automatic regulator system

[candide]

We have a new automatic regulator system and it injects chlorine and PH aqua minus.  The pool company tell me I should always stick to the same brand of product (ie. the one from them, which can be difficult to get hold of as they're a bit of a journey away).  Would it be OK to put in any chlorine which is intended for pools?  And if so, where can this chlorine be bought?

(Sorry it's such a stupid question, but I'm a pool novice)

 

[JJ]

Candide,

Poolguy is the expert on this one, but basically a lot of pool chemicals are a complete rip off. Liquid Chlorine is in fact Eau de Javel (bleach),and is available in 20 litre containers from Gamm Vert and other bricos, and it costs a fraction of the price of liquid chlorine from pool shops and pool companies.

It is the same story with ph minus, which is a solution of Sulphuric Acid.

Below are instructions from Poolguy;

Sulphuric acid is sold in some brico's and auto shops for batteries and is a standard 37% concentration.
When you pour it into your drum for feeding (wearing gloves naturally) then you should dilute it by 50-75%
That means say 5 litres of acid into 10-15 litres of water(alway add acid to water and not the other way around.

Hope this helps.

[Baz]

I really can not see why you cannot use any chlorine provided you keep to the same formulation (ie Liquid, Gallettes.powder) unless somebody  knows differently. Chlorine and pool chemicals can be found in most large Supermarkets and many Bricolages at far more competitive prices than pool shops. I always by my pool equipment and chemicals in France for my UK pool as it is generally  50% cheaper.

Baz

[candide]

Thanks for your prompt replies.  I also felt that chlorine must be chlorine, no matter whose bottle it comes in, but as it's all very new I don't want to make any mistakes.

[Jonzjob]

If you are using liquid chlor then as JJ and Baz have said, it's all just bleach. But the stuff you use in pools is about 12% concentrate instead of your household stuff at 4%ish. So as JJ said you MUST add either the chlor or the acid to the water. If you add water to the acid you will almost certainly get a violent reaction that could splash the acid about. At the very least you will get your clothing ruined and it could lead to very bad burns. Also NEVER NEVER mix the acid and chlor because it will produce a gas that can and does kill if you get more than a brief whiff. They used to use it in the 1st World War. What a lovely war  [+o(]!?????

That aside, if you handle the chemicals with care and respect they are perfectly safe. The way that I top up our 20 litre pool chlor container is to half fill it with water  from a hose, stand the concentrated chlor container on a box so it is higher than the pool container and use one of the syphons that the French use to fill their parafin stoves during the winter time. This gives a 50/50 mix of the chlor so that it's about 6% which is what our system needs. I do the same with the acid, bought from the brico, by almost filling the container with the hose and pour the acid in very carefully, rinse the bottles with water and job done for another 3 weeks wiith the chlor and longer for the acid. Two litres of acid go into a 20 liter container of water...

Good luck and enjoy your pool...

John.

[Jonzjob]

I have just found this site that gives some good info on pools. This bit is on safety, but the rest of the site is also worth a look too. There are pool regulation sings on the shop page..

John.

[Jonzjob]

I have just found this site that gives some good info on pools. This bit is on safety, but the rest of the site is also worth a look too. There are pool regulation sings on the shop page..  http://www.poolcenter.com/safety.htm

John.