Chlorine Pucks vs Bleach

[jimgregory]

Thanks,

For those great and quick comments. Please keep them coming.

I am glad to see that I am not the only one that has this issue. I will definetly check out that bleach pump. In the mean time I think that with my low cya numbers I will have to add less bleach, so I will try to develop a night time routine to keep the chlorine levels correct.

Wouldn't it be nice I someone develped a pump that took 10 gal. of bleach, with a contol dial, and would last about a month ( I know many different conditions require diff. use of chlorine).

Jim

[PhantomAndy]

I had used Tri-Chlor pucks in my Pentair feeder for 2 1/2 years until last year.

I decided to give the BBB a try. What I found was that for my pool (about 22,000 gallon Vinyl IG) that I had to add about 96oz (3/4 of a gallon) of bleach each day to keep my levels where they needed to be (about 1ppm of Cl by the end of the day, bumping to about 3 - 3.5 ppm after adding the bleach).

It only takes a second to add the bleach - but I just didn't like the hassle of having to remember to do it every day (I get lots of sun on my pool - from about 9am - 8pm during the peak of the summer).

I didn't have any problems with this method, except I almost never had to use the Borax - but instead ended up having to use either dry acid, or muratic acid to adjust my pH instead.

The other thing that I didn't like was all the bottles. For me the cheapest option for bleach was the 3/4 gallon (96oz) Walmart Ultra (6%) bleach for $0.78. As a result I had between 5 and 7 empty plastic bottles a week that I had to haul to the recycler ever few weeks.

Another draw back - this year - that same $0.78 bottle of bleach is now $1.28, making the cost over $1.70 / gallon, and the larger bottles work out about the same. I don't have any local sources for bulk bleach.

I'll have to keep an eye on my CYA this year - but it's so low starting the season I should be OK - and if it gets out of check, I can slow the feeder down, and supplement a few times a week with bleach to keep it in contol.

The pH should be more balanced this way as well.

To each his own - and maybe someday I'll go SWG, but for now - the Pentair Rainbow online feeder will do the trick.

Good luck - and test often

[CarlD]

OK, let's see if we can clear this up:

1) It's your pool. What you do with it is your choice. You are the ultimate king, queen, or despot in your backyard. It's also your responsibility when something goes wrong.
2) We advocate a particular philosophy of pool care because it is based on logic, experience and pool chemistry.
3) Our basic advocacy of the B-B-B strategy is the mainline. It is not the only one. For new concrete pool owners with new water I frequently recommend they use Tri-Chlor tabs in floaters because the side effects of Tri-Chlor will be beneficial. But for most people B-B-B works perfectly.
4) The side effects of Tri-Chlor on your water are real, measurable and drastic. Your CYA will continually increase, and your pH will be pushed into the acid range (these are great for new concrete pools, lousy for the rest of us).
5) There are virtually NO side effects of liquid chlorine on your pool water. It doesn't alter pH noticeably, and it doesn't add CYA. This is a fact. That is why we prefer it.
6) Higher CYA requires a higher residual level of chlorine to prevent algae. Many people who have used tabs for years find themselves with CYA levels of 100 or 120ppm. At these levels you MUST maintain your chlorine at a minimun of 8ppm--much higher than most test kits go. Otherwise you will get a an algae bloom. Not may, will. Sooner or later your CYA will rise from the tablets.
7) We do not advocate Bleach because we "like" it, but because it is the simplest, cleanest and most effective way to get chlorine into your water. It's also the EASIEST by far to calculate how much it will add (1 gallon of Regular Chorine--5.25% -- will add EXACTLY 5.25ppm of FC to 10,000 gallons of water)
8) We (PoolDoc, the moderators and the most experienced members) practice what we preach in our own pools. Our own, personal experience tells us our methods work.
9) We get lazy and make mistakes as well. When that happens, we give ourselves a kick in the rump and follow our own rules--and re-inforce to ourselves that they work. I had a minor bloom last summer. Cleaned it up in 48 hours--by dosing my FC up to 15 ppm and keeping it there.
10) If you have a problem, you can follow our advice, or the pool store's. Again, it's your pool, your choice. I know LOTS of people who insist pool care is a snap, insist they never have a problem and don't follow our rules. OK. Enjoy.

[faithfulfrank]

Dear Carl,
Thanks for your informative post. I do not disagree with anything you said..I agree that regular bleach has no negitive effects, and is the method of chioce here.
I do use pucks for winterizing, since I do not cover my pool, and I also use them during vacations, etc.
They are easier, but do not come without the problems you stated.

It is nice that we have options.

By the way....could you be so kind as to give me the definition of "BBB"
I'm guessing it stands for Bleach, borax and baking soda, but that is just a guess.
We have such long winters here outside of Buffalo, that by spring, my pool knowledge is rusty and I need to re-read everything here to get back in the know.

thanks, Frank D.

[sunofthebeach]

here is my plan

I buy an $80 50 lb bucket of Chlorine pucks from BJ’s at the start of the season. The bucket will last all season. I shock my pool with bleach almost every Sunday with 2 jugs of bleach. (24,000 gal pool) Swimming season is May through September so bleach cost is about $40.

This method allows me to chlorinate my pool for $120 a season and I am only adding chemicals/pucks once a week. I do test the water 3 times a week though.

I don’t really care about CYA, because I open my pool to 0 CYA at the start of every season.

[CarlD]

Frank,
Sorry, B-B-B, is exactly that--Bleach, Borax and Baking Soda.

Sunofthebeach,
As I said, it's your pool, your are the lord of your domain. But you need to realize that CYA levels directly effect the level of chlorine you need to keep your pool sanitary. At 100ppm of CYA, you need to keep your Free Chlorine level at around 8ppm. But at 30ppm of CYA, a Free Chlorine level of 3ppm is more than sufficient.

As long as you KNOW how much CYA is in your pool and therefore how high your Free Chlorine level needs to be--and keep the Free Chlorine level there--you'll be fine, no matter what the CYA is. But if you do NOT know the CYA level, then you are probably underchlorinating or overchlorinating your pool and relying on luck to be at the correct level of chlorine and not get an algae bloom.

I not big on relying on luck myself--I just test my CYA level once a week.

[sunofthebeach]

Sunofthebeach,
As I said, it's your pool, your are the lord of your domain. But you need to realize that CYA levels directly effect the level of chlorine you need to keep your pool sanitary. At 100ppm of CYA, you need to keep your Free Chlorine level at around 8ppm. But at 30ppm of CYA, a Free Chlorine level of 3ppm is more than sufficient.

As long as you KNOW how much CYA is in your pool and therefore how high your Free Chlorine level needs to be--and keep the Free Chlorine level there--you'll be fine, no matter what the CYA is. But if you do NOT know the CYA level, then you are probably underchlorinating or overchlorinating your pool and relying on luck to be at the correct level of chlorine and not get an algae bloom.

I not big on relying on luck myself--I just test my CYA level once a week.

I was not as clear as I should have been. What I meant to say is I don’t really care about the added CYAfrom the pucks, because I open my pool to 0 CYA at the start of every season. I do put 35 ppm of CYA in my pool at the start of the season and it elevates a little from the pucks. The part I don't care about is that I am adding CYA, because by next season it will be gone.

[tphaggerty]

I voted for an SWG but follow the rest of the advice here as closely as possible. As has been said before, a SWG is not the cheapest way to go, but it excels in 2 areas:

1) Very convienent. Once you are dialed in for the season, there is very little to do except test and (normally) minor adjustments. A lot of folks wind up doing a weekly acid dose, I haven't had to yet.

2) "Other" benefits. There is no doubt that the water feels softer, warmer and you don't need to rinse when you get out. I think the water feels better because it is pretty much kept in constant balance, as opposed to the ups and downs of adding chemicals and then having them dissapate over time.

I used bleach when I opened (what I learned, don't start heating your pool until you have all of the chemistry balanced!!) to clear some cloudiness. I use borax to maintain the alk and will use muriatic acid to lower PH once I use up the dry acid I have. Ben's test kit is (hopefully) on the way.

I think many here would agree that BBB can also be SWG/BB and work just as well.

[CarlD]

I voted for an SWG but follow the rest of the advice here as closely as possible. As has been said before, a SWG is not the cheapest way to go, but it excels in 2 areas:

1) Very convienent. Once you are dialed in for the season, there is very little to do except test and (normally) minor adjustments. A lot of folks wind up doing a weekly acid dose, I haven't had to yet.

2) "Other" benefits. There is no doubt that the water feels softer, warmer and you don't need to rinse when you get out. I think the water feels better because it is pretty much kept in constant balance, as opposed to the ups and downs of adding chemicals and then having them dissapate over time.

I used bleach when I opened (what I learned, don't start heating your pool until you have all of the chemistry balanced!!) to clear some cloudiness. I use borax to maintain the alk and will use muriatic acid to lower PH once I use up the dry acid I have. Ben's test kit is (hopefully) on the way.

Minor correction: Borax is for raising pH (making the water more basic, or alkaline) but it is NOT for maintaining alkalinity.

Alkalinity or Total Alkalinity, is kind of a misnomer. It's really a pH buffer to prevent pH see-sawing. Use Baking Soda to raise it.

Nothing wrong with dry acid--I actually use it because it's a bit easier and safer to handle than muriatic acid. But M/A is fine, too. I just don't like dry acid when it's called "Low'n'Slo" and has a price of $Boo-Coo!

I think many here would agree that BBB can also be SWG/BB and work just as well.

Absolutely!