It can be but probably isn't. A three inch tab is meant only to maintain your chlorine level. You must first bring the chlorine level up to specs, by adding either liquid or powdered chlorine, than add one or two tabs a week to hold it at that level.
Testimonial: "Thanks, I will try that."
Chlorine tablets do not dissolve properly if they do not have enough water flowing over them, and this is not necessarily the fault of the chlorinator at all. I tried replacing my all my Pentair 320 chlorinator parts - screen, tube, check valve and control valve - and they were not the problem. It was the pool filter! If your pool filter is dirty, or it stays yellow or brown despite regular cleaning, then it will reduce the water flow into to the chlorinator, even to the point where no water gets to the tablets.
A strong indication that this is happening is that your pool pump is registering 5 psi or more than its usual operating pressure, because it is trying harder to drive the water through the old filter. Treat yourself to a nice brand new filter. I did, and the pump pressure dropped back to normal and water gushed through the chlorinator. After this you can adjust the flow control valve and the number of tablets inside the dispenser to suit your pool's requirements as per its chlorine and pH test results.
I've fused with a new Rainbow chlorinator for months without getting the proper tablet meld. I finally figured out that the pressure in the filter pump was greater than the chlorinator return line so there's no chance for the chlorinator to circulate the melted tablets. An engineer friend of mine looked at it today and we tap into the Polaris return line which gave us a differential pressure that allowed the chlorinator to deliver its goods. Now I've dialed back the chlorinator and will have to adjust the Polaris run time with the flow rate of the chlorinator. Finally it works... pull the bottom chlorinator hose off the main drain return and you'll see the water pressure is greater than the chlorinator water pressure. You're
buckin simple pressure dynamics. You can clean and clean, but it won't change the basic problem. One last thing, I bought the lower valve, turned out that the check valve ball was stuck, bad vale...
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Three possible solutions, and I have personally made use of all of them with great success.
1. A common reason why the flow of water through the Pentair 320 canister is insufficient to dissolve the chlorine tablets is that the pool filter is dirty or just too old with ingrained sediment. If your pump pressure is continuously running high then this usually indicates a dirty or old filter that is making it difficult for the pump to get an adequate flow of water through the chlorinator. If thoroughly cleaning it makes no difference, treat yourself to a new filter; it's often an immediate fix and the pump pressure drop may amaze you. Old filters that have served their time are deceiving. They may look clean but the fine sediment trapped in their fibers can seriously degrade performance downstream in the chlorinator.
2. Another trick to help SEE what is going on is to replace the short black feeder hose to the Pentair 320 canister with food grade silicone tube, 5/8" outside diameter, 1/2" inside diameter, and a 4" long piece of 1/2" diam Pyrex tubing inserted into the middle of the silicone tube to serve as a clear sight glass. Silicone tube is rated 500 degF and is available on eBay. Pyrex tube with an outside diameter of 1/2 inch (13 mm) can be bought cut to length for about a dollar per inch from eBay sellers. I also strongly recommend swapping this new feed tube assembly to the UPPER inlet of the chlorinator and moving the plug from there down to the lower inlet. See attached photos.
You will need a 9 inch and 4 inch length of silicone tube, and a 4 inch length of Pyrex tube. Insert the ends of the Pyrex tube 1/2 inch into each piece of silicone tube with some plumbing PTFE Teflon paste smeared all around the outside of the Pyrex ends. Do not get any paste inside the Pyrex tube, and do this rotating the Pyrex as you insert it into the silicone tube to ensure that it forms a complete seal. Then install a pair of 5/8" automotive hose spring clamps over both joints, so 4 clamps in all. I used Corbin clamps number 705-1303 from Napa auto supply, installed so the crimp tabs are rotated to be on opposite sides of the tube.
Now you have a new feed tube 16 inches long in total, 3 inches of which is the Pyrex sight glass. Just take the unions and spring off the original black hose and transfer them to the new feed tube, putting the spring on the longer piece of silicone tube. The 4 inch piece of silicone tube should be at the top of the feed where it enters the Pentair control valve.
You will now be able to observe the rate of flow of bubbles in the Pyrex tube (transparent silicone tube may become opaque over time because of the chlorine but Pyrex remains clear) and know if water is proceeding up the tube and then cascading down over the chlorine tablets. Adjust the Pentair control valve to check if the bubbles speed up and slow down.
3. Lastly, when you open the Pentair 320 to insert new chlorine tablets, the water will normally drain down and out of the canister. IMPORTANT - When you restart the pool pump, keep the cap OFF the canister but have it ready. Assuming you have the Pentair control valve set above 0 (zero) flow, you should soon see water starting to flow through your new PVC feeder tube and then entering and rising up in the canister. When it gets past the top of the chlorine tablets screw the cap on until it feels firm but not cranked hard. If it leaks a little, tighten until that stops. Now you have got rid of that potential air trap that can prevent water rising to completely cover the tablets. Do this EVERY TIME you add new tablets to the canister.
The chlorine feeder, maybe installed improperly?
Check this...
Turn flow control dial to 0, then remove lid, then turn flow control dial to 5.
now watch the water fill into the canister.
Does it overflow? If not the pressure is wrong. Or it is plugged.
how long have the tablets been in the feeder?
If there is correct installation, when you remove the lid, you should not smell a strong chlorine odor!
If there is a strong smell, the water will probably have a yellow tint?
if so, it is either plugged or installed incorrectly.
Do the tablets appear to have melted?
Or do they look exactly the same as when they were added?
proper installation of a off line (the kind with black tubing) chlorine tablet feeder...
One tube will be installed on a pipe just after the pump, before the filter. Some will install after the filter if there is a heater. This tube will go to the dial valve and into the 'side' of the canister.
The other tube will be in the very last sections of available pipe before it disappears into ground and back to pool - Return line. And the other end will connect to the check valve at bottom of canister. And most definitely, if there's a heater, AFTER the heater.
These types of feeders work on a Pressure Differential.
The incoming water (the tube at the flow control dial) has to be at a greater pressure so as to PUSH the water thru the feeder and melt/erode the tabs inside. The water flow at other tube exiting from bottom and into return line, has to be LESS pressure. If pressure is equal, there will be no flow Thru feeder, and therefore auto chlorine feeder will be of NO value. The greater pressure differential, the greater the flow.
Thank you for posting your question here on Fixya.com.
Have you checked your water for acid levels to ensure you have enough to maintain your chlorine level? Adding stabilizer (cyanuric acid) helps the chlorine remain in the water longer and if you had to replace much of the water since your chlorine levels were OK you need to add more stabilizer to keep the chlorine in the pool. Have you altered the amount of time the pump runs too? An erosion feeder like yours only adds chlorine when the filter system is running. If you have scaled back the amount of time the equipments runs you will also be adding less chlorine over time than you previously had.
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John
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