LC or granular... Who is right?

[jjdurrant]

I am trying to follow BBB; however, we just had a new liner installed and the installer said to NEVER use liquid chlorine and to stick with granular. He said the LC can cause the liner to wear prematurely.

 

[JohnT]

Why would pool stores sell liquid chlorine? Nearly 3500 members here, 21,000-ish at PF, almost all non-SWCG users are using liquid chlorine. I'd bet close to half have vinyl liners when you consider AG pools, and I've never seen a post about liner fading from liquid chlorine, but I've seen dozens about granular chlorine causing liner damage.

 

[chem geek]

Nevertheless, with any addition of chemicals (with few exceptions, for CYA, PolyQuat, etc.) you want to pour slowly over a return flow in the deep end with the pump running. For extra safety, lightly brush the side and bottom of the pool in the area where you added chemicals in order to thoroughly mix them. Chlorinating liquid or bleach is denser than water so if dumped in quickly can settle to the bottom, but the same is true for granular chlorine. Above ground pools typically do not have floor drains so have poor circulation at the bottom of the pool so some manual mixing is wise.

 

[jjdurrant]

Thanks for the reassurance guys. BBB it is.

 

[ChrisL]

A relative of mine has a big spot in the middle of the deep end of his pool where the vinyl has faded. He has no main drain and poured a huge slug of 12% chlorine in one spot in the deep end. I didn't ask him as I didn't want to embarrass him but I would bet he did it without the filter running.

I have used liquid chlorine for about five years now with no fading of my liner. As with ANY chemical addition, keep the filter running for at least 1/2 hour after adding the chlorine. Pour it slowly dispersed around the deep end or in front of a return jet and there is no problem.

Chris