Dichlor/trichlor????

I have been a "convert" for a little over a year now, and frequently scan the forum for new info or reminders. I have two questions for which I can't find an answer. First, what in the world do you do with all the empty bleach jugs? We live in a rural area and do not have trash/recycle pick up. Second question: where can you buy a dichlor tablet? I'm assuming from reading various posts that this does not have stabalizer. All I can find are "3-in-one". I have finally got my stabalizer level down to about 45 from over 180 in April 2005 when I switched to bleach. Thanks for all the good information!

DiChlor does have stablizer. I have only seen it sold in granular powder form. It is normally put in the pool or spa by broadcasting, the granular form allows it to dissolve quickly.

Then what is the difference and why is Dichlor better than trichlor? What kind of tablet do you use to maintain the chlorine level if using bleach?

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Originally Posted by lynnybug55

What kind of tablet do you use to maintain the chlorine level if using bleach?

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The bleach IS what maintains the chlorine. No tablets required.

I think I'm confused. I thought I read somewhere on the forum about using bleach and some kind of chlorinator/feeder/floater. Did I dream that, or am I just misinterpreting what I read?

The floater is one method used to deliver CYA, or stabilizer to the pool. You already have a good CYA level, so you needn't bother with di/tri-chlor, or with the auxillary floater. Just add bleach to keep your FC levels in range.

The CYA is what keeps the sun from degrading your chlorine.

Regarding the empty jugs, what do you do with the rest of your trash? I would rinse them out and dispose of them the same way.

Most floater are for TRICHLOR tablets. Yes trichlor as well as dichlor has CYA. So if your pools CYA, stabilizer level is OK. don't use it.

There really is no advantage of trichlor vs dichlor. Both are stabilized chlorines

Yup.

Di-chlor is stabilized chlorine, typically in granular form. It's easy to broadcast, dissolves fairly readily, adds chlorine and cyanuric acid (cya) to the pool.

Tri-chlor is stabilized chlorine, generally in tablets, or pucks. Dissolves more slowly so it's suitable for floater use. It adds chlorine and cyanuric acid to the pool.

Bleach, or sodium hypochlorite, is non-stabilized chlorine. Laundry variety is typically 5.25 to 6 percent strength (pool store stuff may be 12% at full strength, but it drops off easily to 8-10% over time), and adds chlorine to your pool, nothing else.

Thank you; I understand now! One more question: Can someone give me a link to Ben's calculator I've seen mentioned here?

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Originally Posted by lynnybug55

Thank you; I understand now! One more question: Can someone give me a link to Ben's calculator I've seen mentioned here?

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Not Ben's calculator, but Michael Smith's (mwsmith2) calculator.
http://home.earthlink.net/~mwsmith70/data/BleachCalc262.exe


PC only as far as I know.

Beyond the bleachcalc program (which calculates much more than bleach dosages) there is Ben's "best guess" chart, which you will find as a sticky in this forum. It gives guidelines for chlorine levels and shock levels for various levels of CYA.
It's valuable because, while CYA keeps all the chlorine from going away from UV exposure, it also tends to "lock away" some amount of the total chlorine in the process, requiring more to fully sanitize at higher CYA levels. There's science... I mean... magic... or maybe magic science, involved, but Ben's chart helps to make it simple.