Amazing Price on Cal-Hypo

[poolneophyte]

We have a vinyl lined pool with a SWG but use cal-hypo for opening and quick bumps in FC during the season when there are a lot of people in the pool. Over the weekend we scored what I believe to be an amazing deal at a local pool store. We paid $2.04 (total!) for 12 pounds of 65% cal-hypo. It was $0.99 plus tax per pound (limit 12) and the store e-mailed us a coupon for $10 off anything in the store. We could only use the coupon once but even $0.99 + tax per pound is a good deal.

Is this deal as good as I think it is?

 

[Leebo]

I’ve gotta get my name on that list! Even with shipping that’s a great price.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I'd be interested to see if there's a date code on it somewhere and check if it was left-over stock from last season. Even so, cal-hypo is very stable and doesn't degrade much if kept sealed in the original package. That said, you did score an excellent deal and the water on LI is soft enough to make cal-hypo a very easy and cheap chlorination method.

 

[poolneophyte]

Matt,

I didn't look for a date code but, as you said, its very stable. Even if it is last years stock it will be strong enough to serve the purpose. I only use it to save wear and tear on my SWG at opening time. It's also handy when (not if) my SWG craps out. I have a Jandy SWG which has been nothing but problems but that's another (long) story.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Sorry to hear the SWG is causing you issues. We get scattered report here about Jandy SWGs. They seem to have issues more than Hayward or Pentair. Maybe put up a post on it and we can try to help.

 

[ping]

Matt,

I didn't look for a date code but, as you said, its very stable. Even if it is last years stock it will be strong enough to serve the purpose. I only use it to save wear and tear on my SWG at opening time. It's also handy when (not if) my SWG craps out. I have a Jandy SWG which has been nothing but problems but that's another (long) story.

Since Jandy fixed the trisensor, they have one of the most reliable SWG's made. The only problem is that their 40K model makes slightly less chlorine than the other 40k brands out there.

 

[poolneophyte]

Ping,

The problem is that Jandy used the consumers as guinea pigs while they perfected the sensor. I have been through multiple sensors and circuit boards and most were at my cost. Also, they are unwilling to help the owner troubleshoot the system and simply tell you to call a pool professional. In addition to the SWG and controls issues, my Jandy heat pump lost all refrigerant due to a poorly designed test port which vibrated a brazed joint until it leaked. Unfortunately, the heat pump was from the last year that they used R-22 refrigerant which today can be compared to "liquid gold" when you need to buy it. Based on my experiences, I'm sorry that I have all Jandy products.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I think that's a general feature of the pool equipment manufacturing industry - "why would you ever want to fix it yourself?!? Just call in a pool professional..." Pentair is no better in this regard - not only do they completely void their warranties for self-installation (60-days only), but all of their equipment is designed to keep a pool owner from figuring out what's wrong rather than helping them. For example - the IntelliChlor SWG relays no system information to the user other than salinity readout and, even then, you can only get that info easily through an automation panel. The front controller on the cell uses an archaic set of various push-button sequences to flash the LEDs in a Morse-code pattern to relay some basic state info BUT ONLY if you know what the pattern of flashes means (none of that information is available to the end-user). Finally, you can get no information about the voltage, current, temperature or run-time of the cell without buying a specialized RF probe that hooks up to a laptop USB port (it's called the "IntelliWand"). So, even though my $80 HP printer has both Bluetooth and a wireless IP access point for connection to an App that gives full state information of the system, most of these equipment manufacturers can't seem to figure out technological advancement beyond the 1990's....it's sad really.

 

[poolneophyte]

Matt,

I feel your pain. I'm an electrical engineer and also have a certificate in electronics system servicing. I can talk circles around the "pool professional" that I'm supposed to deal with. It's really frustrating because most of what they do is trial and error replacing sensors, cells and circuit boards. If they replace the board and it works, they have solved the problem and charge you for that. The further I get into this, a metering pump dumping chlorine into the pool sounds better and better. They are easy to diagnose and service. If I knew then what I know know, I would have gone old school and forgone the wireless controls and SWG. A Stenner pump, time clock and a couple of switches would do the same thing, be easy to service and be much cheaper. But, the allure of having the capability of turning on the pump or lights while sitting in the pool won out. Maybe next time I'll get it right.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Yes, given where you live (I grew up on LI), a metering pump would be a much better option. Your swimming season is so short and you get enough rainfall & dilution that operating a salt pool is a bit of a chore. Where I live in the desert, a salt pool makes sense because we run the pool all year round and a hands-off approach works well. Storing chlorine in a tank in the hot sun just doesn’t work well. But if I owned a pool back east, I’d probably go with an automated Stenner pump.

Then again, back in the day, I lived about 15mins from a north shore beach and about 40mins to the south shore Atlantic ocean. So access to recreational water fun was never a big deal.

 

[PoolguyinCT]

I think that's a general feature of the pool equipment manufacturing industry - "why would you ever want to fix it yourself?!? Just call in a pool professional..." Pentair is no better in this regard - not only do they completely void their warranties for self-installation (60-days only), but all of their equipment is designed to keep a pool owner from figuring out what's wrong rather than helping them. For example - the IntelliChlor SWG relays no system information to the user other than salinity readout and, even then, you can only get that info easily through an automation panel. The front controller on the cell uses an archaic set of various push-button sequences to flash the LEDs in a Morse-code pattern to relay some basic state info BUT ONLY if you know what the pattern of flashes means (none of that information is available to the end-user). Finally, you can get no information about the voltage, current, temperature or run-time of the cell without buying a specialized RF probe that hooks up to a laptop USB port (it's called the "IntelliWand"). So, even though my $80 HP printer has both Bluetooth and a wireless IP access point for connection to an App that gives full state information of the system, most of these equipment manufacturers can't seem to figure out technological advancement beyond the 1990's....it's sad really.

The wand HA!!!
What’s a laptop, the last time a laptop was in my service truck, I had a beeper..
(Pretty cool beeper, translucent & would glow when it was getting “blown up.”)

Don’t get me wrong, I love Pentair & it has been a rock solid line for me..

So my comment applies to the big 3.
My kids toys have better connectivity, than most residential equipment.