Stopped at Costco yesterday

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Catanzaro

Catanzaro

Platinum Supporter
TFP Guide
Jul 30, 2014
3,508
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Yesterday, I stopped at Costco looking for an umbrella for the deck table. As I am a big fan and believer of the TFP method, I decided to check out the swimming pool section and saw 40 lbs. of 3" pucks. What I saw was real strange. The instructions indicated that placing a certain amount of 3" tablets in the pool will raise your ppm level from 1-4 ppm, something to this effect.

Then it went on stating to keep adding tablets until you reach 4 ppm. Then there was a disclaimer stating that anything over 4 ppm is "not suitable" for swimming, not exactly in these words. For the average person, they place pucks in the pool, skimmer, etc. and forget about everything until they develop algae.

The phone # was an 800 # with SOS-SWIM afterwards. First and foremost, how can anyone ever figure out without the proper test kit what the true level is? We all would be sick if this was the case. There was also the word "blue" somewhere in the label. I was in a hurry so did not write the name down or take a picture, in which I should have.

While on the subject, I read that "glue" holds the CYA and chlorine together in 3" pucks. Any validity to this?
 
I am surprised how some people get away with their hands off pool care. The no swimming above 4ppm is common in the pool industry. Even today, both pool stores I visit when I need a little amusement post right on their paperwork to keep your FC 1-3 or 2-4. No comments on CYA at all. One even has the recommended range for CYA 30 - 200.
 
Virtually all professional pool service industries follow outdated guidelines that say 1-4 ppm FC. In a pool with no CYA this is correct. CYA had a buffering effect though which changes those numbers. Why no company has yet to acknowledge this fact is a question for a whole other topic.

The glue you are thinking of might be from cal-hypo sticks. Cal-hypo can't naturally be compressed in to solid sticks like trichlor can so it requires a binder.

I would like to see a picture of that bucket. I have a bad feeling when a pool chemical says "blue" on it. Makes me think copper.

From my HTC One via Tapatalk
 
Yes, I will take a picture of the package. It did state something about Algae control, which is probably copper. Yesterday, I went underwater to clean my white steps on metal stains from the Frog that I used for a few months last year. I removed most of the stains with vitamin C and Mr. Eraser. I hate the Frog and these days I would be reluctant to enter another person's pool unless I had my TF-100 test kit (LOL).

Here you go:

http://www.costco.com/Clorox%c2%ae-Pool%2526Spa%e2%84%a2-XtraBlue%c2%ae-Chlorinating-Granules-40-Lbs.product.100162127.html

It is 6 in 1, which has extra items that are probably not needed.
 
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I'm a former frog user too, I got away without stains but I'm glad I stopped when I did. When I think of paying $200 to open my pool and this year I paid $60 including the TF-100 refill, just can't believe I used to do that. So glad my cover blew off that one year and that eventually led me to this site.

That isn't the same bucket you saw, that is granules. That one is 99% dichlor, which is "good" as in it is pure. It is bad because it adds almost as much CYA as it does chlorine. It is a useful product for someone that knows what they are doing and needs to add CYA and chlorine. Unfortunately there are thousands of people using that for their weekly "shock" and it is driving their CYA up to astronomical levels.
 
They probably like that low threshold on FC since if all goes well it 'should' be fine especially if CYA is low... We know as time goes on CYA is building and the problem is about to rear its ugly head, maybe not this month but next month when all seems to be going fine. The pool owner thinks something else is the issue and buy the potions and gobs of chemicals to deal with it. The recommendation is probably designed as a 'built-in failure feature'. Tons of money is made, and it's just associated as a cost of having a pool. Eventually, you're told that the cya is too high and need to drain the pool to reset the process so it can start anew!

- - - Updated - - -

BUT.... It's easier to just keep pucking the pool right?? LOL:)
 

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isriam said:
I have a box outside right now that I bought in feb before I had 200 cya and an algae problem.
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Save it. I have a bucket of tabs I bought from Costco before I discovered TFP and that the previous owner of the house had pucked the CYA to over 200. After 18 months I actually have 5 pucks floating because my CYA was down to 40.

TFP is not "against" any products, except indiscriminate use of metals - TFP is about the knowledge of what you are putting in the water.
 
Yep, there are three tabs out floating in my poolroght now. But, then I know that each one will raise my CYA by 1.5ppm, FC by 2.5 ,salt by 2.1, and lower the pH by.14. As long as you know what you are doing and you need what's in them, they are fine.
 
chiefwej said:
Yep, there are three tabs out floating in my poolroght now. But, then I know that each one will raise my CYA by 1.5ppm, FC by 2.5 ,salt by 2.1, and lower the pH by.14. As long as you know what you are doing and you need what's in them, they are fine.
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Please help me better understand this. With liquid chlorine @ 12.5%, each 15 oz. raises my FC by 1 ppm. So it is very easy to understand what the value added cost factor is at the end of the week. My pool has only 15,000 gallons, so of course the figures may change slightly.

If the FC increases by 2.5 ppm for each 3" tablet, I would need on average enough tablets to consume approximately 4 ppm per day. It appears that the cost factor associated with tablets is high. Liquid chlorine is predictable. I will probably have to increase my CYA by about 20 ppm each season, again easy to figure out the cost. Everything else is again easy to understand from a cost perspective. Again, I am basing this on the cost of the 40 lbs. at Costco. I have not figured out the difference or how many tablets there were in the 40 lb. square bucket at Costco.

From what I remember, the cost of liquid chlorine vs. pucks is really not that much less and may even be more. Thank you.
 
Just to be clear, I don't use pucks. I have a SWG for supplying my chlorine. But my CYA was just a bit low for our very sunny summer, and I had some pucks laying around. So I turned my SWG down, and put a few pucks in a floater. A few more, then I'll go back to the SWG.
 
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