Opening containers of 12.5% chlorine

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Beamup

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Aug 28, 2010
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Boston, MA
Having found that one of the local pool store's 12.5% chlorine is a better deal than the available bleach, and not wanting to handle quite so many jugs, I've decided to start using the former. But this has produced a problem.

The jugs in question are 5-gallon returnable, blue plastic. There are two caps on the top. One is a bit smaller than a dime, the other roughly 3" diameter. (I can post a picture later if needed.) It looks to me like the small cap is supposed to be an air vent while the big one is what I should pour out of. But said big cap is so tight that it won't budge even a fraction, no matter how hard I try or what tools I use.

That made me suspect that perhaps the big cap is for filling and I should be pouring from the small one, but it's too small to manage a simultaneous flow of liquid out and air in. The result is that the flow is too uneven to corral it into a reasonably-sized container for measurement, and I have to either spill a lot (very bad for very obvious reasons) or pour it straight into the pool (impossible to control dosage adequately). Currently I'm doing the latter and erring on the side of putting more than necessary in, but I'd rather have proper control.

Obviously I could ask at the store, but I don't trust them even that far.

Is anyone familiar with these containers? What am I missing? Thanks for any insight.
 
That jug (called a carboy) has a very tight seal on it to prevent leakage. It even tends to tighten up more than the pressure you initially apply when you tighten it by hand. Use a pipe wrench if you need to but it will open up. The dime size cap is, as you suspect, for air.
 
The local Pool store that I use for supply of said Carboy's also sells the proper Carboy wrench. Just for giggles, I asked for a price quote and she replied, "$18.60."

The wrench that is made for those Carboy's is a solid ring that resembles a magnify glass but without the glass. I have chosen to continue to use a pair of large adjustable pliers. If I open them the whole way and use the pliers in a key manner versus the normal pliers turn method, it seems to work very well.

Please, be careful as the 12.5% can burn.
 
My FLPS sells those, and they also have a box full of special black plastic wrenches that fit exactly on the cap sitting next to the register. They work great and I think it cost about $10. Unlike ChannelLocks or pipe wrenches, they don't squeeze the cap tighter or deform the cap. You can just leave it on the carboy and it is there every time you open it. It won't corrode due to rain or chlorine as a metal tool will, either. You might ask the pool store if they have them.

Carboy_Cap_Wrench_Carboy_Wrench2.jpg


EDIT: I just saw the post above. I KNOW I did not pay $18 for that thing. They are sold by Buckman's, who also makes the carboys and the LC. Unfortunately, they do not sell to individuals and they don't list prices on their website. I don't know if my store was stuck with them and put them out at half-price or if the other store was just being a pool store and marking up 150%. Still worth asking.
 
I had the same problem with exactly the same type of blue carboy.
I found that a "strap wrench", available at your local hardware store, does the trick for opening the large cap.
After opening the small cap to let air in, I then decant the carboy into several empty bleach jugs for ease of adding to the pool; that way only have to risk spills and thrills once. :)
 
Please, be careful as the 12.5% can burn.
Click to expand...
Color me lucky, I guess, but I have handled 12.5% and gotten it on my hands many times with no apparent ill effects....certainly no burning....anyone else?

Spill it on your clothes and you can take them to the trash pile but it doesn't burn your skin as far as I have experienced.
 

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duraleigh said:
Color me lucky, I guess, but I have handled 12.5% and gotten it on my hands many times with no apparent ill effects....certainly no burning....anyone else?

Spill it on your clothes and you can take them to the trash pile but it doesn't burn your skin as far as I have experienced.
Click to expand...
I've certainly bleached some clothes so now I wear some old jeans (if not in a swimsuit), but never burned the skin. Instead, the skin feels slimy as it does with any high pH product (such as lye) where it essentially saponifies your skin making "soap". It also smells like chlorine for a time for reasons described in this post. Never really been a problem.
 
I can't believe anyone is worried about this benign concentration of sodium hypo :scratch: I pour it on any poison ivy I get - clears it up VERY quickly. I also tend to incidentally pour it om myself when adding a gallon or so on a windy day.

Shoot! - I've been playing with this stuff so long that when I cut myself I can measure 5ppm fc in my blood :lol:
 
waste said:
I can't believe anyone is worried about this benign concentration of sodium hypo :scratch: I pour it on any poison ivy I get - clears it up VERY quickly. I also tend to incidentally pour it om myself when adding a gallon or so on a windy day.

Shoot! - I've been playing with this stuff so long that when I cut myself I can measure 5ppm fc in my blood :lol:
Click to expand...

As far as skin goes, I totally agree. I've had lots on my legs and arms. But the stuff will do serious, permanent damage to your eyes if not flushed out quickly. I had a friend whose mother was blinded in one eye at her supermarket checkout job when an irate customer slammed a bleach bottle down on the belt. (It was in Brazil, US packaging is much more secure.)
 
A strap wrench is one essential pool tool everybody should invest in. From carboy lids to unions, pvc nipples,etc. Don't know if there still available but i use a cap that came on one of my carboy's that had a 3/4 female threaded knockout that i put a pvc ballvalve on and use that on my refills. Really cuts down on mess and controls measurements easier. Cap is like the one pictured here.
http://utahbiodieselsupply.com/carboys.php#lids
 
duraleigh said:
Please, be careful as the 12.5% can burn.
Click to expand...
Color me lucky, I guess, but I have handled 12.5% and gotten it on my hands many times with no apparent ill effects....certainly no burning....anyone else?

Spill it on your clothes and you can take them to the trash pile but it doesn't burn your skin as far as I have experienced.
Click to expand...

Handled it for years, and unfortunately I've had some exposure. Never a burn.
 
LC is an excellent poison ivy killer, glad you brought that up, Ted. We put it in a spray bottle and mist the leaves with it. It kills the entire plant including roots in a very short time.

I use channel locks to get the lid off, haven't had much success with the strap wrenches. Then I fill old bleach bottles using a bulb siphon. Rinse the siphon well after use, that concentration is wicked on soft plastics.
 
tikkasniper said:
The local Pool store that I use for supply of said Carboy's also sells the proper Carboy wrench. Just for giggles, I asked for a price quote and she replied, "$18.60."

The wrench that is made for those Carboy's is a solid ring that resembles a magnify glass but without the glass. I have chosen to continue to use a pair of large adjustable pliers. If I open them the whole way and use the pliers in a key manner versus the normal pliers turn method, it seems to work very well.

Please, be careful as the 12.5% can burn.
Click to expand...

This is worked for me. Thanks for the tip. I was struggling for a while, but using a pair of pliers in vertical fashion ("in a key manner") worked great.
 

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