Frog ease system my experience

[JoyfulNoise]

The problem with the Frog @ease system is that the chemistry of the solid chlorine that it uses trades off FC for CC. The dominant form of chlorine in the water is a combined chlorine compound that is, at best, a slow sanitizer. This is why when you measure with their special strips you see a very low FC level. They try to make up for the low FC by adding silver ions to the water. While silver can be an effective sanitizer against some pathogens, it usually needs a high ORP level combined with a high temperature to be effective.

In my technical opinion, these systems allow far too much “downtime” in between proper sanitation levels and that allows bacterial growth to proceed. Bacteria create biofilms to protect their colonies and those biofilms are all but impenetrable to chlorine. This is why Ahhsome purges will release so much gunk from the plumbing as the bacterial and mold growth is well shielded.

Chlorine is overall the most effective sanitizer available. Bromine works well too in a hot tub though it can be a bit tricky to get dialed in as manufacturers are always messing with their tablet formulations. But it does require sanitizing chlorine and bromine to be at the correct concentrations or else bacteria can take hold and grow.

While no one likes to add a “daily routine” of testing and maintenance to their lives, the trade off for switching from a well known sanitizer method like the dichlor-then-bleach method to a less understood and less effective “automated cartridge” method is often to have greater “mystery problems” to solve and more complicated maintenance. Certainly it is always worth looking at new info but do pardon me and others if we roll our eyes a bit at it … you ain’t the first person to try it out and you certainly won’t be the last …

 

[Superblue72]

Point taken admin can delete this thread....I will still do my test but not talk about it here

 

[Bperry]

Point taken admin can delete this thread....I will still do my test but not talk about it here

I don’t think there’s a need to delete, it’s just that sometimes people get their feelings hurt and then a shouting match ensues. You seem perfectly polite and so I’m assuming it won’t come to that. It’ll be interesting to see what happens 6-9 months from now.

 

[Superblue72]

Ok since we are keeping this thread I just have a quick question to the tfp finest...I plan on doing an ahhsome purge tomorrow depending how good or bad that goes I might use tfp method next see if there's a difference next purge. Now to my question has anyone used the frog as a secondary system. What made me think of this is I was watching a video they were taking about my tub with the smartclor and they said they would use dichlor once a week and a shot of bleach after each soak on top of using the cartridges...thoughts
Could I still maintain proper water balance doing this.

 

[duraleigh]

Yeah, keep the thread open. I am not a hot tub guy but there is plenty to learn in your thread when all can see and share it.

 

[mknauss]

The frog adds CC instead of FC. So your testing would always show elevated CC and minimal FC. So combining the two does not allow you to adequately test and add what the water needs. So not a TFPC process.

The frog is made from the same material as those toilet bowl cleaners things that hang in the bowl.

 

[Superblue72]

Quick update I did my purge today with ahhsome I was surprised with how little came out. I ran for 30 min wiped it then another 15 with basically nothing more. It was just a green material on the sides, and not much of it, not that black oily sludge I've seen in videos.. I will not talk about the products I've been using in conjunction with the Frog system due to forum rules but one is a weekly clarifier product that is supposed to keep the pipes clean...I will continue as I've been and see what happens in 3 months.

 

[ckendalls]

Hmm this is interesting, so do you think the first purge didn't get all the stuff out and thats what contributed to the poor water quality afterwards. You would think if you made it 3 months cleaned the pipes and now drain and refill with fresh water why couldn't the same results be repeated every 3 months...I plan on doing my ahhsome purge on Sunday so I'll see what comes out..... I'll report back my results.

I purged with the Ahhsome and rinsed multiple times the first couple changes while using the Frog system until nothing else came out. After I switched away from the Frog system 6-9 mos out, at first I also did multiple rounds to be more sure. But after seeing that one round was enough a couple times, I do just one. And if use has been lower, I just change the water quickly. Purging and cleaning if its really gunky and watching the foam is a PITA.

New tubs may also have some gunk in them because they may have been tested with water and drained incompletely then if they sit around awhile stuff grows.

No reason to delete this thread.

 

[Superblue72]

I purged with the Ahhsome and rinsed multiple times the first couple changes while using the Frog system until nothing else came out. After I switched away from the Frog system 6-9 mos out, at first I also did multiple rounds to be more sure. But after seeing that one round was enough a couple times, I do just one. And if use has been lower, I just change the water quickly. Purging and cleaning if its really gunky and watching the foam is a PITA.

New tubs may also have some gunk in them because they may have been tested with water and drained incompletely then if they sit around awhile stuff grows.

No reason to delete this thread.

Did you see my most recent post? I did the purge and there wasn't much of anything...just a little green residue. I expected from all the posts above that I would have had a horrible purge.

 

[ckendalls]

Even with the Frog system I would not expect super thick back sludge after only three months. I got about what you see but it kept coming with another purge and rinse. It seemed like the fresh water rinse released more of a different color and so I did another Ahhsome purge or two until I got nothing.

If the unmentioned products is the Aqua Clarity stuff from Ahhhsome.… I havent found it necessary or helpful with the standard methods and it irritated the skin a bit for me. Its basically a more dilute formulation of Ahhhsome and another benzalkonium chloride product. I use it elsewhere now, in a standpipe and condensate line for my AC.

As for using the Frog as a seondary system question, I thought about using my unused Frog stuff when we are gone for a month or more, but haven't done that.

 

[ckendalls]

Did you see my most recent post? I did the purge and there wasn't much of anything...just a little green residue. I expected from all the posts above that I would have had a horrible purge.

I had not seen it on that post. Responded again. If you are OK with that and get nothing more with another purge and rinses see what happens next time. Maybe you’ll be happy with it.

 

[Superblue72]

Even with the Frog system I would not expect super thick back sludge after only three months. I got about what you see but it kept coming with another purge and rinse. It seemed like the fresh water rinse released more of a different color and so I did another Ahhsome purge or two until I got nothing.

If the unmentioned products is the Aqua Clarity stuff from Ahhhsome.… I havent found it necessary or helpful with the standard methods and it irritated the skin a bit for me. Its basically a more dilute formulation of Ahhhsome and another benzalkonium chloride product. I use it elsewhere now, in a standpipe and condensate line for my AC.

As for using the Frog as a seondary system question, I thought about using my unused Frog stuff when we are gone for a month or more, but haven't done that.

I only did one purge but I wiped the green off after 30 min, then I ran it again for another 15 min with nothing really accumulated so I drained and refilled. Its up to 90° currently I checked inside the tub nothing more...the product is not the aqua clarity product.

 

[ckendalls]

I only did one purge but I wiped the green off after 30 min, then I ran it again for another 15 min with nothing really accumulated so I drained and refilled. Its up to 90° currently I checked inside the tub nothing more...the product is not the aqua clarity product.

BTW, I only got the green stuff with the Frog system.

 

[Superblue72]

BTW, I only got the green stuff with the Frog system.

Interesting, well ther jury is still out. I will continue my test for another 3 months, well its probably going to be 4 months until next purge as 3 months will be the end of February and will be really cold still. This will be a good test. Thanks for your input

 

[phonedave]

Quick update I did my purge today with ahhsome I was surprised with how little came out. I ran for 30 min wiped it then another 15 with basically nothing more. It was just a green material on the sides, and not much of it, not that black oily sludge I've seen in videos.. I will not talk about the products I've been using in conjunction with the Frog system due to forum rules but one is a weekly clarifier product that is supposed to keep the pipes clean...I will continue as I've been and see what happens in 3 months.View attachment 542078View attachment 542079

My tub looks NOTHING like that when I purge after 4 months. A little bit of scum here or there - not a ring (and a pretty big ring) all the way around. I guess "a little bit" is a subjective term. In all honesty if my tub looked like that after a purge I would be wondering what the heck happened to get it to look like that.

As for the Frog. I too had 6 months of "free" chemicals, and I used them for 6 months. I did not really like them. I had already been using TFP in my pool for 8+ seasons, and I was used to being able to run a test on my water and know within 0.5 ppm of what was going on. The Frog system messes with that (showing up as CC), combined with the inaccuracy of the test strips. For me, an accurate CC measure is one of the key tests. If I have CCs over 0.5 ppm, then I know something bad is going on. The inability to determine that was a drawback of the Frog. I was also used to TFP water in my pool - being able to clearly see a dime on the bottom. With the Frog, my hot tub never looked that clear, it was always slightly hazy and foamy. When I switched to TFP after 6 months, it was noticeably clearer.

Again, all my personal experiences.

In reality, if the Frog worked, I would pay for it. My pool is now a set it and forget it type of deal. Once I open the pool for the season, get the water balanced, and dial in the SWGC, it basically runs steady state. I still test it ever few days, but rarely need to add anything. Naturally for a party or something like that, it is different. I would gladly pay extra to have my hot tub the same way, but the Frog just does not do it for me.

And yes, I know a SWCG is an option for the hot tub too. I'm still on the fence with that one, for other reasons than cost.

 

[Superblue72]

My tub looks NOTHING like that when I purge after 4 months. A little bit of scum here or there - not a ring (and a pretty big ring) all the way around. I guess "a little bit" is a subjective term. In all honesty if my tub looked like that after a purge I would be wondering what the heck happened to get it to look like that.

As for the Frog. I too had 6 months of "free" chemicals, and I used them for 6 months. I did not really like them. I had already been using TFP in my pool for 8+ seasons, and I was used to being able to run a test on my water and know within 0.5 ppm of what was going on. The Frog system messes with that (showing up as CC), combined with the inaccuracy of the test strips. For me, an accurate CC measure is one of the key tests. If I have CCs over 0.5 ppm, then I know something bad is going on. The inability to determine that was a drawback of the Frog. I was also used to TFP water in my pool - being able to clearly see a dime on the bottom. With the Frog, my hot tub never looked that clear, it was always slightly hazy and foamy. When I switched to TFP after 6 months, it was noticeably clearer.

Again, all my personal experiences.

In reality, if the Frog worked, I would pay for it. My pool is now a set it and forget it type of deal. Once I open the pool for the season, get the water balanced, and dial in the SWGC, it basically runs steady state. I still test it ever few days, but rarely need to add anything. Naturally for a party or something like that, it is different. I would gladly pay extra to have my hot tub the same way, but the Frog just does not do it for me.

And yes, I know a SWCG is an option for the hot tub too. I'm still on the fence with that one, for other reasons than cost.

I guess I was expecting the black oily substance I seen in ahhsome videos so to get a green ring(it's really wasn't as big as in the pics) I was pretty happy. Also to not to have to do multiple purges I thought was a good sign. After 30 min I wiped the ring off and ran for 15 min more and nothing more accumulated. I alao never did a purge when i first got the tub so the nezt purge will be telling...I get the whole cc thing and not knowing what to add. That does seem unsettling to me. I'm a newbie to a hottub but I've had a pool for 20 years, during that time it was never green, not once. It was above ground and we got rid of it 7 years ago, now that I'm retired we got an inground pool this fall.