Trichlor tabs dissolving weird, feeder full of chunks not melting right

Started by Earl Simmons · · 3 replies
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#1
Been running the same three inch trichlor tabs thirty years, same feeder even. Last two bags I bought are doing something new, they dont melt down smooth, they crumble into little chunks and half of em just sit at the bottom of the feeder not dissolving all the way. Chlorine reading is still fine so far but I dont like it.

Called it a bad bag at first but this is the second bag now doing it. Same supplier I always use. Anybody else seeing this or did they change something with how these are made. Not looking to switch nothing, just want to know if I need to find a different brand of tab or if this is just how they are now.

Water's still clear, so si far so good, but it bugs me when something that's worked the same way for decades starts acting up for no reason I can find.

3 Replies

#2
Can't say I've had that exact chunking issue Earl but I have noticed some binder differences bag to bag over the years, tabs that used to be rock solid puck shape now sometimes feel a little more crumbly right out of the bucket before they even hit water. My feeder's an older slip and drip style and I've had a couple tabs shed pieces before they ever really got going, figured it was just that batch. If it's happening two bags running from the same supplier I'd wonder if their manufacturer changed rather than something on your end, worth asking the shop if they switched who they're buying from even if the label looks the same.
#3
Same thing crossed my mind reading Bill's post about the binder, I don't run trichlor tabs in a feeder since mine's a sand filter setup with a separate floater, but even the floater pucks the last couple years feel different coming out of the bucket, almost powdery on the edges before they touch water at all. Never had the crumble into chunks thing at the bottom like you're describing though, mine still go down mostly whole just slower than I remember from a few years back.

Honestly can't tell you if it's a formula change or just me getting pickier about it after thirty some years of the same product looking the same. For what it's worth I'd probably just watch your FC and CYA for a couple weeks before chasing it any further, if the chunks aren't dissolving they're not doing anything for your chlorine level anyway so that'll show up in the numbers before it shows up in the water clarity.
#4
Funny timing, I noticed something similar in my own feeder maybe two months back, tabs sitting in there looking sugared apart on top before the water even worked on them good. I don't run trichlor near as many years as you fellas but same supplier for as long as I've had this pool, so it wasn't a new brand throwing me off. What I did was pull a couple tabs straight from a fresh bag and just look at them dry, and sure enough the edges were softer than I remembered, almost like they'd sat somewhere warm at some point in the supply chain before I ever bought them. Heat and humidity in a warehouse down here will do that to a puck even if the formula never changed a lick.

Jason's right that your FC and CYA numbers will tell you the truth of it before your eyes will, I'd just test a little more often for a couple weeks like he said rather than swap brands off one bad-looking bag. If it keeps happening bag after bag I'd start asking the shop where they're storing the stuff, not necessarily who's making it.