Chlorine and Taylor Kit

[The_Pa._Lady]

I shocked my tub yesterday, used my new Taylor test drops.  I got it up to above 5PPM, too high to go in yet.  I should be able to get in tonight for a soak.  I used MPS to shock.

The Taylor method of testing is great, but when testing chlorine, the colors are very hard to match when it is 4 or 5 PPM.  They really seem to be just about the same color.  Does anyone else have difficulty reading the higher PPM's?  

I was wondering why, when the chlorine is so high, do you not smell it.  Is it because I used MPS instead of Diclor?

[galen]

No, I think it the opposite. If the chlorine is low it will smell.  Someone will jump in here and tell you why.

[svspa]

pa_lady,

The chlorine 'smell' we all know and hate is caused by the buildup of combined chlorines, the chlorine that has already killed something. When you shock your tub you are oxidizing the combined chlorine, to remove it from the tub.

Free chlorine that hasn't yet killed anything won't smell at the levels you would normally see in your tub.

Steve

[windsurfdog]

In pools and hot tubs at the concentrations needed for sanitization, the chlorine smell is associated with combined chlorine....chloramines....and the need for shocking.  The chlorine smell one gets from a bottle of Chlorox, for instance, is caused by the high concentration of free chlorine.  Since hot tubs and pools need very low concentrations of free chlorine for sanitation, the free chlorine smell is either very, very subdued or, more likely, not noticeable at all while the conbined chlorine....chloramines....are very noticeable.

[hottbpete]

I have a chlorine question......It seems that it is always non-exsistent in the tub.  I will put the spa56 stuff in the tub....it will be well within range....then without any tubing I will check it the next day and whola....no chlorine....Is this normal?

[mcmishka]

I have the same problem.  My chlorine is always white on the stick the next day.  I shocked it last night with 1.5 tbls. of MPS.  Is that enough for a 360 gallon tub?       Karen

[mcmishka]

Steve,
    That was a good explanation about the chlorine.  Thanx-that makes good sense to me.            Karen

[tileman]

The Taylor method of testing is great, but when testing chlorine, the colors are very hard to match when it is 4 or 5 PPM.  They really seem to be just about the same color.  Does anyone else have difficulty reading the higher PPM's?  

Try testing water during the day preferable in sunlight. This will make it easier to see and therefore more accurate.

[IDW]

I have a chlorine question......It seems that it is always non-exsistent in the tub.  I will put the spa56 stuff in the tub....it will be well within range....then without any tubing I will check it the next day and whola....no chlorine....Is this normal?

As soon as chlorine finds something to do, it disappears. In a spa it is constantly busy,even when you are not using it.

[svspa]

Karen,

Just wanted to clarify that your MPS shock would have little to do with your free chlorine that you test with the strips. Your MPS shock will get rid of the combined chlorines and other organic contaminants.

My normal MPS shock is 2 tbls for my 335 gallon tub.

Your free chlorine is pretty much a factor of how much chlorine you put in versus how much bacteria it needs to kill. I think some of the more expert folks around here would call that your tub's chlorine demand.

If your tub is super clean it should have a really low chlorine demand, meaning your free chlorine residual will last a long time in between soaks. For example when I am not planning on soaking for a while I can raise my FC to 4-5ppm and that will last for 3-4 days, maybe more. Note I have an ozonator on my tub, but I do not use N2.

The perfect situation for soaking with a dichlor routine is to get your FC to between 3-5ppm after soaking and then have it near zero by the time you want to soak the next day (~24 hours later). So you don't really want to over load your tub with dichlor either. With experience you can find a good balance between being sure your tub is clean and not having to soak in too much dichlor.

If you really feel like you can't keep residual FC for more than a few hours you might try increasing your dichlor dose and/or do a dichlor shock. A dichlor shock (raise your FC to about 10ppm) should super sanitize your tub. Doing this on a regular basis (maybe monthly) should give you confidence that there is nothing growing in your tub, and should reduce its chlorine demand.

Remember the only time you can be confident that there is nothing growing in your tub is when you have a free chlorine residual. Anytime your FC is zero you have nothing in your tub to kill bacteria, and bacteria multiplies rapidly in the hot moist environment of a hot tub.

Steve

[tony]

The Taylor method of testing is great, but when testing chlorine, the colors are very hard to match when it is 4 or 5 PPM.  They really seem to be just about the same color.  Does anyone else have difficulty reading the higher PPM's?  

You are exactly correct.  The Taylor kit only reads up to 5 ppm.  When your chlorine level gets to that level or above, you can't really tell.  Below that level, it works very well.

The one area test strips do a good job is free chlorine.  They are easy to read and a good quick reference.

[anne]

The Taylor method of testing is great, but when testing chlorine, the colors are very hard to match when it is 4 or 5 PPM.  They really seem to be just about the same color.  Does anyone else have difficulty reading the higher PPM's?  

You are exactly correct.  The Taylor kit only reads up to 5 ppm.  When your chlorine level gets to that level or above, you can't really tell.  Below that level, it works very well.

The one area test strips do a good job is free chlorine.  They are easy to read and a good quick reference.

But you can dilute the tub water by 1/2 then multiply your result by 2.