphate does not directly create a chlorine demand since the phosphate ion does not react with free chlorine.
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Leebo said:
You will never get phosphates to zero parts per BILLION. You’d spend more money on phosphate removers than you would a new heater every year. Take that bit of advice and toss it into the trash as it’s horrid.

That said, yes phosphates can mess up a heater, but at very high levels. A user would also need VERY high calcium levels. If I may ask, are you concerned because your phosphate levels are high, or are you worried because your pool company said to worry?
Click to expand...
Because the pool company said to worry! It will void the heater warranty blah blah blah. I'm sticking with the advice on this forum, just wanted to share the less than informative response from the manufacturer. Thanks
 
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"There wouldn't be any documentation on this as we do recommend following the pool and hot tub alliance standards.

We recommend getting the phosphates as close to 0 as possible."

These two statements are not consistent if the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance does not recommend getting the phosphates as close to 0 as possible.
 
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"There wouldn't be any documentation on this as we do recommend following the pool and hot tub alliance standards."

To this reply

Please send the standards from the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance regarding phosphate levels.

Or, email the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance and ask them to provide their standards regarding phosphates.

[email protected]
 
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So forget about phosphates/nitrates for the moment. Your pool company said it will void the warranty. My question is - who cares? Even the **best** pool equipment manufacturer warranties are very time limited (typically less than 3 years) and so, aside from an out-of-the-box failure, most warranties will never be enforced because the equipment will last much longer than the terms provided. Also, warranties are written specifically to handicap the pool owner in favor of vendor/supplier. There are any number of ways that a warranty claim can be denied.

So again, who cares if it voids the warranty?

Your heater is likely going to be like most heaters. You'll get 5+ years out of it with no issues and then some minor components (that are not covered by the warranty because it's considered a consumable/wear-&-tear item) will start to fail. The minor components are typically < $50 and require about an hour or so of sweat-equity to install. A pool service company will charge you well over $300 for a job that you could do yourself for < $100. None of this will involve the warranty at all.

So, at the end of day, ignore the pool company, follow TFP guidance and fix problems yourself by detecting them early and being proactive. That will save you the headache of calling in the pool company.
 
It does not automatically void the warranty.

If a warranty claim is submitted, the service company and the manufacturer first have to try to identify the problem and why the problem occurred.

To void a warranty, the problem would have to be determined to be caused by excessive phosphates and that the pool contained excessive phosphates.

If the warranty issue is not related to phosphates, then the phosphate level is irrelevant.

Since there is no level specified, then to void the warranty, the company would have to show that the level was unreasonable and excessive and that it contributed to or was wholly responsible for the warranty problem.

For example, if the heat exchanger was completely plugged up with calcium phosphate (proven by a lab test) and the level was measured to be 10 times the average level, then the warranty might be voided.

If the level was lower than 1,000 ppb (1 ppm) or determined to be less than 1 standard deviation from the mean of all pools, then it would be much harder to justify voiding the warranty.

https://aquamagazine.com/service/the-case-of-the-mysterious-pool-deposits.html
 
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