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1. What kind of salt can I use?
2. Where do I add the salt?
3. How much salt do I add?
4. What happens if I add too much salt?
5. How often will I need to add salt?
1. What kind of salt can I use?
Acceptable salts include Food grade salt, Water softener pellets, Solar salt flakes, Water
conditioner salt, or Brine blocks. Avoid Rock Salt as it contains too many impurities!
2. Where do I add the salt?
What is most important when adding salt is to brush it around until it is dissolved. This is
accelerated by turning your pump on, opening the bottom drain and adding the salt over
the drain, rather than walking around the perimeter while adding the salt. It is recommended
that you continue to run the pump for 24 hrs so the salt can spread evenly throughout the pool.
With Granular salt, 60-70% will have dissolved before hitting bottom. The remaining salt can
simply be brushed into the drain which will then complete dissolution. With all other forms of
salt, it will take longer to dissolve but the same process will accelerate the dissolve rate. Simply
brush the salt in a pyramid over the drain to increase dissolution.
3. How much salt do I add?
Enough for 3,000 ppm (parts per million) as a starting point. So depending on the initial salt level
of your water, you only add the amount needed to establish 3,000 ppm. For new pools or freshly
filled pools, the salt level will most likely be zero. In this case, 50lbs of salt per 2,000 gallons of
water will establish 3,000 ppm. For existing pools, the previous usage of chlorine bleach or
tablets will have already introduced a level of salt into the water. Have the water tested first then
add the appropriate amount to establish 3,000 ppm.
4. What happens if I add too much salt?
Oversalting will not harm your Pool Pilot system, but will lead to salty tasting water. For some, this
is not undesirable as it will more closely match our bodies natural salinity level, making it more
comfortable to swim in. If it is too excessive (over 6,000 ppm), you can sustain corrosion damage
to metallic equipment such as stainless steel handrails, ladders and filters, light rings, or copper
heat exchangers. To reduce the salt level, dilution is the solution. Drain some water and refill with
fresh water.
5. How often will I need to add salt?
After the initial dosage of salt, you will only need to add salt when necessary. The most common
ways salt is lost is through leaks, rainwater overflow, filter backwashing, and bather splash
out/carry out. Normal water evaporation does not lose salt, it increases the concentration. The
make up water added to bring the water level back to normal will then reduce the salt
concentration back to 3,000 ppm.
The Digital and Soft Touch units both have low salt indicators, with the Digital going further to
provide the proper salt amount needed to restablish 3,000 ppm (based upon the programmed
pool volume input).
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