Slamming for 3 weeks and bad DPD powder

[suep]

I opened my pool 3 weeks ago and there was a little algae but the water was clear. I adjusted the PH, Alk, calcium and CYA was about 40. I cleaned up the pool and started slamming it. The day after opening the pool was crystal clear and sparkly but I was getting CC levels between 1.0 and 1.5 daily. I couldn't figure out what was causing the problem so I bought some filter cleaner that consisted of hydrochloric acid thinking maybe there was something nasty in the filter that needed to be cleaned out. That didn't change anything.

This morning when I tested the water I was still getting a cc reading of 1.5ppm and I figured I would never swim again. I had ordered all new reagents in March but I still had some DPD powder leftover that I had ordered last spring that I was still using. I store my reagents in a kitchen cabinet and the powder looked OK so I assumed it was fine. Wrong! I decided to test again using the new DPD powder and found that I have no combined chlorine. I feel like a fool for not thinking about trying the new DPD powder sooner and I'm pretty sure I will pass the OCLT tonight.

So, if your pool looks great and you are slamming forever you might want to try some new DPD powder. It will be much cheaper than running your filter 24/7 and buying huge amounts of bleach

 

[Isaac-1]

thanks for sharing this

 

[jblizzle]

Interesting, I don't think we have ever seen anyone make this observation ... and I have myself used pretty old powder with no issues.

Was it clumped up? Maybe it just needed to be ground up again?

 

[suep]

It was a little dark but I think it looked that way when I got it last spring. There were a few clumps but still plenty of small granules. I think there may have been a problem with it even last year when I first got it. Last year my CC level always tested at .5 which was odd compared to previous years. I have a salt water generator and in the past it was rare to ever have any combined chlorine show up.

 

[Casey]

I've had my powder for the second year this year and I'm not having these issues and occasionally, I will have .5CC between chlorine additions that always goes away. Mine is also dark and I don't anticipate ordering more until I finish up this one. I also leave my kit under the kitchen sink. It's certainly odd...

 

[suep]

I passed the OCLT last night! The weather is supposed to be in the 80s this week so I am turning on the heater and stocking up on sunscreen.

 

[Sterling3316]

I recently purchased my test kit and am currently SLAMing my pool. I have had consistent CC readings of 1-2 after 8 days. I actually got to the point that this morning I wondered if I had a bad batch of the DPD powder. Now I find this! I ordered a refill of the R0871 because I've been testing so much and just decided to refill the powder as well.... and now I'm glad I did! When I get the new powder we'll see if that is the issue. I'll repost then.

 

[jblizzle]

Out of curiosity, what test kits do you 2 have?

 

[Sterling3316]

And its worth noting that my powder never really was the consistency I thought it should be. I have to kind of scrape it to get a spoon full, as if it was wet at one time..

 

[jblizzle]

Where did you (suep and Sterling3316) get your test kit and which one?

 

[Sterling3316]

I have been properly advised and trained by Smykowski (childhood friend of mine) and got the TF-100.. LOL

- - - Updated - - -

From TF test kits

 

[suep]

I buy new TF100 reagents every spring.

 

[jblizzle]

Thanks ... I sure do not recall any of these reported before.

So, when you do the CC test, how long do you wait between ending the FC and starting the CC test?
After the CC test it is normal for the water to turn pink again after a few minutes, I hope that is not what you were seeing.

 

[suep]

I do the CC test immediately after the FC test.

I was also getting lower FC levels with the old DPD powder. I was kind of desperate and figured there was some horrible bug in my pool so I bumped my chlorine up to mustard algae levels. When I tested old and new DPD powder with the same water sample it showed 25ppm with the old powder and over 30ppm with the new powder. I also had 2 new containers of DPD powder to test with. I had ordered my new spring reagents and was using the R0871 so quickly that I ordered two more bottles of R0871 and another DPD powder.

 

[duraleigh]

On the front page of TFTestkits is an 18 month warranty for consumable items. Please email us with your name and we will replace the DPD powder.

I wish I could help with the results you are getting but I have never heard of those results before so don't have any suggestions other than to let us replace it.

 

[Sterling3316]

I also test immediately following the FC test and discard the water flowing the CC test.