Winterizing "Kits", alternatives, newb ?s (first closing)

[autoxer]

Looking around online for winterizing stuff (antifreeze, poly60, etc.) for my first attempt at pool closing (builder closed 1st year, and we paid em the 2nd) I stumbled across this:

http://www.intheswim.com/shopping/produ ... word=E9NAC

It claims to be a non-chlorine based oxidizer but doesn't really say what it is. Lots of good reviews on it, but that doesn't always mean much.

Does anyone know:
a) What it really is? I have a guess but don't want to provide a leading answer (and it's *just* a guess)
b) Does it work / is it a valid option or should I avoid it like the plague?

(Note that there is some "chemistry curiosity" involved in my question as well as practical application for closing the pool)

On a slightly different note, we'll probably close around early Nov. and open around end of April - does the recommended (on this forum) dose of poly60 for winterizing really "hold out" over the entire winter or do you "check" at spring thaw or something? I know the algae slows/stops as it gets cold but... (I lack confidence :? )

Final question (for now) - Is there really anything I need to know/avoid in closing because of our dark plaster surface?

Thanks

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum.

One of the really basic principles of BBB is not adding anything to your pool you don't need or are not sure of the result.

I don't know what the product is but I am pretty confident you don't need it.....chlorine will close your pool just fine.....there are literally hundreds of folks here who close with chlorine alone.

Same with polyquat60....there is no recommended dose with which to close your pool. It's an optional additive that, if I had to guess, would say less than 50% use to close their pool.

Last year, there were a couple of opening pictures posted that looked cleaner than my pool in mid-Spring!! Search on the forum for "opening" and "clear water" and I think you'll find some informative threads of folks who open with little difficulty having closed with chlorine alone.

 

[Durk]

The "shock" is MPS. The floater and the 'winterizer' have no ingredient information.

It does work, at least for me. It may be heresy on this forum but I have used these since 2005 and opened every year to a perfectly clear pool. After I joined here, I have planned to switch to just chlorine but each year I lost courage. I use BBB in the summer and I am very happy. I just haven't worked up the courage to change my winter strategy from something that works for me and only costs $40 for six months. (My old summer strategy of pucks in the feeder was definitely NOT working.) Maybe next year...

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Heresy that's funny :lol:

I guess it's just kinda a simple strategy to avoid putting something in your pool when you don't know what it is. That's the basis for TFP - knowledge and proper testing, and then acting appropriately with that knowledge.

I haven't added anything to close my pool except chlorine. Open to a residual each year - crystal clear water. I open in late April or early May - so I'm sure that helps - but I'd rather open clear at keep it that way than deal with a green mess.

IF you read what's in the kits, you will likely find what's in them isn't necessary - the kit I used to buy was a three-step - it had granulated chlorine shock (cal-hypo), algaecide and Alk increaser. So both the algeacide and the Alk increaser were unneccessary - the algeacide was copper based - and my ALK was fine. And if one of the products were necessary - buying them separately is probably cheaper than spending $30-$40 on a "kit".

We don't advise MPS for closing - a Jug of clorox will do the same thing for less (and probably better).

 

[autoxer]

So... if you close with nothing but chlorine is it basically temp that keeps things under control under that winter cover?? I guess I'm just missing something - FC is dropping off all the time... Sure, the cover will slow that a bit due to significant sun reduction and the partial physical boundary the cover provides (mine is mesh), but after months under that cover it's bound to be 0 right??

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Every pool is different. Even in the summer, when I keep my solar cover on, I lose hardly any FC (I have a dk blue cover). It drops very slowly when the pool doesn't get used, this fall after I turned the heater off I hardly ever had to add chlorine, I was losing less than 1ppm per week.

Pools that are exposed to more sunlight will lose the FC faster - with a mesh cover you will certainly burn thru it quicker than my pool with the solid. But yes, temps factor in a lot.

Last year I shocked, covered and opened in April with a 4.5 FC level. Even I was suprised.

If I were in your situation, I'd shock and then use the PQ60. I'd check in the spring as the temps begin to warm up, see how things are looking, and then perhaps add some more algaecide or chlorine and use a submersible pump to circulate it. OR open very early, when the water temp hits about 60.