It actually forms free radical hydroxyl groups (OH-) that (according to the manufacturer) are the most powerful oxidizing agent to kill any virus or microbe. The OH- groups only last a nanosecond and produce no residual accumulation in the pool water. It's a $3,000 system plus labor (of course only certfied CCW installers can install). No CYA used and only 0.5-1.0 ppm for chlorine ( the "certified installers" told my neighbor to buy chlorine tablets at Walmart that's why he has a CYA level over 100 ppm).
Not really.
It's an ozone generator and ONE of the reduction reactions for ozone breakdown is the formation of hydroxyl radicals (OH•) ... let me repeat that, ONE of the reactions ... there are several and not all of them involve radical formation. As you stated and is true, the hydroxyl radical only lasts for a very brief time and then it turns into hydroxyl ion which is inert. So, just like ozone and UV, there is no residual left in the water which means there's nothing to sanitize the bulk pool water. Which is why it is illegal under Federal law for that company to market it as a stand alone sanitation product and why they must tell customers in their very fine legal print that you still need to use some residual sanitizer in your pool, ie, chlorine.
So why bother? Just use chlorine and keep the $3,000 in your bank account.
Oh, and you know what also forms hydroxyl radicals, oxygen radicals, and chlorine radicals (an energetic form of chlorine more powerful that Cl+ itself) ... the interaction of chlorine ions with dissolved oxygen and UV light. So, in a properly chlorinated swimming pool that is open to sunlight, you get the formation of radical species for free ... no need to drop $3k on colorful little metal box.
None of this is new and it seems every season there's a new manufacturing in town taking advantage of people. It all plays on the same fear and misunderstanding that chlorine is somehow "
bad for you" (it's not) and there's a "
proven scientific alternative that is used to purify drinking water!!!" that everyone should use because chlorine is old and evil and they used it in World War I to kill soldiers in trenches (they didn't, that was mustard gas and it has nothing to do with chlorine). People buy into the fantasy because they want to believe that there is some magic bullet out there that will fix their pool problems instead of trying to understand the actual problem with most pools - poor water chemistry management. And if it's one thing that TFP has proven ten thousand times over it's that if people would just take the time to manage their pools properly instead of looking for quick fixes, they can save thousands of dollars every year by not buying into the nonsense and baloney that the pool industry pushes.
But, as we always say, its your pool and your $3,000 and you can do whatever you like with it ... we'll still be here to help when you need it.
