Calcium

[waterbear]

check out this PDF a lot of info on calcium chloride
http://www.omri.org/calcium_chloride_final.pdf

HERE IS THE INFO OFF OF THE DOW WEBSITE FOR POOL AND SPA APPLICATIONS:
http://www.dow.com/calcium/app/poolspa.htm

THEY LIST 2 PRODUCTS FOR THIS USE....
DOWFLAKE AND THEIR ANHYDROUS CALCIUM CHLORIDE MINI-PELLETS!

GUESS DOWFLAKE IS THE WINNER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BUY IT AT A POOL STORE. I WOULD BET THAT MOST OF THE CALCIUM HARDNESS INCREASER SOLD IN POOL STORES IS JUST REPACKAGED DOWFLAKE!

[mwsmith2]

Cool, cool, that seals it for me. Now if I can only find that stuff.

Michael

[waterbear]

Cool, cool, that seals it for me. Now if I can only find that stuff.

Michael

Try lowes or home depot! I've seen it at one or the other! btw, I just read the Dow pdf on their calcium products
http://www.dow.com/PublishedLiteratu...romPage=GetDoc
and it seems that :
"DOWFLAKE 77–80% process grade
calcium chloride meets or exceeds
Food Chemicals Codex (FCC IV)
monograph for calcium chloride
dihydrate and complies with FDA
Good Manufacturing Guidelines.
It also meets the American Water
Works Association (AWWA) standard
B-550 and is Kosher certified."
I guess that means it's pretty pure! Heck, it's even Kosher!(two of my great aunts used to be cooks in the "Borscht Belt" in the Catskills and I remember them using calcium chloride in the brine when making pickles! So did my mother! I think it was to keep them crisp)

[zelmo]

Since so many have been helpful I thought I should give an update.

Home Depot and Lowes didn't have any de-icer left, but a smaller hardware store had several brands. The only drawback (or so I thought) was that they were all pellets - no flake. I looked at Dow's website and decided to buy the PELADOW that the store had because it seemed to be DOWFLAKE in a different form. Anybody want to explain the difference between dihydrate and monohydrate?

My worry had been that the pellets would take longer to disolve and they did, but it was only 5 minutes. Worked like a charm for 1/3 the price of the pool stores product.

[PaulE10]

Paul,

I noticed both Home Depot and Lowe's carries Calcium Increaser in 5 lb containers for around $7. Not real cheap but will keep you out of the pool store.....

Thanks for the good info. I'll stop in and check it out.


Paul

[zelmo]

BTW - the PELADOW was $18 for 50 lbs.

[mizzouguy]

I just bought some in the pool section at Lowe's. $6.44 for a 4 pound container. I'm starting off with 24 pounds because my test kit is not showing any Calcium.


33k gallons, Aquarite, vinyl.

[jmcst25]

BTW -- Agway - carries the Calcium Chloride Flakes (77-80%) $10 for 50lbs (this is 20 cents a pound). I asked them about pool usage -- they indicated a local large water park / pool buys it by the pallet. I added it by mixing small batches in a bucket to disolve the flakes -- worked like a champ just a minute or so to disolve. Now I have some left over to melt ice this winter.


Agway also sells Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) $8 for 50lbs.

[cpoz06]

Stumbled across this discussion last nite and felt it necessary to add some
insite. I have held a public pool operators certificate for 10 years and i am appalled at the lack of understanding of the basics of pool chemistry on this site. The first thing that you missed is that lime is extremely CAUSTIC!!!, AKA alkaline! If you really want to destroy your systems this is a great first step.

What I see here is that you folks just want to back door your local pool store operator for a few bucks savings on a product that is one of the most consistent items in pool water balance.

If you cant manage an average size pool for between 7 and 10 dollars per
week working with a reputable pool store you need to get rid of the pool!

I regularly talk to several of the store owners in my area who have invested a large part of their lives to teach people to manage their pool, and are the first ones you turn to when you cant fix it by groping around here.

I wonder how some of you would feel if the customers that pay your daily wage started to figure out how not to pay you for th skill set you chose to earn a living!

[CarlD]

Before you start hurling accusations and launching attacks, it might be wise if you knew something about your targets. Many of the people you are attacking are quite knowledgeable about physical chemistry--more than me.

People ask ALL sorts of questions about alternate sources of chemicals--many ARE extremely dangerous if handled incorrectly--lime is no more dangerous than 30% Hydrochloric Acid (Muriatic Acid to you) which is the strongest acid on the pH scale--it etches glass!

Next people are not recommending lime--they are merely discussing it as possibility and what the pitfalls are--we've have similar discussions over the years of sulfuric acid, acetic acid (vinegar), gas chlorination, ozonation, etc.

Everyone here is FULLY aware that lime is alkaline and that so are the calcium compounds...Think that just may be why new plaster pools push pH up, eh??

As for your absurd accusation of just wanting "back door" your local pool store to save a few bucks, well, I have three things to say to that:
1) When I can get "it" far cheaper someplace else I say "too bad". I've seen pool stores sell 4# of a "total alkalinity raiser" for $12--for 12# that's $36. Then I walked into CostCo and found a 12# bag of the same stuff (called Arm&Hammer) for $3.50--one-TENTH the price. One store sells PolyQuat for $34/quart! You can usually find it for $12-$20. Maybe YOU like wasting your hard-earned money un-necessarily, but most of us don't.

2) When there's a pool store with a knowledgable, experienced staff, I WILL buy there-they deserve to be paid for their help. I won't pay absurdly inflated prices, but if I'm buying a solar cover, I'm happy to pay them another $50 for their trouble. However, I frequent 10 different pool stores and most of the staff don't know their ear from their elbow.

3) So, so many people come to us after having been "Pool-Stored"--sold a lot of expensive chemicals they not only don't need, but shouldn't even use---EVER!! So they pay too much for what they need, are sold stuff they don't need, and are even sold stuff that's BAD for their pools. They come to us in droves EVERY SINGLE DAY saying "I have a mess. I spent a fortune at the pool store, it didn't work, so they sold me ANOTHER fortune's worth of chemicals, and they didn't work either! WHAT DO I DO?????'" We tell them. It works. They can't believe it, they are SO happy and they become loyal members.

Now if you aren't one of these who see a pool owner in trouble as your kid's college fund, then you are the exception--and they are out there--we count some of them among our most active members.

But if you see that pool owner as your Christmas Club, I have not the slightest sympathy for you losing business.

I've never understood that idea that I should pay you more to do something I can do myself, unless it is more convenient FOR ME to do so.

BTW, if you work in the pool business, our forum rules demand that you have a signature line you use EVERY post that states that.