trader_4 wrote, on Tue, 24 Jun 2014 06:55:11 -0700:

If you have issues with too much stablizer building up, then I can
see using chlorine. But here in northeast, the stabilizer works out
just right, and it's free.

You bring up a very good point about the stabilizer!

Every year I empty my pool (a bit under 40K gallons) and fill it back up
again, so, I have to add the cyanuric acid (CYA) stabilizer.

I used to add about 15 pounds of the *granules* to bring up the CYA from
0ppm to about 50ppm (we have a *lot* of sun out here), but this year I
added 15 pounds of the CYA *powder* which is *very easy* to do once you
know how!

I'll never use the granules ever again.

The powder is available from *any* pool store that buys liquid chlorine
from HASA (which is common out here in California), and they sell it in
any desired amount at the *same price* as they sell the CYA granules.

So, in a single sitting (about an hour), I can bring up a pool from
zero PPM to 50ppm CYA, so that the liquid chlorine has a chance of lasting
in this perennial sunlight.

As you noted, all the solid pucks and most of the "shock" powders also
contain CYA, and I also use them (when appropriate, e.g., when I go
on vacation), so, there is nothing wrong with the "slow" method either.

One caution though is that it takes *technique* to distribute the CYA
powder, because it won't work in a sock like the granules do, but, once
you know the technique, it's even easier than using CYA granules, and
certainly far cheaper than the so-called "liquid CYA" you can buy in
the pool stores.