Why Dichlor Instead of Trichlor for Intex Pools

[DDave]

As a first year Intex Easy Set pool owner, I have been watching the Simplifying BBB for very small pools (e.g. Intex) thread very closely. I have sort of come up with a similar plan. I purchased the TF100 test kit and am currently using the 1" trichlor tabs (hth brand) and plan on switching to bleach when the CYA hits 40. It is getting close to 20 now but has not quite made it yet. With the trichlor, I get the expected pH drop and periodically have been adding pH Plus (also hth brand) but have ran out so I am switching to 20 Mule Team Borax.

I was wondering though why dichlor was so heavily recommended over trichlor which seems more readily available.

I am not challenging the recommendation, just trying to understand why one is favored over the other.

Dave

 

[Guest]

Dichlor is a very fast dissolving form of chlorine that will get the CYA where it needs to be fairly quickly since for every 10 ppm FC added it also adds 9 ppm CYA. Trichlor is a very slow dissolving form of chlorine that only adds 6 ppm CYA per 10 ppm FC added and when used in a pool with no CYA will often lead to algae blooms at first since it's pretty hard to keep enough chlorine in the water until enough trichlor has dissolved and raised the CYA. This could (and often does) literally take weeks.

The idea is to get the CYA level high enough fairly fast and painlessly and then switch to bleach.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

The dichlor raises the CYA level quicker than the tabs, and you can make the switchover to bleach faster, so it's cheaper. Dichlor is sold in small packages ideal for smaller pools, often the trichlor tabs are in big buckets and pool owners would be inclined to continue using them resulting in an overstabilized pool.

At the outset, often the tabs don't produce enough FC to keep levels stable and in the ideal range, because they don't get the CYA up fast enough to protect the FC, the FC burns off quicker from the sun. If the pool owner doesn't understand the FC/CYA relationship and what pucks do to ph/ta, they might continue to use them because they are easy to use and end up with problems.

If you have a TF100 test kit, and are monitoring your levels and doing everything right, you can continue doing what your doing. Most small intex pool owners won't have a TF100, they'll be using strips or the small drop kit that doesn't test for CYA or TA.

 

[DDave]

Makes sense.

Thanks for the info.

Dave