Thanks Ben and Waterbear for your time and answers. A few replies:

1. I stand corrected on the contents of the Chlorox products. I was working from (obviously) defective, several years old, memory. What I can tell you, cuz I just looked yesterday, is that my $3 Dollar General 2 gallons of bleach is 6% Sodium hypochlorite and nothing else. So, expensive compare to the pool store chlorine, but not so much to use it in an emergency.

2. I also stand corrected on the granular chlorine my dad used to use. It was indeed HTH, I now recall the label.

3. Sure, drain cleaner is dangerous in the wrong hands. I can understand why it wouldn't be sold to the general pool public. But for those of us who have handled dangerous things of any category and know how to do so safely, it seems to me a good way to go. The Red Devil brand appears to be pure SH.

4. I like my pH meter. At least as accurate as trying to interpolate colors. And "to the tenth" is all anyone needs.

5. I want to minimize chlorine due to the expense. I am on a very limited income until my mother dies and I can go back to work. There is a thread just recently about a gentleman going ten days on vacation and the water was clear when he got back.

6. BTW, just how DO you measure the borate level? I can understand the math for the initial blast, but after that?

Again, thanks for the help and keeping me honest!