Liquid chlorine vs solid chlorine cost

[tcat]

Moved from here.
Interesting old thread, hope to get a response. With bleach prices high, I'm trying to figure out if I use sodium dichlor (56%), comes 5# for $35, how much in one gallon of water equals a 10% gallon of bleach? If I could fill my 15 gallon feeder with 15 gallons of water, and just add scoops of this, it would be so much less trouble! My cya tends to go to zero each year and I end up adding 4-6# of CYA.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AYJ0XK4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_NGNBCSPWTSTT6ADJ2DH2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[mknauss]

Use Effects of Adding Chemicals in PoolMath

 

[mknauss]

The dichlor mixture will be very acidic. Is your feeder able to handle that?

 

[tcat]

The dichlor mixture will be very acidic. Is your feeder able to handle that?

Yes, if it's stirred to form 10%. Stenner pump, pumps ½ gallon per day. Acidic is probably good since my ph creeps up to 8.5 every week or two.

 

[Donldson]

Bleach is kept at a very high pH for a reason, so keep the chlorine stable. Attempting to create a solution similar to bleach using dichlor will make for a very acidic solution which will cause the chlorine to off gas very quickly. Hold your breath. Don't even think for a second you can create a 10% solution that's stable

Far better to dump that dichlor straight in to the water. Dichlor adds about equal parts CYA and chlorine, so if you lose a typical 3 ppm a day then you'll be adding 3 ppm of CYA per day. That means you'll be increasing your CYA by 20 ppm a week. So you'll need to increase your chlorine addition twice a week to compensate. Just to compare: 6 pounds of CYA is about 48 ppm. You'll surpass that in about two weeks.

Which part of this idea is less trouble again? The deadly chlorine gas production or the monthly water exchanges?

 

[magiteck]

Moved from here.
Interesting old thread, hope to get a response. With bleach prices high, I'm trying to figure out if I use sodium dichlor (56%), comes 5# for $35, how much in one gallon of water equals a 10% gallon of bleach? If I could fill my 15 gallon feeder with 15 gallons of water, and just add scoops of this, it would be so much less trouble! My cya tends to go to zero each year and I end up adding 4-6# of CYA.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AYJ0XK4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_NGNBCSPWTSTT6ADJ2DH2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

A pound of dichlor will add 4.4ppm of FC in your pool. A gallon of 12% chlorine will add 8.3ppm.

Unless a gallon of LC is costing more than ~ $14 you’re still better off with the liquid.

 

[tcat]

Solved that problem! Thanks. Would have been nice just to add something concentrated to 15 gallons of water and not mess with it for a month! I "thought" $4.28 per gallon of 10% is getting expensive, no 12.5% around. Maybe I'll just put a couple tabs on a floater and use a little less 10% to keep my cya up.

 

[Donldson]

Would have been nice just to add something concentrated to 15 gallons of water and not mess with it for a month!

Well sure, no question there. Much easier. However, there's no such thing as solid chlorine so you'll always get something attached to it. And liquid chlorine has a limit before it becomes so unstable as to out gas too quickly to be off use. Even 12.5%, when stored in the heat of an Austin summer is closer to about 8% by the end of the month.

If I may ask: why is an SWG not an option? Costly, but typically pays for itself over time and if chlorine prices are going up then that just pushes the break even point even sooner.

 

[Shirker]

SWCG

 

[tcat]

Aren't salt water pools as much trouble adding salt, and don't they taste like ocean water? Once installed is there much maintenance cost?

 

[Oly]

Get a salt test kit and test your pool water, you may be surprised......I was.

 

[Newdude]

Aren't salt water pools as much trouble adding salt

One top off to start the season and usually good all year. Maybe a second top off after all the spring rain in applicable climates. Or daily/ every other daily chlorine adding with liquid.

and don't they taste like ocean water

They taste like the 10% of ocean water that they are. If kept near 3k ppm its untastable for most. Higher than that is a slight taste.

Once installed is there much maintenance cost?

The unit uses a nominal amount of electricity and more aeration while producing FC than most chlorine pools raises PH so there is more MA needed but nothing crazy.