How Much Salt to Use?
FOR ALL NEWLY CONSTRUCTED OR RESURFACED PLASTER POOLS: Do not operate the iCHLOR with newly
poured or resurfaced pool plaster. Salt is a corrosive element and severe salt damage can occur to your pool.
Wait at least ONE (1) MONTH after construction to allow plaster to cure before adding salt and operating iCHLOR. Follow the
pool surface manufacturer's guidelines for your specific pool.
FOR NEW VINYL LINER POOLS, contact the manufacturer for recommended guidelines before adding salt and operating iCHLOR.
Use the Table 1 chart to determine how much salt will be needed. Most pools contain some salt, depending on the water
source and chemicals used for sanitizing. Therefore, the pool owner must always test salt levels before adding salt. A hand held
meter calibrated for NaCl (salt) can be used to determine the salt levels of the pool water. After the iCHLOR Salt Chlorinator
is powered on, the LED salt level lights will blink from bottom to top for two (2) minutes while it analyzes the pool water,
then the LED indicators will show one (1) of four (4) salt level ranges. This solid light indicates the salt status of the pool.
•
3000 to 3500 ppm of salt is recommended for optimum water conditions.
•
Low salt concentration below 2600 ppm will cause the unit to turn off
•
High salt concentration above 4500 ppm may cause excessive corrosion or deterioration to pool equipment and
surrounding surfaces in and around the pool.
Note: Salt measurements will vary between measuring devices (salt test strips, electronic testers, and titration). The salt sensor
reading is within +/- 500 ppm accuracy. For more troubleshooting information about high salt levels, see "Troubleshooting".
Calculating the Saturation Index
The saturation index is a formula that relates pH, calcium and alkalinity in the pool water. A well balanced pool water will
have a formula result range between -0.3 and 0.3 Outside this range, the pool water is out of balance, potentially damaging
pool equipment or scaling the iCHLOR. The equation to calculate Si is:
SI = pH +
Saturation
Index
Cyanuric acid in the form of cyanurate ions contribute to alkalinity. Thus, a correction must be made to total alkalinity. We
subtract 1/3 of the cyanuric acid level from the reading obtained in the total alkalinity test.
Total Alkalinity - 1/3 Cyanuric Acid = Corrected Alkalinity
This correction can be considerable in established pools with high cyanuric acid levels; for example, at 240 ppm cyanuric
acid, the correction amounts to 80 ppm (240 ÷ 3 = 80).
TDS Factor (Factors shown below are based on the actual measured value for the particular parameter)
TDS
Factor
<1000
12.10
1000
12.19
2000
12.29
3000
12.35
4000
12.41
5000
12.44
CHF + AF + TF +
pH as
Calcium
tested
Hardness
Factor
11
Alkalinity
Temperature
Factor
Factor
TDSF
TDS
Factor