Na di-chlor vs bleach cost

[halds]

With rising cost of liquid bleach, I am wondering at what point Na dichlor may become economically competitive?

Im not quite sure how to equate free chlorine power of 6% bleach with 52% granular Na dichlor? 40 lb of Na dichlor is about $100. How many gal of bleach would that equate to?

thanks,

math impaired....

Hal

[mwsmith2]

Not to be rude, but if you think that dichlor is a viable subsitute for bleach, you need to do a bit more reading here! :D

Your main problem is going to be a skyrocketing CYA level. I suggest you stay away from the dichlor.

Michael

[halds]

Well, you are right about the CYA problem, and hemmm, I do know how to read....
but I do not see the CYA as such as big monster that tends to be propogated here.


Mind you, I am not saying that it should be overlooked, but there is no reason to totally avoid it either.

In my situation, I drain nearly one third of the pool at closing, and come Spring, I start from a relatively low end of the normal range for CYA. I can using dichlor for quite a while before hitting the high range. By then it is July and intense sun, so I think the higher CYA is actually a good idea.

Even if I have to partially drain the pool, my water bill is insignificant in comparison to rising chlorine costs.
In this scenario, the relative costs are:

bottle bleach

vs

di chlor + some minor added water bill by the end of the season.

So, for me, the only factor is cost comparison. I can deal with the CYA issue.

I figure the added hassle of adding new water is comparbale to the added hassle of having to buy bottled bleach in gal jugs.

I am not downplaying the benefits of bleach, but one of the main selling points is cost.... Now that appears to be in jeopardy....


Hal

[duraleigh]

Hi, Hal,


I am not downplaying the benefits of bleach, but one of the main selling points is cost.... Now that appears to be in jeopardy....

I have never felt cost was a main selling point.....nor have I seen that advocated on this forum by virtually anyone. It's the simplicity and easy access that make it viable for a very large majority of pool owners.

I completely agree in your case it makes sense .......Bleach makes sense for a much larger portion of pool owners. SWG's make sense for some....not for others. Tri-chlor has a place as well....just not for everyone.

IMHO, cost has a minor role in using bleach. :) :)

PS - Some time ago, I simply used weight to equate bleach and something else (can't remember...maybe cal-hypo). I assumed bleach weighs 8 lbs/gallon so 6% of 8 lbs - .48 lbs and so on and so on......I question the accuracy of that calc but it might be a valid comparison.

[halds]

Thanks Dave,

I just read PollDoc's post on a similar topic here today, and learned my lesson for the day.

Penny wise and pound foolish. I think I will stick with my dichlor method and not worry about whether I can be saving money with bleach. Perhaps in the late sumer when the CYA level begins to soar, is a good time then to switch over till the end of the season.

I guess it was good to point out that bleach may not be a good choice for some people....

Just for my own sake of knowing, dichlor should have twice the chlorine power of hypochlor with equivalent percentages of total weight of the products?

Hal

[CarlD]

I've never done a cost-equivalence comparison, but I agree that DiChlor DOES have its place. However, I suspect it will turn out to cost more than bleach.

I'm still using up the DiChlor I bought a few years ago, but I ONLY use when my CYA is low and I want to raise it--I also make sure my pH is high before I use the DiChlor.

I especially like to use it in the spring at opening as my CYA has usually (like a lot of folks) fallen off over the winter.

But once CYA is where I want it, I'm done with Di-Chlor, unless it's an emergency and I'm low on bleach.

I have also found it VERY interesting that DiChlor, while it adds CYA, doesn't seem to add nearly as much as Tri-Chlor tabs do.

[halds]

Could someone explain why DiChlor is only marketed as a compound with CYA? Is it not stable in granular form without CYA? Seems like it would be more marketable if one could purchase with or without CYA added...


Hal

[CarlD]

Because then it wouldn't be Di-chlor. Tri-chlor has the same problem. By definition when both release their chlorine they produce CYA. It's not added, it's part of the chemical process.