Pool chemistry

[DavidD]

Finally have gone to the pool store and ....Pool guy said I have nothing to worry about my CYA#........ He said that the range is 30 to 200........ I told him that I didn't want to use any trichloro tabs ......He pretty much told me that I was crazy...

jcarroca,

You were originally given excellent advice earlier this month from long time members and moderators of this forum. These individuals are not profiting from you in any way and have absolutely no reason to steer you in the wrong direction or cause you any grief whatsoever. I personally consider them more of an "expert" than ANY pool store employee, chemical company tech or ANYone else in the pool industry. They are using a tried and true approach to pool maintenance and have tried to let you in on it. You obviously want to pick and choose. That's fine, your choice. It is however a bad decision. One that could possibly have detrimental repercussions to you, your family or innocent passers by if your feeder explodes. Did the pool store guy warn you of this? I'd guess not. Is he out to get you? I'd guess not. Does he not care about you or your families well being? I, being the eternal optimist that I am, would say he does. Why then would he let you do this? The answer is he does not know any better. He is an expert, with "knowledge" gained through pamphlets and chemical company's information. Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm who's main interest is making a living. "My" experts, that gave you great advice, are experts with knowledge gained through experience. They are experts on their own time with experience in health, chemistry and many other pertinent fields. I'll bet "your" expert thinks that bleach will ruin your pool even though he sells a stronger version of the exact same chemical in his store.
I have managed to keep my pool crystal clear, free of algae and absolutely trouble free for three straight years thanks to this forum and "my" experts and have been told by many friends that I'm now their "expert". Funny how the "expert" term gets thrown around. Anyway, I blush, say "Aw no" and direct them to my secret, this forum and Ben's test kit. That's it.
I too use trichlor pucks in a Hayward CL220 feeder. Two pucks one week, then none the next alternating or when A bunch of people are coming over to enjoy a long day of fun in the sun. Also on vacations etc. The only difference between you and I is knowledge. That's it. I know what the side effects are and keep a close eye to insure my CYA does not go above 50 ppm and add borax if needed due the the acidic nature of the pucks. Do yourself a favor, read back through this entire post from the beginning. Read the tips at this link http://www.poolsolutions.com/tips/10things.html. and give yourself a fighting chance of low cost, no trouble pool maintenance. And take that cal hypo out of the feeder. Be sure to turn the pump off, turn the feeder to the highest setting, let the water drain out of it. Open it slowly, preferably with goggles and do not breath the vapors!

Dave

P.S.- Ever wonder why the chemical companies supply free water testing apparatus and the pool stores offer free testing?????

My numbers yesterday evening, before adding .8 (less than one gallon) gallons of bleach:

FC-2
CC<.5
TC >2
PH 7.5
ALK 100
CH 150
CYA <40
Temp 82
16k fiberglass I/G pool

[PoolDoc]

Not only is it unsafe to use cal hypo in a trichlor feeder, it's now unsafe to use trichlor in that feeder.

There are two problems:

1. Any cal hypo residue left can react, possibly violently, with trichlor, if trichlor is added again.
2. Cal hypo products lime dust, which is very likely to clog the trichlor feeder, and render it unable to operate properly or safely.

I'm locking this thread down, to prevent further discussion of how to misuse a trichlor feeder.

Ben
"PoolDoc"