Does anyone buy chem from wholesalers?

[pmeloy]

I've been operating municiple public pools for about 18 years and one of the first things I leaned is to never buy chemicals from pool stores. I go to the local chemical wholesalers and purchase Bicarb/Calcium chloride in big bags. There is usually a minimum purchase amount ($250 where I went a couple years ago - still have lots left!). The only issue I had at first was caking due to storing in an unheated building but a cheapo plastic storage bin (with sealing top, not the kind with two halves that fold down) solved that problem. I keep unopened bags in the basement heated storage and the opened ones in storage bins.

Caking of the bicarb wasn't a big deal as it breaks up easily enough. Caking of the calcium chloride is a royal pain in the bum.

[PoolDoc]

Hi Pat;

Probably 75% of the forum users have less than 12,000 gallons of water in their pool; for them, 1# of stabilizer is 10ppm. So, wholesale quantities usually don't make sense.

Also, if you buy from the grocery store . . . or Sams Club . . . there may not be any advantage:
+ baking soda => from Sams: $0.30 for 12#; wholesale: $0.20 for 100#
+ cal chloride => RARELY needed, but available economically as ice melting salt.
+ bleach => wholesale quantities are perishable
+ dichlor => $2/lb at Sams for 50#; this is below wholesale in many areas
+ borax => ~$0.65/lb at Walmart; possibly 0.30/lb wholesale for 100#, but hard to find

The three chemicals that are often much cheaper at wholesale -- cyanuric acid, polyquat & HEDP -- are not usable on home pools in wholesale quantities.

So, while purchasing wholesale may work for a few, in select localities, it's not generally a practical option.

Thanks for posting.

[pmeloy]

I wasn't clear. The $250 purchase was for my home pool, a 16x32 in ground.

[PoolDoc]

Fair enough.

However, it's still true that buying multi-year quantities of chemicals doesn't work well for many pool users. We'd rather focus on saving money by using only the chemicals you need, rather than by buying bulk.

[waterbear]

I buy some chemicals in bulk because it is more economical for me (example, I buy 50 lb bags of calcium because my fill water is processed by reverse osmosis where I live so it is very soft) but other chemicals that I use infrequently (such as baking soda or stabilizer, which I need maybe once a year or less) I buy in small quantities. I do buy Muriatic acid by the 4 gal. case since it is cheaper and I have a SAFE place to store it. This is about a year's supply for me if not more).