What exactly are these Beachcomber chemicals?

[i59b]

I bought a Beachcomber hot tub (model 580, 430 US gal. cap.) this summer and have been enjoying it. I started out using their bromine regime, but I changed the water last weekend and switched to chlorine. My plan is to use dichlor with weekly (and pre-party) MPS shocking. I frequently go away for short periods, and my plan for short absences is to shock with MPS and toss in a float dispenser with trichlor pucks. I know it's not the dichlor/bleach method recommended here, but does this sound reasonable? What do you think of MPS shocking + trichlor pucks + turning down the temp to 80 deg F for a week to 2 week absence? (I haven't tried this yet.)

My other question is: what are all these Beachcomber chemicals and what could they be replaced by? This is what I have come up with so far:

Clean 'n' Clear - is ordinary sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione 62%, aka “dichlor”
pH minus - is sodium bisulphate, aka dry acid
pH plus - is sodium carbonate, aka washing soda (replaceable with Arm & Hammer Washing Soda at $6 for 3 kg instead of $6 for 600 g at the spa shop!)
Soft - is some kind of pH neutral borate, which could be replaced with borax and muriatic acid
Resist - sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda
Protect - calcium chloride
Purezyme 3 - not sure, it's some kind of coagulate
Eliminate Plus 2 - not sure, it's a "stain and scale inhibitor" and contains carbolic acid
Pure Blue - not sure, it's some kind of coagulate and maybe a blue dye?
Eliminate 1 - not sure, possibly Phosphonobutane-Tricarboxylic Acid?
Foam Free - not sure, it's a defoamer
Filter Pure and Filter Cure - are filter cleaners that can be replaced by TSP

Thanks for any advice. This site and the Pool Calculator have already been a great help.

 

[spishex]

Looks like you've got the chems pretty much nailed down.

Clean 'n' Clear - Dichlor
pH minus - dry acid
pH plus - sodium carbonate (you'll probably never need pH increaser in your tub. just open all the venturis to aerate instead).
Soft - borates
Resist - sodium bicarbonate
Protect - calcium chloride (won't protect you from anything but foaming)
Purezyme 3 - Sounds like an enzyme product. Enzymes break up larger organics in the water (some people have great luck with them vs. pollen), but they're also oxidizeable and will consume chlorine, so if you ever want to use it add it well before using dichlor.
Eliminate Plus 2 - stain and scale control won't be necessary unless you have metal issues.
Pure Blue - clarifier. proper chemistry and filter maintenance and you won't need this.
Eliminate 1 - This is another metal remover.
Foam Free - Defoamer, which probably won't be needed with good water care.
Filter Pure and Filter Cure - are filter cleaners that can be replaced by TSP

Maintaining the tub with just dichlor and trichlor will build up a lot of stabilizer in the pool, which is one of the main reasons bleach is a part of the equation recommended here. It's also cheaper and easier to get your hands on. Unless you just don't usually have any bleach around there's no reason to use dichlor all the time. It will work, but you may have to add more and more as you go.

 

[PaulR]

I experimented with trichlor in my tub once. At spa temps it appears to dissolve very quickly. Also it's very potent, you need tiny amounts. Then of course it's also very acidic.

I suggest NOT using trichlor in the tub.
--paulr

 

[chem geek]

I know this is an older post, but I looked at the Beachcomber website here and saw that "Soft" said the following:

Soft
A granular product that enhances bather comfort, reduces calcium buildup and protects against pH bounce. Soft promotes a more stable, balanced water environment and ‘softens’ water to the touch for a more pleasing hot tub soak.

Since it reduces calcium buildup, this sounds to me more like a phosphate buffer than borates. Has anyone looked at the ingredients on the bottle?

Richard