Bromine Or Lithium?

[MunnyGuy]

Hey all! Just got my new tub in. They are offering me a choice between a Bromine (Rendezvous) or Lithium Start Up Kit. From the reading I have done on this forum I gather that Di Chlor is preferable over Bromine as you are not constantly in a chemical bath. I am a COMPLETE NOOB (and flunked Chemistry in high school) so I am looking for the easiest format.

1- Is Lithium Di Chlor? If not which is easier to maintain Bromine or Lithium?

2- The Taylor K-2106 kit I have reading about is only for Bromine set ups correct?

3- Can someone provide a definitive Pro and Con for Bromine and Lithium?

Thank you once again!

[waterbear]

1- Is Lithium Di Chlor? If not which is easier to maintain Bromine or Lithium?

No, it is lithium hypochlroite, an unstablized chlorine. It is really no different from using Sodium Hypochlorite (liquid chlorine or bleach) in terms of water chemisitry. it IS the most expensive form of chlorine you can buy! That is the main reason why it is not used as often as other forms of chlorine. Calcium hypochlorite is the other unstabilized chlorine and it will increase calcium hardness. Too high a calcium hardness can lead to scaling in your tub.

Dichlor is stabilized clorine, the problem with it is that it increases the stabilizer (cyanuric acid) level in the water very quickly and the water becomes overstabilized and the chlorine becomes ineffective at santizing. When this happens it is very possible and probable for pseudomonos (which causes "hot tub itch") and other nasties to grow in the water even if the chlorine levels are high! This is the reason that some State health departments have outlawed stabilized chlorine in hot tubs. IMHO, a small amount of stabilizer is needed in a chlorine system if it is exposed to sunlight or the chlorine will burn off in about half an hour of direct sun.

Lithium is just one of the options for running a chlorine system. It is a fine, but very expensive choice. Chlorine needs daily attention to maintain but it's really not a lot of work. Bromine is more forgiving of a few days neglect when set up properly (that is the big IF...many bromine systems are NOT set up properly and just depend on tabs in a floater. It takes more than tabs in a floater to do a bromine system)

2- The Taylor K-2106 kit I have reading about is only for Bromine set ups correct?

K-2106 is for bromine, K-2006 is for chlorine.

3- Can someone provide a definitive Pro and Con for Bromine and Lithium?

Chlorine is simpler to set up and will require fewer chemicals to maintain water balance if you are using an unstabilized chlorine. It will require daily testing and addition of chlorine to maintain the required FC residual in the water. It will require weekly shocking of the tub to keep combined chlorine under control (combined chlorine is chlorine that has reacted with ammonia and organics in the water from the bathers. It smells like chlorine and burns the eyes and is not an effective sanitizer) . A properly maintained chlorine system does not smell like chlorine and is gentle on the skin. Very few people have a chemical sensitivity to chlorine.

Bromine is a bit more complicated to set up properly and requires more attention to water balance (it eats up total alkainity faster than unstabilized chlorine) but it is more forgiving of many water balance issues and can be neglected for a week without major problems occurring (but this is not really recommended!) It has a harsh smell (chemical or caustic is how it is often described) and is a known sensitizer that many people have an allergic reaction to.

If you are willing to devote 5 minutes a day to testing and water maintenance then I would say go with chlorine. If you are not, try bromine.

If you have an ozonator then you should know that ozone will deplete chlorine but will activate bromine. However ozone can cause bromates to form in a bromine system. Bromates are a suspected carcinogen in drinking water.

Ozone can be used successfully with either system but you will have to watch your sanitizer levels closely until you get everything adjusted properly.

[MunnyGuy]

Thank you very much Waterbear! This is exactly what I was looking for. I think I kill use the Bromine kit they gave me and switch to Di Chlor at the next refill if I do not like the results. As they were ONLY offering me Lithium and Bromine as Free start up options.

Perhaps ths should be stickied for others having the same dilemma!

[itabb]

From reading this post and others, it seems that if you have a spa that is exposed during the day, and the spa is only heated when used, then stabilized chlorine FC 6 - 8 and CYA 30ppm is the best, most cost effective system as long as you can do daily testing.

However, if I invest in a spa cover, then maybe Bromine would be better because it would not burn off in the sunlight. Then I could keep the temperature around 100F. In this case, the maintenence is easier because I only have to check the water every few days. And chlorine would burn off from the heat.

Am I understanding all this correctly?

[MunnyGuy]

I went and talked to my dealer regarding Bromine vs DiChlor vs Lithium. The guy in the "Water Lab" said that a first timer the Bromine system is the easiest to maintain and when done properly very little "chlorine smell". He indicated that the starter kit provided with the spa was very forgiving and that I would probably like it. He suggested I use it to start with and reminded me that I should be changing the water every 3-4 months anyway. If I did want to change to a different system, this would be the best time to do so.

When I asked about the Taylor K kit he indicated that all there test equipment was Taylor. He suggested that the Taylor kit is VERY effective but for most applications it is overkill, he reccomended the Test strips. Is he in fact right? If I wanted a Taylor kit where could I get one in Ottawa? They do NOT carry them at Club Piscine (my Dealer) but had a variety of reagent type kits but not taylor.

Also, I did not bring in a water test yet, if I am on City water the makeup should be the same right they gave me instructions based on their readings of City water. Is this ok?

Electrician is hooking up power as I write this.

[waterbear]

Test strips are fine for a quick daily check but do not have the precision needed for water balancing (and you WILL need to balance your water from time to time). Taylor test kits are distributed in Canada by Lowry and Associates in Ontario (905-836-0505).

[Pathfinder]

Lowrys does not sell to the public. make a call to a couple other dealers in the area they should have them. or your own dealer should be able to order one in. All you really need is a taylor troubleshooter kit they are around $25 the bigger taylor kit will run you about $135

[waterbear]

Only problems with the troubleshooter kit is that it does not test calcium hardness which might or might not be important in your setup (a lot depends on your fill water) and that it uses the DPD test for chlorine which can bleach out at high sanitizer levels and is difficult to read accurately. It also does not include a CYA test which is important if you are using dichlor since high CYA levels will make the chlorine ineffective at sanitizing. With bromine it is not a needed test.