mchad Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 Hi All. HotSpring Flash owner, coming up on 5 years. I'm planning to remove the FreshWater salt system from my tub, and just rely on Chlorine. After I don't know how many cartridges, I see very little benefit with respect to Chlorine generation - I realize some may see more - but I'm always adding about a teaspoon of granules after each soak, even with the salt system set to 8. Always. But I do see benefits with salt water - we have hard water and it reduces that, and also keeps my pH in check. Never have to adjust it. I had a tub previously that was sans salt and I was chasing the pH constantly. So, removing the system, but keeping the salt. Anyone see any issues? Thanks, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castletonia Posted January 31 Report Share Posted January 31 Disconnect the salt system from the control box so that the logo light doesn't blink at you and the control panel doesn't have the icon anymore and then put the original plug back in place of a salt cartridge. Really shouldn't be an issue, at least any more or less than having salt water in the hot tub. Just keep the salt level within the desired range so as to not be any more corrosive than it already may be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted February 1 Report Share Posted February 1 On 1/30/2024 at 12:34 PM, mchad said: But I do see benefits with salt water - we have hard water and it reduces that, No, it does not. Adding salt has no effect whatsoever on the calcium hardness of the water. That is merely marketing hype. Salt water will have a different skin feel because the water it changes the osmotic pressure, making the water a bit less "agressive". You can keep the salt if you want but be aware what it is doing. Exactly how hard is your water? On 1/30/2024 at 12:34 PM, mchad said: FreshWater salt system My biggest problem is that this system wants to to replace the salt cell every 4 months. This is a way for the company to make money on something that should not be a "consumable". Salt cells do need cleaning because of calcium buildup in most system. Watkins is eliminating the cleaning step by making this (expen$ive) part something to be replaced and discarded 3 times a year. On 1/30/2024 at 12:34 PM, mchad said: also keeps my pH in check. NO, it does not. The salt system is not why your pH is more stable than in a differnt tub you had. pH in a hot tub or spa is mainly a function of the TA. If the TA is high then pH will tend to rise because of the outgassing of CO2. Lower TA means less carbonation in the water so less outgassing of CO2 and therefore less pH rise. It is also a function of pH. The lower the pH the more conversion of bicarbonate into carbonic acid (CO2 dissolved in the water) and therefore the faster the pH rise since there is more CO2 to gas off. It is also a function of the amount of aeration of the water (think of what happens when you shake a bottle of soda, you are aerating the soda and causing it to go flat as the CO2 gases off). Sources of aeration in a tub are mainly the jets and aerators and since every tub has a different configuration the pH stability of a tub at the same pH and TA CAN vary from model to model. Also Salt Water Chlorine generators will cause pH rise because of the hydrogen bubbles formed in the salt cell. These are also a source of aeration that will cause CO2 go outgas. https://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?/topic/52522-some-truths-about-ph-and-ta/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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