Is using trichlor in my situation a good idea?

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R

raoulwv

0
Jul 2, 2013
6
Cape Coral, FL
Until recently, I was using a SWG to chlorinate my pool and I also relied on it for my salt level measurements (I now know that was a bad idea). Unaware that the SWG was giving false readings, I kept adding salt. I now have high salt and my SWG has stopped working.

For the time being I'm using liquid chlorine to sanitize my pool until mother nature can lower the salt level(rain). The problem with that is LC also adds a small amount of salt each time I add it. Would I be better off using tricolor tabs until I get my salt level down and can install a new SWG? If so, do you think one feeder would adequate for a 13K gal pool? High CYA shouldn't be a problem due to the amount of rain we get here in the summer.
 
Why not just drain the pool and refill to reduce salt?

Trichlor still adds some salt, about half as much as bleach for an equivalent amount of FC.
 
You're in an unusual situation since you get so much rain it causes folks to have to drain water frequently from all the rains.

From reading posts by the Florida contingent we've learned that this tends to lower their CYA levels, unexpectedly at times. If wanted to lower your salt level just give it a few few months of rain & drain and see where you land. I'd go with liquid chlorine and repairing the SWG myself. With close monitoring of your test levels (including a stand alone salt test-Taylor's K-1766) you could use pucks on occasion, but you have to know when to back off when the levels get high.
 
Just for the sake of some rough numbers - in a 10,000 gallon pool, 10ppm FC added by using bleach will increase salt by 16ppm (so not really a big deal). 10ppm FC added using trichlor will raise your salt by 8ppm, raise you CYA by 6ppm and lower your pH by a few tenth a of a unit. The acidity of the trichlor consumes some alkalinity so you'd have to keep an eye on that too.
 
Part of the Florida contingent here! :wave: I'd definitely drain and fix SWG - even with all our crazy weather it could take months to get salt to a reasonable level, especially since we're halfway through hurricane season.
 
The reason I haven't drained and filled is because,....I already tried. I'm on well water with naturally high salt content. I stuck the hose in the pool and ran water all day with little or no change in salt level. The alternative is to have water trucked in ($$$).

Another reason I am leaning toward trichlor pucks (and I should have mentioned this) is that I will be away for a couple weeks soon and the pool will be unattended. I thought if I started now, I would know how many pucks to put in the feeder, or if I need two feeders while I'm away. I have no intention of using trichlor full time. As soon as the salt level is back in line, I'll install a new salt cell.

By the way, I learned my lesson and I now have a K-1766 kit to go with my K-2006.
Also, I typically have to add acid on a weekly basis (well water again), so I'm not concerned about CYA's effect on alkalinity.
Thanks for all your replies.
 
What is your CYA now? I wouldn't use a lot of pucks now as they will increase your CYA and the pucks used during your vacation will raise the CYA even higher.

My suggestion for when you leave is to raise FC to SLAM level for your CYA and then put pucks in a floater.

Also, it is best to drain first and then refill. Running the hose in the water and letting it overfill will waste more water. What is the salt level on your fill water?
 
kcindc said:
What is your CYA now? I wouldn't use a lot of pucks now as they will increase your CYA and the pucks used during your vacation will raise the CYA even higher.

My suggestion for when you leave is to raise FC to SLAM level for your CYA and then put pucks in a floater.

Also, it is best to drain first and then refill. Running the hose in the water and letting it overfill will waste more water. What is the salt level on your fill water?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what my CYA is right now. Last test it was at 40ppm and we've had a lot of rain this past week (Hermine). It should be low.

My well water salt level is approx. 1600ppm. My pool is at 4000ppm down from 4600. I need to get it to 3400 before I install a new cell. How much water do you think I would need to drain? Is there a formula?
 
It isn't exact, but I'm thinking a 42% reduction should get you close to your target. (4000*(1-0.42)) + (1600*(1-0.42)) = 2320 + 1044 = 3364.

Make sure that you've verified your salt level using the Taylor K-1766. SWG are notorious for miscalculating salt levels when the cell is failing.
 

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I think you only have to drain about a quarter of your water and replace with well water. If x is the percentage of water you keep:

(x * 4000) + ((1 - x) * 1600) = 3400

4000x + 1600 - 1600x = 3400

2400x = 1800

x = 1800 / 2400 = .75

So, you keep 75%, replace 25%
 
My CYA dropped considerably this summer (frequent backwashing and a lot of rain), so I switched to trichlor tabs temporarily to raise CYA. It was a nightmare. My PH, which had been incredibly consistent all summer, went up so fast I was constantly having to add Borax, which also messed with my TA levels. If you use trichlor, you'll still add salt as well (though only about half as much as sodium hypochlorite). I think it'd be much easier on you if you just partially drained your pool to lower the salt levels.
 
bjbarlowe said:
My CYA dropped considerably this summer (frequent backwashing and a lot of rain), so I switched to trichlor tabs temporarily to raise CYA. It was a nightmare. My PH, which had been incredibly consistent all summer, went up so fast I was constantly having to add Borax, which also messed with my TA levels. If you use trichlor, you'll still add salt as well (though only about half as much as sodium hypochlorite). I think it'd be much easier on you if you just partially drained your pool to lower the salt levels.
Click to expand...
Adding trichlor would cause pH to go down (not up), which is probably what you meant? Borax raises pH; its effect on TA is fairly minimal (according to PoolMath), but perhaps you had something else going on that changed the TA in your pool.
 
Yes, I meant down, not up. My mistake. As for the TA, the borax didn't affect it too badly, but I was careful at the beginning of the summer to get it just where I wanted it, so it was annoying to mess it up.

Basically, I had all my levels right where I wanted them, and they were all steady all summer. All I had to do for weeks was add cal-hypo. Then I switched to trichlor temporarily and everything got way more complicated.
 
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