Is total chlorine building up in my pool? How would I know when to shock using BBB?

[Underdog]

Is total chlorine building up in my pool? I read the "setup" thread on the forum related to starting up a cheap Intek or Summer Escapes pool and could not find any mention of super chlorinating (shocking) the pool.

We put up a 1338 gallon Summer Escapes metal frame pool a little over a week ago. There are 4 or 5 neighborhood kids (including our own) that "swim" in the pool every other day. They splash around for about 30 minutes and then get out; then get back in again a few more times. We are in New England and the weather is cooler this year. I did not find this forum until day 3 and I have been reading ever since.
I have been testing the water with AquaCheck yellow test strips. I toss in about 1/2 a cup of bleach every evening and run the filter 7 -9 hours (over night). I have cleaned paper cartridge filter twice. We keep a tub clean water at the foot of the pool ladder to keep as much grass out of the pool as possible. The pool is half under a tree. I cover it completely at night and don't take the cover off until noon. The 1/2 cup of chlorine seems to be keeping everything in check so far. I also put in 1/2 cup of Borax for the first time the other day. The "stabilizer" in the pool tests very low (between zero and "30"if you trust the test strip). I read nothing in the BBB forum about shocking the pool or how long I can go before needing to do such a thing. The free chlorine level seems fine. I was too cheap to order the $80 in Kem-Tek 013 All-in-One Concentrated Chlorinating Granules (22-1/2-Pound) so I have not added any dichlor. I bought the pool for $17 new at Big Lots and could not see spending $80 on chemicals of which I have no understanding.
Do I need to get a test for Total Chlorine to know if it is time to "shock"?
The pool is very popular, however I want to know that the water is safe and healthy. The "free chlorine" tests between "1" and "3". This is my first "real" pool. I planned to take it down over the winter because I didn't know what else to do.

[BigDave]

The test strips are nearly useless. You need a K-2006.
Small pools are more difficult to care for than large pools because they are more reactive and have a much high bather load. You really need a K-2006.
Adequate sanitizer level must be maintained to prevent disease transmission.
If you haven't added any dichlor, trichlor(tabs), or stabilizer you have no CYA. You need some - without it all the chlorine is lost in a few minutes of sun.

Have you found the Super Simple recipe? If not - log out and find it in the Intex pool care forum.

You can buy small amount of (expensive) dichlor at Leslie's if there's one close.

You really need a K-2006, find a link for it in the chlorinating / testing forum. It is almost never sold in stores, order it online.

[Underdog]

I should add that based on current water rates the town charges me $12.44 cents to fill the swimming pool with 1.33 one hundred cubic feet of water. We have good water pressure, so it fills quickly. The downside is that it can takes days to bring the water temperature up. So I hate to just keep emptying the pool if I don't have to.

[Watermom]

Taylor K2006 test kit:> http://pool9.net/tk/
Super Simple Start-up Recipe:> http://pool9.net/ssr/

Welcome to the Pool Forum!

[Underdog]

I checked online and we do have a Leslies Pool supply store nearby. I thought I was only supposed to used dichlor from Sam's club or from Amazon. Why should I not put a floating chlorine dispenser and a few of those round chlorine tablets inside. Don't those contain a stabilizer?

[BigDave]

With a 1300 gallon pool, you probably want to change water a couple times a season anyway.

[CarlD]

Tri-chlor tabs are fine to use IF you know what they do and know that's what you need. They add chlorine, are EXTREMELY acid, and add 6ppm of CYA for every 10ppm of chlorine. For a very alkaline pool with no stabilizer, they are great! (New masonry pools frequently have high pH and need lots of stabilizer). For a very acidic pool, or a pool with high stabilizer levels, they are the worst thing.

Di-chlor, while not as acidic as tri-chlor, add even more stabilizer--about 9ppm of CYA for every 10ppm of chlorine. If you pH is in the middle but you need stabilizer, di-chlor can be an excellent choice.

[Underdog]

Is there a less expensive alternative to the pricey Taylor K2006? The walmart test kits like the "HTH 6-way" kit for $22 does not include "free chlorine" only "total chlorine." I thought that "free chlorine" was a very important measure. Why does this less expensive HTH 6-way kit get recommended here so frequently if it is missing "free chlorine."
Also, does keeping a cover on my pool reduce chlorine loss. The cover is on 23 out of 24 hours a day now that school has started.
I cannot say that I am impressed with the Summer Escapes pump/filter combination.
Finally, why doesn't everyone choose to run a salt water generator. They seem to make a lot of sense (at least to this novice).

[Watermom]

We often recommend the 6-way kit because it has a CYA test in it and can often be bought locally whereas the K2006 seldom can. But it is usually suggested as a stop gap and not in place of the K2006 which can measure FC up to around 50ppm and also CC.

SWCGs are extremely pricey which is why most people don't buy them.

Keeping a cover on the pool does reduce chlorine loss.