Question about pool store shock.

[Zprescott]

I've been using Walmart's Great Value bleach for a few years to sanitize my pool but with Walmart lowering their bleach from 8.25 to 6% and staying the same price I'm spending around $200 to open my pool. A buddy of mine who worked at my local pool store for a season or two said he would sell customers a product called BioGuard Burnout 3. Link here. I'm curious how different the calcium hypochlorite blend is and how much I would need to SLAM my pool long enough for it to be clean. He said pools my size would average a box of 12 packs to clean it which would be significantly cheaper than the bleach I get.

Anyone have any experience with this product?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Cheaper...maybe. But it adds to the calcium hardness (CH) of water and will cause temporary cloudiness due to its high pH. For every 10ppm FC added with cal-hypo, your CH will increase roughly by 6ppm. If you have soft water, then it’s probably ok. You just need to be aware that cal-hypo raises CH and causes temporary cloudiness.

 

[Zprescott]

That's what I imagined might be the problem. I don't want any CH in my vinyl lined pool right? And the only way to lower CH is to remove water so it doesn't sound like a good option for me.

 

[tim5055]

Not a really good option. Stick with liquid.

 

[mknauss]

You can have some CH in your pool. It is when it gets above about 400 ppm it needs to be managed. And yes, to remove it, you drain and refill with lower CH water.

Why juggle all the chemistry. Use Sodium Hypochlorite, Bleach.

 

[pabeader]

Switch to Walmart "cleaning" bleach. 6% 128oz $1.77

 

[Donldson]

1 lb of 57% cal-hypo will raise the FC in your pool by about 5 ppm. 1 gallon of 6% bleach will raise the FC in your pool by... about 5 ppm. It's virtually the same amount of chlorine.

So despite your friend's insistence that it only takes a dozen, it would take the same number of bags of Burnout as you used gallons of bleach to open your pool. If you are getting your chlorine for less than $4/gallon then you would be spending more trying to use Burnout. And that's before accounting for the calcium.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The upside is that 1lb of cal-hypo weighs 8X less than 1 gallon of bleach....so your back will be happier

You live in NH so rain dilution can help with managing CH. you want some CH in your water and any amount up to 400ppm is easily managed. So if you determine that you have the room for increasing your CH and the cost is about the same, there’s nothing wrong with using cal-hypo. You just need to use it safely (it can be a bit more dangerous to work with than bleach) and you need to add it properly and expect some temporary cloudiness.

Do you have any bulk suppliers of liquid chlorine near you? Farm supply stores often have it as does commercial cleaning suppliers. If you can find 10%-12.5% liquid chlorine in bulk or by refillable container, that can often save you on cost.

 

[Zprescott]

Thanks for the replies. I figured I'd at least ask because I didn't know how many PPMs it would provide. I'm definitely going to look into some cheaper and stronger liquid chlorine options in my area because Walmart is ripping me off.

My pool hit ready levels today (just in time for a 4th of July party) so Cheers!

 

[laprjns]

Ocean State Job Lot carries 12.5% " Liquid Shock" for $2.99 gallon.

 

[Teald024]

There are at least 2 threads on the forum about where to find good, cheap chlorine...