[l2ridehd]

I have a salt water pool from T&D. Pool is great, service is great, but one problem seems to stump them. My ladder has been replaced 4 times and needs to be replaced again. It has rust that forms around the support arms right at the water line. I have asked three of the pool techs if they have this problem with other salt water pools and their answer is no. So why does mine have the issue? Salt levels have been checked and rechecked. They have replaced the ladder 4 times and the last one was supposed to a marine quality ladder.

I have a theory, but no one seem to know. I think it has to be some type of osmosis caused by an electrical current leak in some of the wiring that allows a very low voltage into the water. Then the electric current and the salt water react againt the metal on the ladder and cause rust.

Anyone else have this problem? Anyone else with a salt water pool have rust around the ladder arms? Anyone else have any ideas?

[jeriteri]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

I have a salt water pool from T&D. Pool is great, service is great, but one problem seems to stump them. My ladder has been replaced 4 times and needs to be replaced again. It has rust that forms around the support arms right at the water line. I have asked three of the pool techs if they have this problem with other salt water pools and their answer is no. So why does mine have the issue? Salt levels have been checked and rechecked. They have replaced the ladder 4 times and the last one was supposed to a marine quality ladder.

I have a theory, but no one seem to know. I think it has to be some type of osmosis caused by an electrical current leak in some of the wiring that allows a very low voltage into the water. Then the electric current and the salt water react againt the metal on the ladder and cause rust.

Anyone else have this problem? Anyone else with a salt water pool have rust around the ladder arms? Anyone else have any ideas?

I don't know what's wrong with your ladder but this post gives me a chance to ask about the service. About how long does the service tech spend on your pool each week and what does he or she do to service it. Thanks in advance.

[l2ridehd]

Usually about 20 minutes. Some weeks a little more. They test the water quality (several different tests), add any necessary items to correct any out of range items. My remote control also tells me things like salt level parts per million and alkaline levels. They use a vacuum on the bottom and a brush around the water line, and a net on the surface. They clean the skimmer filter and/or replace the cloth lining and about every 6 weeks they clean the main filter and in about two years they replaced the main filter.

[jeriteri]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

Usually about 20 minutes. Some weeks a little more. They test the water quality (several different tests), add any necessary items to correct any out of range items. My remote control also tells me things like salt level parts per million and alkaline levels. They use a vacuum on the bottom and a brush around the water line, and a net on the surface. They clean the skimmer filter and/or replace the cloth lining and about every 6 weeks they clean the main filter and in about two years they replaced the main filter.

Thanks for our quick response.

[Uberschaf]

I would say that it sounds like a electric problem.Even plastic pipe can carry current through the water inside the pipe. I would have the electrical mechanical units checked. Maybe a light in the pool.

[Reiver]

Galvanic Corrosion?

The Risks of Saltwater Pools that Every Pool Owner Needs to Know | SwimmingPool.com

[villagetinker]

If the ladder is stainless steel, NO RUST, if it is Aluminum, NO RUST, is it is steel, I do not care what the coating is I am sure you are going to get rust. So IMHO, find out what the ladder is made of and get aluminum or stainless steel (I would go with SS for a salt water pool). As for an electrical problem, this would not occur just at the water line, as electrolysis would occur over the ENTIRE length in the water, and you would need a good ground connection at the end of the ladder where is contacts the concrete.
A stress crack in the ladder could cause the problem, but this seems doubtful with multiple ladders. Also, there are GFI protectors on all circuits associated with pools, so your can go to your garage and hit the TEST buttons to make sure these are working. If you still have doubts, a good digital volt meter (I have several) connected to a true ground and to a probe in the water will let you know if there is some leakage current.
One other item, if the ladder is a different metal than other metal IN CONTACT WITH THE POOL WATER, you may have effectively created a battery with the salt water as the electrolyte. I am very rusty (no pun intended) on the chemistry involved to cause to corrosion you are seeing.
IMHO, look at all of the pumps, heaters, and any other electrical equipment associated with the pool, and check for proper grounding.
Hope this helps, let us know whet you find, send me a PM if you would like to discuss further.

[l2ridehd]

VT, thanks for the input. I don't know the metal in the first ladder, but the last three were all stainless steel and the current one was marine quality stainless steel designed for an ocean salt pool which is about 60 times the salt content. I have tried the voltage probe in the water, but as there is concrete all around the pool a true ground for the other end is a challenge. The best I could try was the 3rd/center hole of an outlet. And I did check the outlet with a tester to verify that it was wired correctly and had that ground. But still had to add a length of wire to reach it and who knows if all connections were great. But got no reading. There is no other metal in contact with the pool any where. I also tested the GFI and they are working correctly. Probably should find a way to double check the voltage again and test with various things running. Pool filter on and off, solar on and off, heater on and off, etc.

I bought a sacrificial anode made for a sail boat and put it in the strainer basket and will see if that helps.

But Stainless Steel will rust. I have a sailboat down in Puerto Rico and almost all metal on the boat is Stainless Steel and I have to clean and polish it twice a year and I still get rust spots. But this newest ladder is only 6 weeks old and has a ring of rust right at the water line on both ladder arms. Very strange problem. And so far T&D prefers to replace ladders vs finding the root cause.