"carefree" - Other No-name Products That Are Identical?

[bdwoods]

I just had my Beachcomber 580 tub installed yesterday, and I'm already wondering about the cost of the chemicals that the dealer is selling. Is Beachcomber's Carefree Boost granules any differernt from other Dichlors? They also recommend the use of another "Carefree" granule once a week. I'm not sure what's in it, but am wondering about using generic products that are the same without the branding.

I assume that the softener, calcium, ph raiser and lowerers are all the same, but would appreciate it if someone could confirm this for me. I've been reading up on the dichlor / bleach method, and haven't decided yet what to do, but would like to find dichlor for cheaper at least for the time being.

Thanks for any advice!

[Elbyron]

I doubt their "boost" contains anything other than the usual dichlor. I found through a Google search that they contain 62% chlorine content, which seems to be typical. Beachcomber probably also gave you a tub of chlorine pucks, which are Trichloro-s-triazinetrione, also known as "trichlor". You should read this post by chem geek, where he warns about using trichlor in a spa. Also, scroll all the way back to the top of that topic to read all about chlorine vs bleach.

The weekly granule would probably be their MPS shock (it probably lists Potassium Monopersulfate as an ingredient). You can find MPS shock in many brands, but there aren't any "grocery store" replacements that I know of. There's probably a whole bunch of threads here about chemical alternatives, here's a recent one in which chem geek lists substitutes for most of the typical spa chemicals.

Hope this helps!

[jeffr72]

For things you want/need to buy online, this place has excellant shipping/handling charges . . $3.95 TOTAL !

www.spadepot.com

jeff