I am wondering for those who maintain customers pools, do you use the BBB method here or do you use chemicals that I assume most pool companies would use?
For those that do pool maintenance
- Thread starter mynewpool
- Start date
My old bosses would have had a hissy if I use BBB. I finally got my old mentor to use bulk baking soda. That saved him a LOT of money and got me a nice bonus at holiday time too! Nowadays, I show my customers BBB and TFP. Now, when they need me, they need me because its for something other than a weekly and everyone is happier.
Scott
Scott
Dude, that's a LOT of posts since your join date 
If I haven't before, let me welcome you here!!
Most pool maint. companies don't use BBB techniques. Scott is one of the 'up and coming' pool companies that understand the BBBetter way of maintaining pools
I try to do it for my bosses' company, but am restricted as to how far I can go, in telling people the TRUTH 
I believe that Scott feels as I do in that, if more people have a trouble free pool - we can sell more pools (without overselling chems) and build a confidence with our customers to trust US to do any major work on the pool :-D
If I haven't before, let me welcome you here!!
Most pool maint. companies don't use BBB techniques. Scott is one of the 'up and coming' pool companies that understand the BBBetter way of maintaining pools
I try to do it for my bosses' company, but am restricted as to how far I can go, in telling people the TRUTH I believe that Scott feels as I do in that, if more people have a trouble free pool - we can sell more pools (without overselling chems) and build a confidence with our customers to trust US to do any major work on the pool :-D
waste said:Dude, that's a LOT of posts since your join date
If I haven't before, let me welcome you here!!
Most pool maint. companies don't use BBB techniques. Scott is one of the 'up and coming' pool companies that understand the BBBetter way of maintaining pools
I believe that Scott feels as I do in that, if more people have a trouble free pool - we can sell more pools (without overselling chems) and build a confidence with our customers to trust US to do any major work on the pool :-D
Yes I am on the PC all day, so easy access.
From what I've read from posts of numerous pool service folks is that the primary difficulty with BBB is only visiting the pools once a week. Chlorine is a consumable so needs to be added or present somehow every day. This is what makes Trichlor pucks/tabs so convenient because they slowly dissolve and can usually last close to a week, but of course they increase CYA levels.
Some pool services use a "large swing" approach. One such service in hot sunny areas of Arizona, southern California, and Texas uses a combination of chlorine gas and sodium hypochlorite (chlorinating liquid) in pools that have a high 100 ppm CYA to protect the chlorine from degradation from sunlight. They raise the FC to around 14 ppm and then it drops to around 4 ppm by the time they come back the next week. Though this goes somewhat below the minimum FC for that CYA level, it's rather brief and the shock from the added chlorine kills off any nascent algae that might have just gotten started. 14 ppm FC with 100 ppm CYA is not noticeable or irritating at all because this is equivalent to around 4 ppm FC with 30 ppm CYA or to 0.14 ppm FC with no CYA.
In order to allow for lower FC levels that can result from not raising the FC as high as I just described, some pool services use supplemental products. 50 ppm Borates helps take the edge off of algae growth. Some use phosphate removers while others use weekly PolyQuat 60 algaecide, but these are extra cost and of course are not a minimalist approach and only inhibit algae so are not a guarantee. Usually these latter products are used with Trichlor so they get the convenience from Trichlor, but help prevent algae through these additional products. Some may even use copper ions, though you have to be very careful and diligent to prevent staining.
In my area, the pool store I go to has dozens of trucks and service people servicing thousands of customers. They mostly use Trichlor, but they do partial drain/refill of the water if the CYA gets above 100 ppm and they generally target around 4 ppm FC for the chlorine level.
It helps a lot if a pool is covered as that has the chlorine last a lot longer.
So a pool service can use BBB, but it's more challenging due to the infrequent visits. Though one could try using The Liquidator or a peristaltic pump, some customers don't want chlorine stored on site as they fear their children will access it (I'm not sure why it couldn't just be in a locked cabinet) and of course, these solutions are extra cost. Basically, there seem to be three general camps for pool services:
1) Use large Free Chlorine (FC) swings, possibly with high CYA levels in sunny areas.
2) Use Trichlor pucks/tabs, but keep some limit on CYA (possibly 100 ppm) and a higher FC level (usually 4+ ppm).
3) Use Trichlor pucks/tabs, but use supplemental algae prevention -- either phosphate remover, weekly algaecide (e.g. PolyQuat 60 or a linear quat though that can foam but is cheaper), copper ions (but be careful about staining) or 50 ppm Borates.
Of course, pool services also service some saltwater chlorine generator (SWG) pools, but there the maintenance is around other items such as brushing the pool, adjusting pH and other water chemistry parameters, tweaking SWG on-time, etc.
Richard
Some pool services use a "large swing" approach. One such service in hot sunny areas of Arizona, southern California, and Texas uses a combination of chlorine gas and sodium hypochlorite (chlorinating liquid) in pools that have a high 100 ppm CYA to protect the chlorine from degradation from sunlight. They raise the FC to around 14 ppm and then it drops to around 4 ppm by the time they come back the next week. Though this goes somewhat below the minimum FC for that CYA level, it's rather brief and the shock from the added chlorine kills off any nascent algae that might have just gotten started. 14 ppm FC with 100 ppm CYA is not noticeable or irritating at all because this is equivalent to around 4 ppm FC with 30 ppm CYA or to 0.14 ppm FC with no CYA.
In order to allow for lower FC levels that can result from not raising the FC as high as I just described, some pool services use supplemental products. 50 ppm Borates helps take the edge off of algae growth. Some use phosphate removers while others use weekly PolyQuat 60 algaecide, but these are extra cost and of course are not a minimalist approach and only inhibit algae so are not a guarantee. Usually these latter products are used with Trichlor so they get the convenience from Trichlor, but help prevent algae through these additional products. Some may even use copper ions, though you have to be very careful and diligent to prevent staining.
In my area, the pool store I go to has dozens of trucks and service people servicing thousands of customers. They mostly use Trichlor, but they do partial drain/refill of the water if the CYA gets above 100 ppm and they generally target around 4 ppm FC for the chlorine level.
It helps a lot if a pool is covered as that has the chlorine last a lot longer.
So a pool service can use BBB, but it's more challenging due to the infrequent visits. Though one could try using The Liquidator or a peristaltic pump, some customers don't want chlorine stored on site as they fear their children will access it (I'm not sure why it couldn't just be in a locked cabinet) and of course, these solutions are extra cost. Basically, there seem to be three general camps for pool services:
1) Use large Free Chlorine (FC) swings, possibly with high CYA levels in sunny areas.
2) Use Trichlor pucks/tabs, but keep some limit on CYA (possibly 100 ppm) and a higher FC level (usually 4+ ppm).
3) Use Trichlor pucks/tabs, but use supplemental algae prevention -- either phosphate remover, weekly algaecide (e.g. PolyQuat 60 or a linear quat though that can foam but is cheaper), copper ions (but be careful about staining) or 50 ppm Borates.
Of course, pool services also service some saltwater chlorine generator (SWG) pools, but there the maintenance is around other items such as brushing the pool, adjusting pH and other water chemistry parameters, tweaking SWG on-time, etc.
Richard
I remember once reading somebody's description of their BBB-style service, but they were visiting each pool 2-3 times a week.
On my last visit to my favorite pool shop, I was asking about their liquid chlorine supply (they get deliveries twice a week, yeah!) and the guy mentioned they use it for the pools they service. Didn't think to ask him if it was once a week or what; I'll have to ask about that next time I'm there.
--paulr
On my last visit to my favorite pool shop, I was asking about their liquid chlorine supply (they get deliveries twice a week, yeah!) and the guy mentioned they use it for the pools they service. Didn't think to ask him if it was once a week or what; I'll have to ask about that next time I'm there.
--paulr
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