Liquid chlorine vs. 3" tablets

[rkschaller]

I recently began following the Trouble Free Pool protocol and started using liquid chlorine bleach in place of 3" tablets. I switched after having to pump out about 3' of water to get my cyanuric acid levels down from about 100 to 50. The pool is consuming about a gallon of Chlorox bleach (roughly $3.00) every other day to keep it at the proper level of chlorination.

Here in Texas is has been pretty hot so chlorine doesn't last very long, but when we used the 3" tablets it was not costing us anywhere near $3.00 every other day. Is using liquid bleach simply more expensive or is that just the price I'll pay to avoid having to pump out my pool and replace water ever year or so to keep the cyanuric acid levels down?

All our levels are within range. Our target FC level is 6 with a minimum FC of 4 since our cyanuric level is about 50. Our CSI is right where it should be.



18,000 gallons Chlorine Pool
IG
Pebble
Pentair 520 Cartridge Filter
Pentair Intelliflo Variable Speed Pump
Polaris 280 with Polaris booster pump
Installed 2012
TF-100 test kit
Pentair/Rainbow 320 auto chlorinator

 

[bobodaclown]

That chlorine usage seems a bit high, but if that's what you need to add to maintain then that's what it is. Can you purchase bulk liquid chlorine from Leslies or Pinch a Penny? That may be a cheaper route to go.

Have you considered a SWCG?

 

[Billrector]

I too live in Texas and have a pool that is not quite 2X yours. This time of year on a hot, sunny day, I go through about 1 gallon of bleach per day. At $3/gallon, that can get pretty expensive! However, once longer nights, cooler days arrive, your bleach usage will drop also.

The good news is that you don't have to run your pump as long since I just dump the required amount of bleach into the pool in about a minute. The "pucks" require you to run the pump to chlorinate the pool. I have reduced my summer pump run time from 12hrs to just 5 hours and have not had any issues.

 

[rkschaller]

Re: Liquid chlorine vs. 3" tablets

I had a SWG pool in Florida, but in order to use one with my variable speed pump I'd have to buy a separate console to turn the SWG on and off with the pool pump and that'd add about $600, not including the SWG itself. I suppose it would eventually pay for itself but then there are other additional costs too. It'd be nice if there was a cost comparison covering several years of running a conventional pool and a SWG pool.

- - - Updated - - -

I had not considered reducing the pump run time since chlorination doesn't rely on the pump running through the chlorinator. Thanks

 

[achianese]

I think you have the right perspective on the costs. The only way to win is if you can find a better deal on chlorine.

Assuming your Chlorox is 6% bleach, Poolmath tells me that you're adding 1.7 ppm chlorine every day (that's for 64 oz)

To add 1.7 ppm of chlorine using trichlor tabs, you would add 4.5 oz of trichlor. A pretty good deal on trichlor (poolsupplyworld.com) is $99 for 50 lbs or 800 oz. So, the cost of trichlor is 99 / 800 = $0.124 per ounce, and it would cost 0.124 x 4.5 = $0.56 to add a day's worth of chlorine using tabs.

However, every day you would be also adding 1 ppm of CYA to the pool, so you'd be back to to 100 ppm in less than two months, which would not be fun.

Regarding bleach prices, I have a local pool store and a True Value Hardware that sell the 12.5% chlorine in large, returnable tubs. It's about $3.00 per gallon, for about twice the chlorine. Have you checked the bleach prices thread?

http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/71808-Bleach-Prices-2014

 

[Divin Dave]

Re: Liquid chlorine vs. 3" tablets

A simple 70 dollar intermatic timer can be added in place of a 600 dollar controller. I have one on mine and it works great and I also have a VS pump.

In general, over a period of time, the cost of SWG and Chlorine about equals out for most of us. Its just that you pay the cost up front for a swg
vs weekly for liquid chlorine

A gallon a day seems high to me too. Have you done a OCLT to make sure something isnt consuming that Chlorine?

I had a SWG pool in Florida, but in order to use one with my variable speed pump I'd have to buy a separate console to turn the SWG on and off with the pool pump and that'd add about $600, not including the SWG itself. I suppose it would eventually pay for itself but then there are other additional costs too. It'd be nice if there was a cost comparison covering several years of running a conventional pool and a SWG pool.

- - - Updated - - -

I had not considered reducing the pump run time since chlorination doesn't rely on the pump running through the chlorinator. Thanks

 

[ChiefRob]

I am adding anywhere from 1/2 gallon to a gallon a day as well. I have also thought that $3 or so (at the max) a day can be expensive. However, my outcome is outstanding. My water is crystal clear and have not had a single problem this year at all. That to me is priceless. Also, when you couple the fact that I am not shocking the pool weekly, I am not shocking to get rid of algae, I am not buying algaecide and have not been "suckered" into buying stuff to remove phosphates at the end of the day I am probably saving money.