Hi,
Do 3" pucks exist that do NOT contain stabilizer? Or am I being misinformed?
Thanks in advance.
Do 3" pucks exist that do NOT contain stabilizer? Or am I being misinformed?
Thanks in advance.
Silly question from a noob re: 3" pucks
- Thread starter tethys69
- Start date
First: You cannot use cal-hypo in a chlorinator that has ever held trichlor pucks. Explosive.
That said, there are tabs made for skimmers, but I suspect that given the issue above no one would make them that size.
That said, there are tabs made for skimmers, but I suspect that given the issue above no one would make them that size.
An excellent point. OK, so my chlorinator has been rendered useless.
But tabs exist... for skimmers. Is the general consensus that it's still cheaper to just go with bleach? But, of course, not quite as convenient?
But tabs exist... for skimmers. Is the general consensus that it's still cheaper to just go with bleach? But, of course, not quite as convenient?
Not useless. I still use mine for vacations, can't be gone for 2 weeks and count on bleach that whole time, not by the jug anyway.
You could do a Liquidator, search for that on the forum, lots of info.
But, some of us do switch around. It just depends on recent tests, what is too high or too low. After a wet winter my CYA and CH is low so I use cal-hypo until vacation then use trichlor tablets in the feeder. Then I switch to bleach. Then one day, CYA is low again, back to tablets, but do mind the TA if it drops low. I test, so I know what can be used or not.
As for cost, I figure to be honest about it all, you have to admit that if you overuse tablets, then you have to drain and rebalance the water. Calcium by itself is expensive. So is the acid I need to get TA back in line. Your water may be different, so the cost and effort of draining may be more or less.
I don't think it is fair to say x$/ppm FC since some things like cal-hypo give me expensive calcium for free. Or they lower my TA for free, none of this nasty acid to haul around. You have to see all the parts. But, IIRC, on that narrow view of $/ppm, cal-hypo won, followed closely by bleach, Clorox, but GV might have won if I had considered that bleach, I did not. Last was tablets, in part because I think I added back on cost to dump water and add lost chemicals. And I buy everything in the largest sizes, 90 lb cal-hypo, 40 lb tablets, clorox at Sams.
You could do a Liquidator, search for that on the forum, lots of info.
But, some of us do switch around. It just depends on recent tests, what is too high or too low. After a wet winter my CYA and CH is low so I use cal-hypo until vacation then use trichlor tablets in the feeder. Then I switch to bleach. Then one day, CYA is low again, back to tablets, but do mind the TA if it drops low. I test, so I know what can be used or not.
As for cost, I figure to be honest about it all, you have to admit that if you overuse tablets, then you have to drain and rebalance the water. Calcium by itself is expensive. So is the acid I need to get TA back in line. Your water may be different, so the cost and effort of draining may be more or less.
I don't think it is fair to say x$/ppm FC since some things like cal-hypo give me expensive calcium for free. Or they lower my TA for free, none of this nasty acid to haul around. You have to see all the parts. But, IIRC, on that narrow view of $/ppm, cal-hypo won, followed closely by bleach, Clorox, but GV might have won if I had considered that bleach, I did not. Last was tablets, in part because I think I added back on cost to dump water and add lost chemicals. And I buy everything in the largest sizes, 90 lb cal-hypo, 40 lb tablets, clorox at Sams.
Thanks, anon. True points every one of them. I'll get around to figuring it out eventually, I suppose. But I'll tell you this, my pool has never looked so fantastic as it does since I switched to the BBB method. I find myself standing at the window just staring at it in awe.
I used the cal-hypo tablet in the skimmer. Never will again. They are expensive; even though the price is comparable to the same weight of trichlor, there's a lot less chlorine per weight! Also, they dissolved quickly, in about a day, so all the chlorine was dumped into the pool in one day. So you really can't go more than a couple of days without adding chlorine. Not more convenient than liquid.
tethys69 said:
Silly, go jump in. You can always spare 20 or 30 minutes. It's right there, waiting on you, all perfect. (And that is the best way to grab that leaf that fell in the pool 20 minutes ago)
Of course, if one didn't want to keep the chlorinator around for vacations, the explosive thing could be a very "entertaining" sort of benefit, as opposed to a downside. 
Swimgirl, thanks for the post. Seems to me that once the BBB method is in place it's cheaper AND better. I'll save the chlorinator and those extra pucks for vacations. 
Anon, I KNEW someone was going to say something about me looking at the pool and not going in it! :-D You're right, of course.
Beamup, yeah, I agree there'd be some entertainment value there. But now that I have my pool the way I want it I'd rather not have to put up another post here on TFP that reads something about how I blew up my rig.
Anon, I KNEW someone was going to say something about me looking at the pool and not going in it! :-D You're right, of course.
Beamup, yeah, I agree there'd be some entertainment value there. But now that I have my pool the way I want it I'd rather not have to put up another post here on TFP that reads something about how I blew up my rig.
Don't put ANY tablets in your skimmer. It might be fine when the pump is running, but when it's off the chlorine builds up to really high levels in the skimmer, then that high concentration gets sucked through all your equipment at start-up. If you must use tablets (I do when I go on trips, my CYA is low), use floaters.
Just to add to what Robbie said, Not only does the chlorine get really high but the pH gets really low, so that's a double whammy.
