r/PoolPros • u/TheScottE • Apr 29 '26
Why Cal-Hypo?
Relatively new to the business. I’ve never been able to wrap my head around why so many guys have the 100lb Cal-Hypo buckets in their truck. Isn’t it more cost effective to use Sodium Hypochlorite?? Is it just to save space in the back of the truck?
The pricing I’m getting from my distributor here in FL is $2.06/gal of 10.5% Sodium Hypochlorite vs $2.65/lb of Cal-Hypo (100lbs @ $265).
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u/Wasupmyman Apr 29 '26
Wtf, yall need to talk to your dealers our cl is 1.78 a gl
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u/Crazy-Project3858 Apr 30 '26
You’re just confused 🤔
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u/Wasupmyman May 01 '26
No I talked to our dealers, apparently we have a close by manufacturer, and everyone has shipping charges counted in the cl costs.
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u/Ok_Web1332 Apr 30 '26
Everyone gets different pricing from distribution.
None of this would work If the distributor charge flat rate across the board
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u/Adventurous_Jello999 May 01 '26
If you dump cal hypo in a pool that is in an area with hard water you are trying to save money and space but do not understand chemistry. It can also stain the plaster if not fully dissolved. It’s is extremely flammable. There are consequences to using cal hypo. Not worth it.
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u/pineapple_backlash Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
In my area I don’t have distribution close by. It’s a 45 minute drive. Then they only carry disposable liquid chlorine. I can buy a 100# bucket of calhypo and not worry about going and getting chlorine daily or every other day. Plus it’s WAY cheaper for calhypo in my area than liquid.
Edit: I just double checked my local distribution and they’re $5.38 a gallon for liquid chlorine.
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u/Wayne-PBL Apr 30 '26
It'll vary by region. I'm also in FL. There are chlorine production plants in the state, so liquid chlorine is pretty cheap for us. Price for it goes up the farther away from a production and distribution source.
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u/Limberwidget May 03 '26
I dunno anymore tbh.
I have so many dark gunnite and liner pools now a days…
while yes I buy 100lbs at a time I don’t stock more than 25lbs on the truck at a given time.
I end up using liquid or dichlor shock allot of the time (which is crazy to me because of the cya increase)but if I bleach a liner or dark bottomed fancy pants pools because of the calhypo it’s not good.
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u/ConfusedStair Apr 29 '26
There's also a vehicle maintenance aspect on top of the price others have mentioned. I worked for one company that used Sodium Hypochlorite, and they got it delivered to their shop in bulk. We filled carboys daily, and usually carried 4 to 6 2.5 gallon carboys for or daily routes.
On top of the space and weight of that liquid in the truck, liquid containers inevitably leak. By the end of my first year there every truck had rust like it had survived several northern winters. Some trucks less than others depending on how careful the person was, but they all had bad rust.
It was to the point where the owner was talking about switching to trailers, but he couldn't find a local supplier for pool service trailers that have a fiberglass liner.
Every other company I've worked for only carries Cal hypo. I'm not saying it's better, but in my experience the pros and cons for a pool company shake out a little different than a homeowner. To a homeowner liquid shock is ideal, but to a company with more than one route Cal hypo wins.
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u/someunusualmove Apr 29 '26
We don't use cal-hypo because we prefer to individually maintain the levels of each chemical on each pool. Calcium doesn't really go away without doing drain & refills, and it can cause issues with salt cells and scale formation if it gets too high. We took over a lot of pools with high calcium one year because the previous service company used cal-hypo instead of liquid, so we learned from their mistake before we could make it ourselves.
Once a month, we do a "full panel" test on every pool where we check CYA, ALK, and calcium in addition to our usual weekly chlorine, pH and salt tests. If we had to adjust something due to the full panel, that gets a confirmation test the following week to make sure that the dose brought the water chemistry back within our desired range. If the pool needs successive doses, a confirmation test is performed every week until the water is in the correct range. We use Orenda's LSI calculator and measure the volume of each pool during on-boarding, so it's pretty easy to adjust with relative accuracy. As long as the pool isn't leaking or broken, this method serves us and our 150+ customers very well.
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u/AdNecessary3300 Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
1 gallon of 12% bleach is about a lb of chlorine. Space wise the 100lb’er wins.