next question-inline chemical feeder? [Archive]

aylad

07-02-2012, 10:03 AM

An inline chlorine feeder is a useful thing to have--IF you use it correctly!! People who just fill them with tablets and expect them to be the one and only chlorine source for the summer often get into trouble because they don't realize that the tabs add stabilizer to the pool, and as your stabilizer (CYA ) levels rise, so must your chlorine levels--and the feeder doesn't make that adjustment. So....feeders are great for use during vacations while folks are away for relatively short periods of time, or for use with pools like mine that are operated with a very high CYA level to help me maintain that level, or for those who aren't very diligent about daily additions of chlorine, since the feeder can be set to run at a very low output to just add a small amount of chlorine to the pool to hold the levels in case a chlorine dose is missed. They're also easy and convenient to use at the beginning of the season while you're trying to get your CYA levels to the place where you want them. So...if you understand what the trichlor does to the water, then the feeder can be a very valuable tool. If you don't understand that, though, it can help create massive algae problems for you to solve :)

My feeder is very useful in my pool because it helps me maintain the higher CYA levels that I need. You can buy tabs most anywhere that sells pool supplies, but you want to look for trichlor tabs that are at least 90% chlorine--there are some "mystery goops" being added to tabs lately that create problems, like copper, and other things that have no apparent effect except to raise the price of the tabs, like zinc. I usually get mine at Leslie's when they go on sale, but the PoolBrand tabs in this area seem to be okay, too. The ones at WalMart all contain a bunch of stuff that I don't want in my pool.