Pool Store Brand vs. Big Box Store Chlorine Pucks

[planoattorney]

Okay, let me start by saying my pool is on a strict liquid diet this year. FYI - anyone on the fence about the BBB/TFPC method (what I call the liquid diet) - do it! You may end up with questions like mine below, but this was the single best decision I ever made in pool ownership. I love my pool for the first time in 12 years. My child loves it more. Water is crystal clear, no chlorine smell, I am not chasing chemicals, and the only chore I have is pouring a quart of bleach in each evening. Well, I test chlorine every other day, run the other test weekly but that is not much of a chore.

My question is not about general use, rather I need information to help decide what to do when I am out of town (I am in the midst of planning a trip). Until the SWG decision is consummated with a purchase and install, I have to put bleach in every evening, but that is a little difficult to do when I am out of town.

1) Is it possible or even advisable, to run the chlorine up really really high and leave for a week? I.e. I use 1 QT per day if the sun is out, it is hot, or it rains (dilution) and 3 cups (pint and a half) if it is overcast, no one gets in the pool, etc. So, if I pour in 2 gallons (a full 8 days worth of bleach) can I then reasonably expect a pool that is not fully out of control a week later? Is there an upper limit to this option? (i.e. it will work for a long weekend but not a week, or okay for a week but that is the limit, don't do it for 10 days, etc)

2) If I were in a no other choice situation, is there a difference in "Pool-Store brand" pucks and "Wal-Mart" pucks?

That second question arises because in the past, the kids at the pool store would always blame any problem on the use of "cheap Wal-Mart or Costco chlorine". Every time my chemicals got out of wack - after following the pool store advice to buy XYZ, put in so much, and come back for another test only to be told to buy ABC and put in so much and come back . . . so the cycle begins; by the time we reach the point of admission my pool is FUBAR the kid will assume I use cheap chlorine tabs (I did, but they did not ask) and tell me all my problems are caused by buying stuff at Wal-Mart or some big box store. Ergo - Is there a real difference between "pool store brand" and "box store brand" chlorine tabs? I don't want to use pucks, but I would rather put a floater in the pool for one week than come home and have to immediately start a SLAM. For the sake of argument, I will only do this (floater option) once a year but probably in September so it would be late in the season (those not from this area can get ready to be jealous - pool season in North Texas starts in May and runs to the end of September even without a heater and we can easily add a few weeks with minimal use of the heater.)

 

[PopcornGirl2]

Hi Planoattorney,
Hopefully, someone with far more experience than me will chime in with better answers for you, but I see no problem with taking your pool to shock level before you leave. That's typically what I do if I'm going to be out of town for more than a day or two. Beyond a week, though, you might want to have someone check in on it for you.

I will say -- while I typically abhor and dismiss any advice given by pool store employees -- they *may* have a point about chlorine/chemical quality, as I recently discovered the hard way. See my thread here: Warning About Walmart Liquid Chlorine
Since swimming pool supply is pretty much all they do, I would trust pool store chemicals to be better quality, if only because they do know how to store them properly (apparently, Walmart has no clue).
I know this is not a full answer, but since I just spent about 11 days undoing the damage caused by using weak chlorine I purchased from Walmart, you might want to consider buying only from reliable sources or, at the very least, being very diligent in checking expiration dates and watching your test levels when using the discounted stuff.
Hope that helps!

 

[Donldson]

1) You can bring it up to SLAM level, this is typically alright for 3-4 days uncovered and up to a week if you put a solar cover on. Past that, or as you near a week pucks tend to be a good temporary option.

2) Never listen to the kid at the pool store. I have heard a former pool store owner admit to telling people that their pucks were better quality than the pool store down the street selling them for much less, despite knowing they were manufactured at the same plant just with different labels on the bucket. Trichlor pucks are trichlor pucks, there is no difference unless anything else is added. All you need to be concerned with is that they are pure trichlor, you don't want zinc or copper in them. It should be like 99% or better. As long as it has that then you are set, just make sure you have an idea how much your CYA is being increased and adjust your FC targets when you get home.

 

[planoattorney]

Thanks PopcornGirl2. I had actually read your thread Warning About Walmart Liquid Chlorine already. Good info BTW. I had elected to avoid Walmart bleach in favor of stronger stuff available closer to the house. I think there are as many pool stores in my area as Starbucks, maybe the coffee wins on volume, but both are easy to find and one "locally owned and operated" store carries 12.5% liquid chlorine that they store inside away from the windows. I have not tested the strength. Last two cases I picked up both had 17135 date codes (I think that would be the first week of May which would be about the time I would expect them to get in a decent amount of inventory for this area).

Are you getting as much rain in BR as we are in DFW? It makes getting a pattern on the water a little difficult butt on the bright side, this year my GRASS is green not my pool.

 

[planoattorney]

Thanks Donaldson. Kroger has these Chlorox Blue tricolor tabs that they sell individually wrapped. Before going to liquid, I could not imagine why anyone would every buy individual tabs, but it is starting to make sense now. I am considering getting a bucket, filling it with water and putting it in the shade, then test the water before putting a one tri-chlor tab in and let it dissolve. When the tab is gone, I should be able to test the CYA wouldn't I? Would one tab run the CYA of 5 gallons beyond test limits (i.e. over 100)?

 

[JohnT]

When shopping for tablets, steer clear of anything that claims to be triple-acting or 3-in-1 or anything like that. Those often contain copper.

A single 8oz tab would raise the CYA in 5 gallons by about 6600ppm. It would raise the CYA in your pool 2.4ppm. Since you'd use between 1/2 and 1 tab a day maintaining chlorine, you'd be raising CYA by 9 to 17ppm per week using tabs.

 

[planoattorney]

When shopping for tablets, steer clear of anything that claims to be triple-acting or 3-in-1 or anything like that. Those often contain copper.

A single 8oz tab would raise the CYA in 5 gallons by about 6600ppm. It would raise the CYA in your pool 2.4ppm. Since you'd use between 1/2 and 1 tab a day maintaining chlorine, you'd be raising CYA by 9 to 17ppm per week using tabs.

Wow, that is a lot more than I could have imagined, but at the same time, it does comport with my experience in the past. I had to drain every other year - I just did not get the idea of draining 1-2 feet of water out of a pool that is only 5"4" in the center, so I would do a complete drain and fill. Then kept the floater full and dumped 2# of shock in every Sunday between early May and the end of September (20 weeks at 10PPM per week, less what was removed or used would pretty much blow my pool chemistry to bits in 2 seasons or less). I read somewhere, I think on this forum, that whomever invents a slow dissolving chlorine tab with no CYA or other chemicals that screw up the pool will be very rich. I agree with that statement.

 

[Donldson]

I read somewhere, I think on this forum, that whomever invents a slow dissolving chlorine tab with no CYA or other chemicals that screw up the pool will be very rich. I agree with that statement.

Well yes, but not because of the tablets. It is because they will have found a way to convert chlorine gas in to a solid at normal Earth temperatures and air pressure, yet still dissolve in water at a slow and steady rate. That sort of discovery will have far reaching effects for chemistry and physics that has repercussions far beyond pool care. While I would be excited for the CYA-free tablets, I would be more excited for the solid hydrogen fuel cubes that our cars will run on

 

[Lilypad]

I raise the FC to shock level, throw a few tabs in a floater and go on vacation. Just be aware that the bleach will only last a day or so, as it breaks down quickly (hence the tabs). It helps to manage the CYA down a bit prior to leaving if you can. However, the small amount it is raised is easily lowered after I return. Then it's back to liquid chlorine only. It's worth it not coming back to a green pool. I'd stay away from the Clorox Blue. Their MSDS sheet shows 3-8% Trade Secret 002. As the fine folk here at TFP say, "know what you're putting in your pool". I use the pucks from the pool store. In the smallest bucket they have. Enjoy vacation!