Another newbie chemical problem

[Tatooed_Lady]

I wonder, being the rather curious type that I am, if there's a way to drill a hole in the side of the "new and improved you can't open the cartridge now, you scummy consumer bastage, you!" and use the bromine granules to refill....if it were drilled in the "right" position, only fully opening the setting would allow the hole to be exposed....
Muahahaha......meet the cheap-o consumer, mr. corporate schmuck. We want refillable cartridges instead of full landfills. Have you ever BEEN to a landfill? Yuck. I have. Today, even...it was windy, dusty, stinky....and we could call it a 'land HALF full' if we could dispose of some of the cheapo disposable garbage and replace it with something reasonably priced that will last.
Wow, so I've been up for far too long, and have delusions of brain cells working overtime with positive results....but that's okay, I'm secure with my weirdness.

[NE-Phil]

Lady,
I can agree. I've been called cheap myself for some reason or another. And not just on this site...  

Here's a picture of the cartridge's parts:



On the left you have the cap and the outside shell of the cartridge. On the right is the inner cartridge containing the bromine tablets. I can fit 9 each of the 1-1/4" tabs. (More than King was putting in)
What's missing is a spacer about 2" long which King would put into the inner cartridge so they didn't have to put in as much bromine and, if you shook it, it didn't rattle like it was half empty. Can you believe it? I threw that spacer away!

Anyway, there are holes machined into both cartridges and the inner cartridge slides inside the outer cartridge so you adjust how much or how little bromine is dispensed. Clever idea. BUT then they went ahead and glued the tops on and now its impossible to reuse the cartridge. I don't see how the current cartridges could be used but maybe someone else can come up with a method.

Also, the bromine granules are not the same as the bromine tablets. The granules have an immediate effect on bromine levels and is primarily used for new water. The tabs are slow acting.

Since I started refilling my cartridges I can go just short of a month before I need to refill it. And I tend to have more bromine in the tub rather than the bare minimum.

Again, I hope someone can come up with a better alternative. It is a waste and an unnecessary expense.

Phil

[DPS]

Marquis Dealers now have new cartridges available that cost around the same amount but hold 30% more bromine.  The idea IS to have the bare minimum bromine.  You don't want more than you have to have.  Having more than you have to have has always been the problem with the bromine tablets you are using.  One big advantage of the bromine cartridge is the ability to easily regulate the correct amount of bromine and not have more than you need in the water.

[NE-Phil]

Marquis Dealers now have new cartridges available that cost around the same amount but hold 30% more bromine.  The idea IS to have the bare minimum bromine.  You don't want more than you have to have.  Having more than you have to have has always been the problem with the bromine tablets you are using.  One big advantage of the bromine cartridge is the ability to easily regulate the correct amount of bromine and not have more than you need in the water.

DPS,
Yes, I know King came out with cartridges with glued on caps and more bromine. Are they still the same size cartridge? If so, then all they did was remove the spacer. That's a step in the right direction. I'd still like to see them use snap-on caps again so we can refill them.

And I agree with you 100% about bromine regulation. That's just not the point I was trying to make. My point is that even though I tend to lean towards having too much bromine, the refilled cartridge still lasts me almost a month.
Someday, when I finally do get the hang of having just enough bromine - then the refilled cartridge will last more than a month.

And that's a good thing!

Phil