Solar Eclipse is Shipping Now

April 9th, 2013

The much anticipated Solar Eclipse Advanced Oxidation Process residential pool sanitation system is shipping now to dealers across the US and Canada. Demand has been exceptional for this game-changing ozone + germicidal UV system, and we are confident that pool owners will become our biggest fans when they see the sparkling results of the automatic sanitation system.

To order the Solar Eclipse, contact:

Jeff Jones, Director of Residential Pool National Sales
(800) 676-1335 x 291 or email jjones[at]delozone.com

For more information about the Solar Eclipse, contact:

Dana Nelson
(800) 676-1335 x 232 or email dnelson[at]delozone.com

Download a brochure in a new window (PDF).

Visit the Solar Eclipse webpage.

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Posted by DELOzone on April 9, 2013 | Trackbacks

Everyone Does It!

December 6th, 2012

Can we talk?

It’s sort of a delicate subject.  We talk about little children in pools and that they might sometimes accidentally pee in the pool.  We need to teach them better manners, and they will stop doing it.

But really, there’s more to this story:  nearly everyone pees in the pool at one time or other. In fact, Splash recently reported that Olympic champion Ryan Lochte (London games, 2012) says peeing is “automatic” for him when he hits the water.  Lochte and others seem to think that this is taken care by the sanitation system, so it’s no big deal.

However, the Splash article rightly goes on to say that this little misbehavior is more serious than it’s sometimes treated.  Human urine is one of the organic substances that can interact with chlorine to create chloramines, a probable carcinogen and a definite cause of swimmer’s asthma. These mutated organic compounds are a serious problem and a challenge to your sanitation program.

Cleaning Up the Pool Water

If your residential pool is used, it’s probably got urine in it, at least some of the time. Little children will be more of a problem, but not the only one.  Your sanitation program needs to take this into account in at least two ways:

  1.  You should try to educate users about using the restroom before they get in the pool.  This can be an embarrassing thing to bring up, so a little sign on the fence or pool house wall might help by giving the rules of the pool.
  2. Your sanitization program should be adjusted to explicitly account for the possibility that urine will be in the water.

In pools that are primarily using chlorine, keeping the free accessible chlorine at adequate level (e.g., 5 ppm) is essential.  But even this may not work against intermittent contaminants caused by an unusually high bather load, for example.

Ozone and AOP Destroy Both Urine and Chloramines

Ozone oxidizes both the urine and the resulting chloramines that can result from the interaction of urine (a chloramine precursor) and chlorine.  And the Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) in the new Solar Eclipse produces an even stronger oxidation potential to remove urine and chloramine contaminants almost instantaneously.

Using an ozone or AOP system as the foundation of a sanitation program can help keep the pool water safe.  Even when human nature calls.

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Posted by DELOzone on December 6, 2012 | Trackbacks

A Technological Breakthrough for Pool Sanitation

November 6th, 2012

DEL Ozone has been the leading technology innovator for residential pool sanitation, and the new Solar Eclipse continues the tradition.

The Solar Eclipse is a small Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) system that combines the oxidation power of ozone with the germicidal capability of low-pressure UV light to take pool sanitation to a new level.  The key to this system is that ozone and UV interact to generate hydroxyl free radicals, the most powerful disinfectant for water treatment that is safe for humans.

Advanced Oxidation Process

The definition of AOP is that a chemical reaction is initiated that generates hydroxyl free radicals (OH).  The OH is a highly unstable and unselective oxidizer: it instantly interacts with organic and inorganic substances to break them down.  This instantaneous disinfection process removes all contaminants from pool water with no harmful byproducts.   It’s the hydroxyl free radicals that make this small AOP system the most potent pool sanitation agent or process on the market.

Solar Eclipse Works with Standard Pool Equipment

The New Solar Eclipse

AOP systems are typically much larger and are used for industrial or municipal water treatment.  But with DEL Ozone’s new Advanced Plasma Gap ozone cells (patent pending) and top quality germicidal UV lamps from Trident Ultraviolet, DEL engineers were able to create a small, dependable unit that is designed to work with existing standard residential pool plumbing and mechanicals.

Pool professionals will find the installation of Solar Eclipse is familiar and straightforward.  It has two plumbing connections on the return line, and one power connection.

Where to Buy the Solar Eclipse

The Solar Eclipse will ship in spring 2013.  At that time, DEL will have the system in retail distribution channels, with links from this website.  Mark your calendar.

For advance orders, please contact Dana Nelson, dnelson@delozone.com, or 800-676-1335 x232.

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Posted by DELOzone on November 6, 2012 | Trackbacks

Why Suction Side Ozone Introduction Doesn’t Work

August 22nd, 2012

For many, many years, professional pool builders and managers agreed that ozone sanitation systems should use venturi injection of ozone for maximum benefit vs. cost.  Now, some in the industry have promoted a method called ‘suction-side ozone introduction’ as a replacement because it is simpler to install.

You need to know the facts about these two approaches to pool ozone sanitation to see why the venturi injection method is superior.

Venturi Injection vs. Suction-Side

The basic difference is that the venturi injection method uses the fail-safe vacuum injection method to dissolve ozone in the pool water on the return line. The suction-side method simply pipes the ozone into the pool pump on the supply side of the impeller.

The argument the suction-side advocates make is that the venturi injection method requires low backpressure to work, and is difficult to install with some pool equipment like in floor cleaners.  They claim that the suction-side method is easy to install without retrofitting any other components. Further, they claim that the ozone introduced this way is more (or at least equally) effective compared with venturi-injected ozone.

They are wrong for several reasons:

The venturi injection does require relatively low backpressure to work, but well engineered systems (like DEL’s) are designed to work with pressure gradients that are commonly supplied by today’s pumps and plumbing systems.  Even where significant backpressure might be created by complicated downstream plumbing like in floor cleaning systems, good design can preserve all the power of the venturi injection.

More importantly, the claim that suction-side introduces the ozone as efficiently as the venturi method is simply not true.  In fact, an independent 3rd party testing agency found that the suction side method was only able to introduce enough ozone to kill only 2/3 of E.coli in a sample of water in 30 minutes..  With the venturi injection method, 99.99% of the E. coli was killed in 30 minutes or less using the identical ozone generator.

In other words, the suction-side method is ineffective relative to the venturi method in doing the one thing you want it to do:  make your pool water safe.  It’s no wonder that suction-side advocates avoid claiming that their sanitation systems qualify as a disinfectant.  In fact, venturi injection systems by DEL are both oxidizers AND disinfectants.

Other Flaws in the Suction-Side Method

There are a couple important mechanical reasons the suction-side method does not work well.

First, by introducing the ozone on the supply side of the pump impeller, suction-side systems subject the ozone to the violent turbulence of the impeller.  It is well known that this much turbulence will cause the ozone molecules to decompose, leaving behind ordinary oxygen.  While oxygen is a good element in the pool water, it is not a powerful oxidizer or disinfectant.  This may be one reason why the suction-side method does not compare well on the microorganisms tests.

Second, suction-side systems do introduce gases into the pool filter.  As many law firms can attest, these accumulations of gases can lead to powerful explosions when the pressure builds up to overwhelm the filter dome attachments.  Suction-side systems use bleeder hoses to relieve this off gas, but if these components fail for any reason, the possibility of an explosion exists.

Venturi Injection is the Cost-Effective Pool Sanitation Method

For more information about this important topic, see our article on venturi injection vs suction-side ozone introduction.  Choose the venturi method for effectiveness and peace of mind.

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Posted by DELOzone on August 22, 2012 | Trackbacks

Summertime Pool Safety Alerts

July 15th, 2012

Even in the South, the swim season peaks in the summertime, and that’s when we hear about issues with pool safety.  There are many safety issues, from improper equipment and fencing to poor emergency response systems, but the most important issues are health-related.  Inspectors find too many pools that are not properly sanitized.

Inspections Lead to Pool Closures

Most public pools, including those in motels, hotels, apartments and clubs, are inspected by public health officials, although this may not happen very often.  Sometimes, pools are actually closed because they are unsafe.  For home pool owners, these may not seem directly important, but the issues they find are relevant for residential pools as well.

For example, the inspectors in Tarrant County, Texas (Fort Worth) have found pools with inadequate chlorine or improper chemical balance.  These maintenance issues are the same as those faced by residential pool owners, and they can only be solved by an effective pool sanitation program like the one DEL recommends for residential pool owners.

Residential Pools DO Have Sanitation Issues

In case you thought that the nice neighborhood kids who use your pool would never pee in it, think again.  Research by the Water Quality & Health Council has found that 1 in five adults admit to peeing in the pool on occasion, and it’s not likely the number is lower for kids.  There’s something about being in water that frees the bladder!

Luckily, ozone oxidizes the chemicals in urine that can interact with chlorine to create the more dangerous chloramines.  In addition, an ozone based sanitation program which combines a properly sized ozone generator with a residual level of chlorine (about 1/3 as much chlorine as a chlorine only pool), will be effective against the more powerful threats to your swimmers’ health, including Cryptosporidium.

Always remember:  people use pools, and people carry germs and contaminants that can infect other people.  There’s no getting around that, but a good sanitation program can counteract it.

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Posted by DELOzone on July 15, 2012 | Trackbacks

Make Ozone Part of Your Pool Startup

May 15th, 2012

It’s that time of year again, when we see articles giving advice on how to open your pool. They list cleaning and cover maintenance ideas, pump and equipment tips, and water chemistry routines to help you get started.

None of the ones we’ve seen talks about the annual maintenance of your pool ozone generator, though.  So we are filling the gap here with a few basic tasks you should do to ensure that your ozone system is working away silently and automatically to keep your pool water fresh and sparkly.

 

Monthly Maintenance Tasks

When the pool pump is running and the ozonator is turned on, the indicator lights should be green.  If they are red or not glowing at all, check the power supply. If there is still power, you may have an ozone cell problem.

Observe the outlet of the return line where it enters the pool while the pump is running and the ozone system is on. You should observe a stream of tiny bubbles. If you cannot see the bubbles, disconnect the ozone delivery tube from the ozone generator, and by putting the tip of your finger over it while the pump is running, you should feel a tiny tug that indicates there is vacuum. If you do not feel the vacuum, either there is not enough water flowing through the return line or there is a blockage in the ozone delivery tube.

Check the ozone delivery tube, including around the check valve.  The check valve must be installed in the proper direction, with the arrow pointing toward the injector valve.  If there are signs of water around the check valve, or above it, stop the system immediately and replace the check valve and ozone supply tubing.

 

Annual Maintenance Tasks

It is a good idea to replace the ozone supply tubing and check valve annually. These inexpensive parts are critical to effective operation, and they can deteriorate.  If there is a leak at any point of this line, insufficient ozone will be delivered to the pool.

About every two years, give or take, you may need to replace the ozone cells.  DEL Ozone corona discharge ozonators are durable and highly reliable, but they have a life of about 15,000 hours runtime.  Depending on how often your pump runs, you may reach this level in two years (of course, knowing your pump timing, you can estimate the number of hours the ozonator runs every day/month/year).  If you have a lesser ozone system, you may need to replace the ozone cell more often.

Give yourself safe, enjoyable water and peace of mind with these basic ozone maintenance steps.

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Posted by DELOzone on May 15, 2012 | Trackbacks

Can You Go Chemical Free with Ozone?

April 27th, 2012

Sometimes we hear of someone using ozone ONLY for a “chemical free” pool, and sometimes we get this question from a customer. Can you get rid of all chemicals and use only ozone to disinfect your pool?

Technically, Yes: Ozone Only is Possible

The short answer is that using a very large ozone generator plus a continuous circulation flow for a 24/7 dosing, you can depend on ozone to keep your pool clean. Chemically, ozone will oxidize everything that you want to control in the pool, from germs and viruses to algae and organic contaminants.

The short answer is not the right one, however. An ozone-only pool would be costly to operate and you would never be able to totally eliminate all chemicals in a real world setting.

Issues with Ozone Only

There are some good reasons why ozone only isn’t practical. For starters, ozone generators operate on electrical current, and a big ozone generator running 24 hours per day would greatly increase your operating costs. Since efficiency is always important, a solution that reduces energy costs (and the unnecessary environmental impact of using more energy), is preferable.

Further, sanitation chemicals are not the only ones you put in your pool, even though that is the majority of it. It’s also important to maintain a balanced pH in the 7.2 – 7.8 range, and that can get out of range for a number of reasons unrelated to the ozone generator. When that happens, to maintain comfort in the pool, you would need to rebalance the pH using chemicals. In other words, total ozone would not completely eliminate the need for testing and dosing the pool

Pool Ozone Works Best with a Residual Sanitizer

Pool specialists sometimes disagree about which sanitizer to use in conjunction with ozone (chlorine, salt water generator, ionizer, etc), but the big majority would not try to run ozone as the only sanitizer in the pool. The advantage of ozone is that it allows a much smaller does of the residual sanitizer, saving money and allowing for a less chemical feel. In fact, most people cannot tell there is chlorine in a pool that is using a proper ozone plus chlorine residual combination.

DEL recommends running a properly sized and properly installed ozone generator, plus keeping a small residual amount of chlorine in the pool. The chlorine residual should test as a free available chlorine level of .5 to 1 ppm, which is about 1/3 what would be needed in a pool primarily sanitized by chlorine. Frequent testing for the chlorine and pH balance are very important. But the total chemical load of this pool sanitation program is low, and comfortable for swimmers.

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Posted by DELOzone on April 27, 2012 | Trackbacks

Safe Storage of Pool Chemicals

April 19th, 2012

Even if you follow the low-chemical sanitation program we recommend, you will inevitably accumulate pool chemicals if you own a pool.  Handling, storing and disposing of these chemicals is a serious issue.  In this post we look at some safe storage ideas, with a couple sources you will find useful.

A great Canadian website sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety displays the following tips for safe storage of pool chemicals:

  •  Store in a cool, dry place away from sunlight.
  • Keep out of reach of children and pets.
  • Store chemicals in original containers (for identification).
  • Be sure your storage area is well ventilated. Vapors may build up under high temperatures, and these may cause nose or throat irritation or even more serious illnesses if inhaled.
  • Never store oxidizers and acid near each other (chlorine near an acid).  [Note to self: use more ozone oxidizer and minimize this risk – DEL comment.]
  • Do not store liquids above powders or solids.  Do not stack containers.
  • Do not store materials or chemicals above your head.
  • Do not store pool chemicals near gasoline, fertilizers, herbicides, grease, paints, tile cleaners, turpentine, or flammable materials.  This tip is especially important when pool chemicals are stored in sheds or small storage rooms.
  • Do not reuse containers.  Wash out the container when empty and then dispose of it.

FYI, this Canadian site also includes tips about chemical hazards and how to deal with them.  Included in this is proper disposal:  just as a reminder, we see stories about taking old pool chemicals to proper disposal sites all the time.  Don’t just drop them in your trash.

A more technical guide to safe handling of pool chemicals is from the US Environmental Protection Agency (download the PDF). This document explains some of the chemical hazards and their consequences you can encounter with pool chemicals, and how to cope with them.  It includes references to other sources and phone numbers for urgent issues.  This is a really useful document.

Minimize your exposure to pool chemical hazards by maintaining your ozone system in good working order. For those necessary chemicals you have to keep, please take these important precautions.

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Posted by DELOzone on April 19, 2012 | Trackbacks

About Ozone Generating Systems

March 22nd, 2012

We thought you might like to read a concise but thorough overview about ozone generating systems.  So here’s a link to our friends at the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals, who published an Information Bulletin on Ozone Generating Systems in their Recreational Water Quality section.  You can download a brief PDF at that link.  For more information about ozone generating systems, visit our aquatics Ozone Sanitation Systems page, and browse through that website, or visit our residential pool site for information specifically geared to private pools.

Full disclosure:  DEL’s VP Beth Hamil contributed to this article.  That’s partly how we know it’s right.

What’s In the Bulletin

The Bulletin begins with a concise statement about pool and spa ozone systems that is worth quoting:

Ozone generating systems are electromechanical devices that generate and dissolve ozone gas into swimming pool or spa water. They provide antimicrobial oxidation for supplemental sanitation, oxidation of organic and inorganic contaminants, chlorine byproduct reduction and algaecide activity. This Information Bulletin examines the properties and the application of these devices.

Ozone systems are engineered for specific applications, and must be installed according to the manufacturer’s specifications.

All pool ozone systems consist of two basic components:  the ozone generator and the control system.  In commercial pools, the control system can be quite complex, including an ozone degas/destruct component and a built in ORP monitor/controller to manage oxidation potential.  Most residential pool systems control the ozone with the automatic vacuum-driven injection method combined with regular, frequent testing of the water for Free Available Chlorine and proper pH balance.  However, DEL Ozone does manufacture the Mixing Degas Vessel for larger residential pool systems to ensure the destruction of potential ozone off-gas.

Ozone destroys microbial organisms and other oxidizable contaminants on contact. Since these interactions occur in the pool water return line, with only very small residuals of ozone reaching the pool water body, the ozone system must be used in conjunction with an EPA registered sanitizer.  Most commonly, this residual sanitizer is chlorine, and chlorine is specified as the primary sanitizer for commercial pools under NSF/ANSI Standard 50.

DEL Systems Comply

The APSP description certainly fits DEL Ozone spa and pool systems. DEL pioneered the development of the first NSF-listed ozone system for commercial pools and spas in 1985, and continues to develop cutting edge systems known for effectiveness and reliability. Residential pool and spa systems by DEL share the engineering expertise and quality of the larger commercial systems.

DEL ozone generating systems provide the foundation for clean, healthy water in all types of pools and spas.

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Posted by DELOzone on March 22, 2012 | Trackbacks

A Simple Pool Water Quality Program

February 13th, 2012

If you are like a lot of residential pool owners, keeping high quality water is your biggest headache.  It’s important for both pleasure and safety. Plus, you can never relax about it because your water balance can get out of whack so quickly, and then restoring it is complicated and time-consuming.

The Ozone Prescription

Here’s the simple ozone-based water quality program we have seen to be successful in hundreds of pools.  This program does simplify pool maintenance because it requires fewer chemicals, beginning with less chlorine.  The ozone sanitation is virtually automatic once the system is properly installed.

  1. Find the right-sized ozone generator for your pool and either make sure it is installed properly yourself or get your pool pro to do it for you.  For an above ground pool, the DEL Big Dipper is appropriate for pools up to 25,000 gallons.  For in ground pools, visit our online in ground ozone pool sizing chart to select the right size for your pool.
  2. Begin with clean water.  This is obvious, we know, but you need to consider both the source water quality and how long your pool has been operating.  If you need to shock the pool to get back to a good starting point, do it.
  3. Run your pool pump at least 8 hours per day (the ozone generator is linked to the pump cycle, and ozone will be introduced only when the pump is running). Running more hours per day means more ozone is injected.
  4. Keep .5 to 1.0 PPM free available chlorine (FAC) in the pool at all times.
  5. Keep your pH in the range of 7.2 – 7.8 (target 7.5).
  6. Test your FAC and pH at least weekly, and more often if experience tells you the balance shifts quickly.

You may be surprised to see that DEL Ozone recommends using chlorine!  The fact is that ozone is so effective that whatever you add to the water is quickly used up in destroying contaminants, and after a short while all you have left is ordinary oxygen (O2).  You need to keep a residual sanitizer in the water to prevent algae and to provide a backstop when new contaminants are put into the water.  The good news is that you will use 50% to 90% less chlorine than a comparable chlorine-only pool.

How About Zero Chlorine?

We see the ads for ‘No Chlorine’ pool sanitation, too.  Ion systems in particular claim to provide no chlorine options, but ions are not effective against organic pollutants like urine and lotions, which will exist in almost every pool.  Ozone is perfectly compatible with ionizers, and provides the oxidation power you need to completely clean the water, so you might run a system with ozone + ions rather than ozone + chlorine.  However, a low level of chlorine is simpler to maintain, and easier to manage.

Bottom line:  Why Choose Ozone?

You can see a more complete comparison of ozone to other sanitizers on our alternative sanitizer page online.  However, the most important comparison is always with chlorine since it is so widely used.  Ozone will give you sweeter water and easier maintenance, but the most important thing is safety.  Ozone kills microorganisms fast and effectively.  Take a look at this chart from the Centers for Disease Control showing how chlorine kills common pool pathogens.

Chlorine Disinfection Fails in Critical Ways

Slow Chlorine Disinfection Cannot Provide Safety

Chlorine takes a LONG time to kill these pathogens.  Ozone is almost instantaneous.

So, make sure you have ozone for the heavy lifting.  And keep a little chlorine in the water to complete the spectrum of security you want.

Happy swimming!

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Posted by DELOzone on February 13, 2012 | Trackbacks
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