Salt or Chlorine Generator Pool & Equipment

[Allen42]

The pool where I'm likely to do most of my future class assists is chlorinated by a chlorine generator system. For those unfamiliar, this works by dumping a lot of salt in a pool, and using some sort of electrolysis (sp?) to split the chlorine from the sodium. (Or something like that.)

The pool water does have a hint of salty tast to it (like salt "gargle water").

My question is how will this water affect my equipment? It doesn't have as much chlorine as pool water, and isn't as salty as ocean water, but what will it do to my equipment?

How diligent do I need to be when cleaning after classes? Can I let my stuff sit with a minimum of rinsing overnight when doing back-to-backs?

Any thoughts?

 

[HydroAuto]

I'd rinse everything after every days worth of diving, but that's just me. After investing so much $$$$ in equipment I want it to last as long as possible. Not to mention function properly for a long time as well.

I just think about the effect that chlorine has on laundry, it eats it away, albeit very slowly.

 

[Wayward Son]

Chlorine pool water is known to be pretty harsh on equipment. In some way worse than salt water. I'd rinse everything with tap water after the pool sessions.

 

[cudachaser]

Salt is poured into a vat with water where electrolises is used to break the salt solution into chlorine and sodium. The sodium is waste

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I've had my gear in a saline pool with a clorine generator. I rinse daily and after a year the gear looks new.

 

[Tavi]

I don't rinse my gear after pool dives. My black BC is faded (makes it look like I've been diving a while But my Black and Blue wetsuit has faded to black and light purple!! :11:

Oh well........It still serves it's purpose!!

 

[nwdiver2]

I have a salt pool, the salt is put in the pool then a process in the filter cracks the salt into chlorine and sodium, the chlorine kills the bacteria, at the end of the loop the chlorine and sodium reunite and flow back into the pool as salt. The sodium isn’t a byproduct.

These filters work great, they are very popular in some countries, almost all the pools in parts of Australia use the system, it is not new just not used much in North America, but it is cheaper to operate and much better to swim in, if running properly there should be no free chlorine in the pool.

My gear loves it and I don’t get any of the bleach out I get in public pools. I rinse as I would after a salt water dive.

 

[Lead_carrier]

Rinse your gear after every dive, just like you teach your students to do (or should) and it will last as long as the lifetime warrany is supposed to.

 

[diverrick]

To add to NWdiver2's comments. He is right about the pool system Only it is not a filter. It is a simple plate system in a tibe that separates the Chlorine from the sodium. I am no expert on this, but
I do own a salt water pool. I was told that the Chlorine interaction occurs instantly when the chlorine meets the water, within the pipes. It then recombines with the sodium atoms and becomes salt again before it returns to the pool. Never depletes itself. I was also told that the test kit that show "Chlorine" really isn't chlorine your testing, as apperently chlorine converts to something else as soon as it touches water, and the test kit senses the "other" thing, not chlorine proper (I don't recall the name) I have never rinsed my gear after being in our pool, as the salt level is very low, and no chlorine. But it would be a safe bet to rinse anyway after getting out, just to be sure.

 

[Allen42]

Diverrick,

I was hoping to hear from someone like you who is actually running a salt chlorinator. How many PPM's are you keeping the pool at?

Thanks!