Salt Water Chlorine Generators
Many homeowners who have been sold saltwater chlorine generators do not realize that their system is indeed a chlorine generator and not simply the use of salt to sanitize their pool.
As such many are sold on the idea of “set it and forget it” as an easy and time-saving method to treat the pool water. The first thing to remember with the use of these systems is that the requirement for diligence in testing and balancing pool water to maintain parameters within the recommended ranges is as important as it is with manual chemical additions.
To maintain a vinyl pool liner and maximize its service life CGT recommends controlling the water chemistry parameters within the following ranges:
- Total Alkalinity: 100-150 ppm
- pH: 7.2 – 7.6
- Calcium Hardness: 200 ppm
- Free Chlorine: 1 – 1.5 ppm
- Cyanuric Acid Stabilizer: 25 – 100 ppm
Exposure of the vinyl liner material to the water chemistry parameters outside of the recommended ranges can result in a variety of negative effects. Some of these include liner wrinkling, liner color loss/staining and stiffening of the liner material which can lead to premature tearing and failure of the liner to hold water. All of these result in a shortened service life for the liner. (Technical Bulletin - Use of Salt Water Chlorine Generators-180518, CGT)