Best Use For A "brominating Concentrate"

[UnderH20]

I have most of a bottle of a "brominating concentrate" from a major spa company. It is ~15% sodium bromide, 82% dicholr, and 3% "other" ingredients. I really just want to do a simple 2-step bromine process on my tub. Is there a place for this stuff in that type of regime?

I was thinking about just using it to establish my bromine bank on my next refil. I have a 350 gallon tub, which would normally require 1.75 oz. of pure sodium bromide to create a bank. Can I just add this at start up (1.75 oz / 0.15 = 11.66 oz) to establish my bromine bank? If so, should I add it over the course of a few days rather than all at once?

I realize that it would be easier to just make the bromine bank with pure sodium bromine, but I am just trying to figure out how to use the stuff that I have.

Thanks

[chem geek]

Since it doesn't have that much sodium bromide in it, you'd have to use it over time to build up a bromide bank. Adding it all at once would be too high chlorine/bromine level. 11.66 ounces of 82% Dichlor in 350 gallons would be 113 ppm FC so way, way too high to do all at once. If you just use it as a disinfectant/oxidizer, then initially you'll have mostly a chlorine spa and eventually it will become more and more of a bromine spa. If that's not what you want, then you need to add a more pure sodium bromide product to start out.

[UnderH20]

Thanks chemgeek. That is what I suspected. I have to say that I do not really understand the intended use of this type of product. I find it to be confusing relative to a conventional two-step or three-step bromine program. Are there any advantages to using this type of product?

[chem geek]

The product is designed to be used as the oxidizer in a bromine system when you've already established a bromide bank through other means, such as by adding a sodium bromide product. The small amount of sodium bromide in the brominating concentrate is to replenish the small amount of sodium bromide that may be lost from carry-out or outgassing (of bromine) or removed by filtration (some organic bromamines, if coagulated).

[UnderH20]

Thanks again. I did not realize that bromine was lost in any substantial way in a 2-step program. That helps clarify things then.