How to convert from bromine to clorine

[Waselich]

Can you switch a bromine pool to clorine??

[Watermom]

Yes, you can. But, I'm going to let PoolDoc talk you through this one. Welcome to the forum!

[Waselich]

Yes, you can. But, I'm going to let PoolDoc talk you through this one. Welcome to the forum!

Is there any benefit to bromine over clorine??

[Watermom]

None that I am aware of. Pretty much everyone here on this forum uses chlorine and the ones that come here as bromine users typically switch.

[PoolDoc]

The primary benefit from the use of bromine pools is that pool dealers make more on bromine than chlorine. If it's not your goal to improve your dealer's profits, then there are no benefits from bromine that apply to outdoor pool use.

I check the addresses new users give on Google Maps as a way of excluding spammers and hackers; Google has a pretty good picture of your pool, which appears to be a large round AG pool. (I'm the only one that can 'see' user address info.)

If you've been using bromine tabs, and if water is not terribly expensive in your area, I'd recommend draining all but 6" of water, and then refilling. It's pretty hard to get rid of the bromine salt residue, in the presence of the DMH (dimethyl hydantoin) stabilizer used in bromine tabs. And, as long as the bromine salt is present, adding chlorine will simply convert the bromide ion to new bromine -- leaving you with an expensive bromine pool even though you are using chlorine. (Expensive because bromine can't be stabilized against loss to solar UV.)

[Waselich]

Do I have to add anything to the remaining 6" of pool water before or after the refill?

[PoolDoc]

Just start refilling and chlorinating.

If you are confident you can go lower than 6", do so. Under the circumstances, dichlor would be a good choice:

For start-up of a freshly filled pool, or a pool that has lost its stabilizer, dichlor is ideal for many folks since it adds BOTH chlorine and stabilizer, and is quick to dissolve. There are a couple of cautions: don't dump piles of it on the bottom of a vinyl, painted, or fiberglass pool; don't add large amounts at one time to pools that have copper or any other metal present.

The other difficult is with purchasing it. Most retail sources have embraced the concept of selling diluted dichlor for an undiluted price. Not only does this cost you more, but some of the dilutants actually hurt your pool! Sams Club is the only retail source that is consistently carrying undiluted dichlor. Walmart and Kmart seem to carry ONLY diluted stuff. Home Depot and Lowes vary from region to region, but you must be an 'expert label reader' to buy from them. If you do check labels, avoid the Pool Time and Aqua Chem brands. These BioLab brands seem to have pioneered the concept of diluted chlorine, and are very, very good at it (= tricky!).

PoolBrand granular dichlor 50lbs @ Sams Club => ~$2.20/lb (May 2014 in Chattanooga)
PoolBrand dichlor bagged shock 24lbs @ Sams Club => ~$2.50/lb (May 2014 in Chattanooga)

Kem-Tek dichlor 22 lbs @ Amazon => ~$3.50/lb (May 2014)
Kem-Tek dichlor 12 lbs @ Amazon => ~$4.10/lb (May 2014)
Kem-Tek dichlor 5 lbs @ Amazon => ~$5.00/lb (May 2014)
Kem-Tek dichlor 2 lbs @ Amazon => ~$9.00/lb (May 2014)

Keep in mind that Amazon products normally ship free; and that in many parts of the country, you will not have to pay sales tax. Shipping + tax can increase the cost from other suppliers by 15 - 40%, so compare delivered cost, not nominal price.

[FormerBromineUser]

I won't give advise here other than to say that.... As a "Former" BromineUser, I can't encourage you enough to make the switch to chlorine. The wonderful folks here will help you through this; trust them!