AL Rubens
Member
- Location
- Lake Mary Fl
- Occupation
- Retired
I have a problem without a solution yet. I installed an ADA Chair lift in my newly renovated pool for my wife therapy. I DO NOT have a corrosion problem but I have a scaling problem. The lift cylinder is 4” around the circumference x 36” long in the water at all times.
The scaling built up starting last November once the pool renovation was completed & the lift installed. Although I have a pool heater my wife was reluctant to enter the pool during the winter months because of the atmospheric temperatures. It wasn’t until sometime this past May that I got in the pool & immediately recognized the problem.
We had the pool operating as a salt pool initially but have since converted to a chlorine pool in an attempt to correct the problem to no avail.
Forensic testing of the scale powder as removed from the cylinder as shown & report came back Calcite ( Calcium Carbonate). We are not & have not added any Calcium Carbonate to the pool water since it was filled. The water chemistry is pretty consistent on a daily basis. I have been testing the pool water daily since May 2024. My pool service company tests it weekly. The Ph continues to run on high side but I keep adding muriatic acid a few times a week to knock the Ph down into an acceptable range. The calcium hardness has never been over 320.
I have been adding 2+ gallons of muriatic acid monthly to keep the Ph in range which is an excessive amount of acid.
Everyone says the chemistry is good & should not be causing this problem. The lift metallurgy is 316 SS. In May of this year I purchased known 316 SS components along with 304 SS components and placed them in the water next to the lift. Once I removed the lift & removed the scale for a second time then reinstalled the lift started to scale up again within 24 HOURS!!
The other SS parts DID NOT have any scale & remained smooth as i installed in the pool. I then sent a compliment of each of the SS components plus a section of a new piece of the cylinder off to the forensic lab to confirm the grade of SS for each component.
The lift is 316 SS & pool light ring is 304 SS & they both scaled up in the pool water. However, the purchased SS components both 304 or 316 SS showed NO SIGNS of scaling since installed during month of May while within 24 HRS after placing the lift back in the pool scale started to form !
They are now saying they believe it’s stray electrical currents. This past week we did a voltage check @ the light ring, stair rail, lift anchor sleeve embedded in the concrete in addition to about 4 other locations around the pool. All readings were consistent .0003 to .0005 with all power on around the pool & my house. We then shut all power off around the pool plus all power to my house & the readings were the same with 2200 ppm of salt remaining in the pool since we shut the salt system down.
If it was a chemistry issue and or an electrical issue I would have expected the SS components I purchased & confirmed via forensic testing should have scaled up as shown in these two attachments but they DIDN’T !!!
As you look @ these two attachments you are seeing the cylinder covered with scale ( feels like an even piece of sandpaper around the cylinder) & as I am removing the scale the shinny portion of the SS can be viewed. I have one brass fitting @ the base of the lift & that too is being attacked !
Not too sure you have encountered an issue like mine but I would love to hear from you or any of your experts who can offer advice. My wife’s ADA lift is not operational until I solve this problem.
Thanking you in advance,
AL Rubens
Lake Mary FL
Sent from
The scaling built up starting last November once the pool renovation was completed & the lift installed. Although I have a pool heater my wife was reluctant to enter the pool during the winter months because of the atmospheric temperatures. It wasn’t until sometime this past May that I got in the pool & immediately recognized the problem.
We had the pool operating as a salt pool initially but have since converted to a chlorine pool in an attempt to correct the problem to no avail.
Forensic testing of the scale powder as removed from the cylinder as shown & report came back Calcite ( Calcium Carbonate). We are not & have not added any Calcium Carbonate to the pool water since it was filled. The water chemistry is pretty consistent on a daily basis. I have been testing the pool water daily since May 2024. My pool service company tests it weekly. The Ph continues to run on high side but I keep adding muriatic acid a few times a week to knock the Ph down into an acceptable range. The calcium hardness has never been over 320.
I have been adding 2+ gallons of muriatic acid monthly to keep the Ph in range which is an excessive amount of acid.
Everyone says the chemistry is good & should not be causing this problem. The lift metallurgy is 316 SS. In May of this year I purchased known 316 SS components along with 304 SS components and placed them in the water next to the lift. Once I removed the lift & removed the scale for a second time then reinstalled the lift started to scale up again within 24 HOURS!!
The other SS parts DID NOT have any scale & remained smooth as i installed in the pool. I then sent a compliment of each of the SS components plus a section of a new piece of the cylinder off to the forensic lab to confirm the grade of SS for each component.
The lift is 316 SS & pool light ring is 304 SS & they both scaled up in the pool water. However, the purchased SS components both 304 or 316 SS showed NO SIGNS of scaling since installed during month of May while within 24 HRS after placing the lift back in the pool scale started to form !
They are now saying they believe it’s stray electrical currents. This past week we did a voltage check @ the light ring, stair rail, lift anchor sleeve embedded in the concrete in addition to about 4 other locations around the pool. All readings were consistent .0003 to .0005 with all power on around the pool & my house. We then shut all power off around the pool plus all power to my house & the readings were the same with 2200 ppm of salt remaining in the pool since we shut the salt system down.
If it was a chemistry issue and or an electrical issue I would have expected the SS components I purchased & confirmed via forensic testing should have scaled up as shown in these two attachments but they DIDN’T !!!
As you look @ these two attachments you are seeing the cylinder covered with scale ( feels like an even piece of sandpaper around the cylinder) & as I am removing the scale the shinny portion of the SS can be viewed. I have one brass fitting @ the base of the lift & that too is being attacked !
Not too sure you have encountered an issue like mine but I would love to hear from you or any of your experts who can offer advice. My wife’s ADA lift is not operational until I solve this problem.
Thanking you in advance,
AL Rubens
Lake Mary FL
Sent from
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