Installing Your Salt System
So youve made the decision to convert your pool to salt water and now its time to decide whether to hire an expert or DIY it.
If you decide to do it yourself, I say go for it!
You can do it in a weekend and it will save you at least a few hundred bucks, so why not?
Keep in mind that the task does involve some basic pool plumbing and electrical work, cutting and gluing PVC pipes, and using hand tools, though. So, if you are not comfortable with that, theres no shame in calling a pro.
If youre ready to get started on your own, heres what you need to do:
What Sort Of Salt Is Added To A Salt Water Pool
Pool salt is specifically formulated for use in a salt water pool. While more expensive than other suitable forms of salt, you generally cant go wrong since it is pool specific. You can also use white salt pellets made for water softeners. Look for the purest salt you can find, typically 99% and up .
Check with your pool chlorinator manufacturer to see what their recommendation is.
Ive only ever used standard water softener salt pellets in my salt water pool and have never had trouble. The pellets dissolve slower than pool salt which is crystalized but they will completely dissolve in the deep end of the pool in about one day with the pump running.
Stick with real pool salt or white pellet water softener salt. Stay away from rock salt, road salt or any salt that is multi-colored. These are better suited to be used in winter on your driveway and are not suitable for a salt chlorinator.
Dont use salt with yellow prussiate of soda, salt with anti-caking additives or iodized salt which is also known as table salt that youd use on food.
Getting More Use Out Of Your Salt Cell
A salt cell will usually last about 3-7 years. Some of them are rather costly to replace, so you will probably want to take steps to make sure you get the most use out of them.
Keeping the pH level balanced will go a long way towards keeping your salt cell healthy. The scaling caused by unbalanced pH levels can lead to deposits and build-up on your generator, causing it to wear out more quickly.
But even when the pH levels are normal, you can still get calcium build-up.
Keep the blades of your salt cell cleaned off brushing and hosing off any visible scaling.
Stubborn build-up can usually be dissolved in a mild acid solution.
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What Turkey To Use
Youll need either a fresh, or thawed frozen turkey that has not beenenhanced, or flavour enhanced as they have already been injected with a salt solution and youll risk making your bird too salty, and we dont want that!
drain your brined bird well so you dont end up with pools of brine sitting in the cavity
Converting To A Salt Water Pool
To convert a traditional chlorine pool to a salt water pool, you dont need to drain the pool, or do anything special. Besides normal and good water balance, all you need for a salt water pool is a chlorine generator and enough pool salt to raise the level to the salt system manufacturers recommendation.
You will still need to maintain good water balance on a salt water pool. Your pool pH, Alkalinity and Calcium Hardness must be maintained by testing and adjusting the levels as needed, just as with a traditional chlorine pool. You will also still need to use cyanuric acid, or chlorine stabilizer, to control UV chlorine degradation, and prevent overworking your salt cell.
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Crank Up The Salt Water Generator
Check your pools chemistry again. The ideal levels for your salt water pool are:
- pH: 7.4 7.6
- Chlorine: 1.0 3.0 ppm
- Salt: 3,000 3,500 ppm
Before starting the generator, its a good idea to go ahead and shock your pool with another type of pool shock, like cal-hypo, and then wait for your chlorine to return to its ideal level.
This is especially a good idea if you cant get your pool chemistry to balance, and should help stabilize all the levels.
Once the chlorine has returned to around 1.0 3.0 ppm, you can turn on your salt chlorinator system.
You can choose the amount of chlorine production you want for your pool, but if youve just shocked it and all the levels are in normal range, 50% production is a good starting point.
What Is A Salt Water Swimming Pool
A saltwater pool is not a chlorine-free pool. Salt chlorine generators offer an alternative method of sanitizing a pool by using salt to produce its own chlorine automatically. A saltwater pool works much the same way as any other swimming pool, but instead of adding chlorine tablets, you’ll add a fine-grain salt. If your salt pool is properly maintained, it shouldnt taste or smell salty at all.
Salt Pool Myths: Take Them With A Grain Of Salt
The most common myth regarding salt pools is that they are a better choice if you have sensitivities or allergies to chlorine. Salt pools are, in fact, sanitized using chlorine. A salt-chlorine generator separates the chlorine and sodium molecules in salt and reintroduces them into the pool water. It is still the chlorine that sanitizes your pool!
Another misconception is that salt pools do not require other chemicals. This is completely false and not using other chemicals could damage your pool or be potentially harmful. There is no magic inside a salt-chlorine generator that balances pool water. All parameters should be checked and balanced regularly. Additionally, salt pools need to be shocked on a regular basis and salt-chlorine generators typically do not have the ability to effectively shock your pool. All pools, no matter what the sanitizer, need to be shocked regularly preferably once per week during warm weather.
How Does A Salt-Chlorine Generator System Work?
How To Convert A Standard Pool To A Salt Water Pool
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As Reference My Pool Took 8 X 40 Lbs Bags For Initial Fillafter That I’ve Added 4 More Low Temps Tend To Decrease Readings From Swcgas Of Today Salt Level At 3300 Ppm And Working Ok
How much salt to add to pool first time. No need to calculate out each time how much. Our pool pro and neptune chlorinators only require 3000ppm salt to make chlorine. When adding salt, open the bag on the corner and walk around the pool while pouring the salt in evenly.
A calculated salt amount will be displayed on the bottom of your screen in number of pounds of salt to add to your pool (example: Before adding salt to your pool, test the water to check your salt level. This critical time period is when a pool interior finish is at its most susceptible to staining, scaling and discolouration.
Id recommend draining the pool atleast 3/4 of the way. Whats parts per million mean? To add the salt, pour a few bags directly into your pool at a time.
Before adding salt to your pool, test the water to check your salt level. However, you can also take a sample of your water to test at most local pool stores. Please refer to your filters instructions manual for proper installation instructions.
Keep in mind that the ideal salt level. Run pool another 48 hours and test water again. Process can take up to 1 week but taking your time will avoid over salting your pool.
Use the below chart to see how many lbs of salt needs to be added to your pool based on the current salt ppm and the gallons of water in your pool. Therefore, the minimum salt level needed for operation varies. Let the unit run for a few hours then check the digital display to see what.
Swimming Pool Salt
Warnings Mean Electrical Resistance
A SCG is always checking the electrical power passing through its cell. A good salt level in the water makes it easier to pass power through the cell, and a bad salt level makes it harder. What is happening in the above example is that a depleted or dirty cell makes it harder to send power through the cell, but the unneeded addition of salt counteracts this for a time by making it a little easier to send power through. So how do you know whether you need to A) add salt, B) clean the cell, or C) replace the cell?
When to add salt
The most important thing to do is always test your water and independently measure its salinity before adding more salt. You dont need to add salt unless the pool waters salinity actually drops below range . Salt doesnt evaporate or break down, and the salt that a SCG uses to generate chlorine doesnt get used up. So you only ever need to add more salt to a pool when it gets lowered due to dilution of the pool water typically after large amounts of rain or after partially draining & refilling. Remember: refilling due to evaporation does not count. If the pool water gets diluted, the low readings and warning indicators that SCG displays could be correct, and only raising the salinity will clear these errors.
When to clean the salt cell
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How Much Salt To Add To Your Pool
After purchasing a salt chlorine generator it is important to know how much salt to add to your pool, the correct salt levels needed for your above ground pool will help you get the best results. The target salt level is 3200 3400ppm . Depending on the size of the above ground pool, the number of pounds of salt will vary to reach this ideal range. The way in which salt is added to the pool though stays the same, no matter what type of salt system or above ground pool you have.
Remember to first test the pool water to see the current levels of salt. One should either bring their pool water to a local professional, or if they should purchase their own tester the staff at The Pool Factory recommends the Solaxx Digital SafeDip Tester. The source for your pool water may contain some salt levels already and it is a good idea to find out the level in which you are starting prior to figuring out how much salt to add to your pool.
The SafeDip is a digital chemistry reader designed to make measuring pool parameters easy. Simply collect the water sample from the pool using the onboard cup and press the Start button to take your measurement.
DO NOT USE Rock Salt, it is not very pure and hard to dissolve.
Check Your Digital Salt Chlorinator
If your pool has a digital salt chlorinator, you can find the salt level in your swimming pool by simply reading your salt chlorinators digital display. All digital salt chlorinators are capable of determining the salt level in your collection. Some digital salt chlorinators dont use a physical sensor but use an algorithm.
Digital salt chlorinators that determine your pools salt level using an algorithm consider several variables such as volts, cell amperes, and water temperature. When monitoring your pools salt level, a digital salt chlorinator is the most effective way.
Saltwater chlorine generators are widely available at many pool suppliers. They range from a few hundred dollars for lower-end models to the low thousands for more advanced, higher-end models. For more on this important piece of equipment, read my full guide on salt chlorine generators.
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Test & Balance Your Pool’s Chemical Levels
Once you know how many gallons of your pool holds it’s time to test your water. The amount of water in your pool will help determine how much of each chemical you’ll need to add after you’ve tested the water for it to be properly balanced.
Here’s what you’ll need to test for and their ideal range:
- Alkalinity
- Metals
- Salt
Your water needs to be completely balanced with all the ideal levels before turning the salt chlorinator on. Read more on testing your water here. An existing pool converting to chlorine will have a salt presence already. you’ll want to know your starting salt level after all the rest of your chemicals are balanced so you know how much salt to add in the next step.
If pool maintenance seems confusing or just isn’t your thing, now is also a good time to add E-Z Pool to your backyard living style. The combination of these two products takes out the need for adding a bunch of different chemicals to your pool to balance out your levels.
Which Is Better A Salt Water Pool Or Chlorine
All saltwater pools contain chlorine as it is produced by the chlorinator unit to sanitize the pool. However, the chlorine level in saltwater pools is lower than a freshwater pool because the chlorinator unit is constantly generating chlorine throughout the day and night whenever the pump is running. So salt pool water will be gentler on your skin, eyes and swimwear.
Freshwater pools are chlorinated with higher doses of chlorine because the chlorine quickly evaporates from the water and you need more of it to last longer. You need to purchase chlorine liquid of tablets to sanitize the pool which is expensive.
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How To Add Salt To A Salt Water Pool
If your pool is new or has fresh water, add about 50 lbs. of salt per 2,000 gallons of water. The salt level should be around 4,000 ppm for new pools. If you are transitioning an existing pool to salt water, test the water to find the existing chlorine level. The salt level should be between 2,000 and 4,000 ppm.
Turn on your pool pump, and open the bottom drain. Use the plastic scoop or a plastic cup to pour the salt over the drain instead of walking it all around the pool. You want the salt to go into the drain, so it can run through the chlorinator and back into the pool.
- If your pool is new or has fresh water, add about 50 lbs.
- The salt level should be around 4,000 ppm for new pools.
Granular salt will be mostly dissolved by the time it reaches the drain. If you are using larger salt grains, use the brush to push them toward the drain. You can also brush them around to help dissolution.
With the correct amount of salt, you should not notice the salt in the water. Adding too much salt may give the water a salty taste. If your salt levels reach over 6,000 ppm, then you risk corrosion of damage to the metallic equipment.
Continue to run the pump for 24 hours so that the salt can spread throughout the entire pool.
- Granular salt will be mostly dissolved by the time it reaches the drain.
- With the correct amount of salt, you should not notice the salt in the water.
Process For Adding Salt
- First, determine the pools current level using the saltwater strips. The recommended salt level for any pool is around 3500 ppm.
- Determine the amount of salt required for reaching the recommended salt level. There are many guides available for knowing the salt required.
- To get the best results, always add salt at the shallow end of the pool.
- After salt dissolves in the water, you should turn on the salt chlorinator and check if the salt level is around 3500 ppm.
- Pool salt manufacturers recommend using 99.8% pure non-iodized salt.
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Especially If You Need To Add A Lot Salt Like For A New Pool Or Converting To Salt
How much salt to add to pool when opening. Add 35 lbs of sodium chloride. In florida we get lots of rain in summer. Depending on the size of the above ground pool, the number of pounds of salt will vary.
However, you can also take a sample of your water to test at most local pool stores. Sodium chloride salt that is at the very least 99% pure. The neptune ndc chlorinator range also suits mineral salts.
Only water loss will reduce the salt content, so you will need to check the salt level with a salt test kit and adjust as necessary. Before starting the pool opening process, we recommend having all the chemicals you will need on hand. How much salt do i need for a salt water pool?
The amount of pool pro salt needed for your salt chlorinator to produce sufficient chlorine varies, depending on the type of chlorinator. I add about 400 pounds per year to my 600 sq ft pool . Never add salt to your swimming pool indiscriminately.
How much salt do i add to a salt water pool? When adding salt, open the bag on the corner and walk around the pool while pouring the salt in evenly. Let them circulate and dissolve for 48 hours
You only need to add the full amount of salt for your pool size when you initially fill the pool You know, after the drain down for closing. The salt level for a safe, chlorinated pool is about 2,500 to 4,000 ppm .
Remove excess water with a sump pump before taking off pool cover To identify how much salt you should add to your pool, you. 0.9 x 40lb bags of salt.
