Hayward CL200 Automatic Chlorine Feeder

[CarlD]

I can think of a few reasons off the top of my head:
- You already have in-lin chlorinator and would rather spend $10 on the nectar of the gods (brown liquor) than on a floater.

OK, you got me with that one--but I've yet to find a good rum that costs that little...

- You have small children are are worried about the potential safety problems that might arise when those small children and a floater get together.

You COULD pull the floater out when the kids get in it.

- You are more concerned with asthetics than most and don't like the fashion statement a floater makes.

Well, you'll just need to go to Escada or Dior and get a designer floater so your friends will admire your good taste!

- You are a new pool owner who didn't know about floaters when the pool was built and you went with the builder's recommendation. This one brings us back to the first case, especially the brown liquor part as you probably need it after the bad pool building experience you just survived.

That's a biggie. Builders also like to recommend cartridge filters--most owners end up hating them. Some also like to set folks up with Bacquacil without asking them or giving them the facts. Still, they aren't that hard to install or remove in these days of PVC piping and glued-on fittings.

- The fact that the chlorine is distributed in the water more quickly and evenly with an in-lin chlorinator as opposed to a passive floater appeals to your anal retentiveness.

Oh, there's PLENTY of ways floaters can appeal to that--whenever I use one it always seems to end up blocking off the skimmer...Good flow that way...but lousy skimming!

Thanks for the grins!

[KurtV]

OK, you got me with that one--but I've yet to find a good rum that costs that little...

You gotta get down near the source (Panama, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, etc.) to get the good stuff cheap.

You COULD pull the floater out when the kids get in it.

You won't remember to do that if you've found the cheap rum.

Well, you'll just need to go to Escada or Dior and get a designer floater so your friends will admire your good taste!

Actually, the cheap rum probably dulls your fashion sense to point where this is no longer an issue.

That's a biggie. Builders also like to recommend cartridge filters--most owners end up hating them. Some also like to set folks up with Bacquacil without asking them or giving them the facts. Still, they aren't that hard to install or remove in these days of PVC piping and glued-on fittings.

Who can do all that plumbing if they've been hitting the cheap rum?

Oh, there's PLENTY of ways floaters can appeal to that--whenever I use one it always seems to end up blocking off the skimmer...Good flow that way...but lousy skimming!

We don't need no stinking skimmers, we've got cheap rum.

Thanks for the grins!

Cheers, salud, etc..

[CarlD]

I KNOW you can get cheap rum down there--but the GOOD rum is STILL expensive. The best comes from Martinique and is made like fine cognac , or the best single-malt scotch (which makes me greener than a 100 proof algae bloom ). Unfortunately, it ain't cheap, even on Martinique.

Remember: Don't Drink and Dive!

[KurtV]

I KNOW you can get cheap rum down there--but the GOOD rum is STILL expensive. The best comes from Martinique and is made like fine cognac , or the best single-malt scotch (which makes me greener than a 100 proof algae bloom ). Unfortunately, it ain't cheap, even on Martinique.

Remember: Don't Drink and Dive!

Carl,
I bought a few bottles of top shelf Barbancourt in Port au Prince for less than $10 per about a year ago. Don't get any better or cheaper than that.

I also still have a few bottles of the three star Ron del Barrilito (Puerto Rico) that I bought a few years ago in Roosevelt Roads, PR for less than $5.00 a bottle.

You've made me thirsty. I think I'll break out the Barbancourt and stick my feet in the pool.

[CarlD]

Kurt:
Barbancourt is OK--not crazy about it. 3 Star Barrilito is, to my taste, a lot better. Better rums (IMHO) that are fairly easy to get are:
Ron de Matusalem (the extra special reserve) and
St. James Hors d'Age.

It's tougher but you can get St. James 1979 and 1982 vintages by special order. Both will make you toss all the others except the Matusalem. But they are expensive.

But even the St. James vintages aren't the best....

But like anything, rum is a personal taste. Just because I think something is the best doesn't make it so. I can present arguments why I think chlorine is better than bromine or bacquacil, or why bleach is better than tri-chlor tablets--I have logical reasons, but the ONLY reason I can say I like St. James 1979 better than Barbancourt is I think it tastes better. And that's pure personal opinion.

[ksturge]

As interesting as the rum threads are...can I ask a few questions about the CL200. I have one - doesn't seem to restrict any flow, but I trust what is said on this forum so could someone lay out the problems with using this product? One problem I've had in the past is that my heater had to be replaced after only 4 years and I'm wondering if it had anything to do with this chlorine feeder. The inside of the heater was a rusted out mess.

I'm in the process of keeping the chlorine levels very high to get rid of leaf stains at the bottom of the pool. I thought leaving the chlorine feeder completely open and full of pucks would help this problem? Maybe I'm wrong and causing more harm than good.

[waterbear]

As interesting as the rum threads are...can I ask a few questions about the CL200. I have one - doesn't seem to restrict any flow, but I trust what is said on this forum so could someone lay out the problems with using this product? One problem I've had in the past is that my heater had to be replaced after only 4 years and I'm wondering if it had anything to do with this chlorine feeder. The inside of the heater was a rusted out mess.
Is the feeder plumbed before or after the heater. It should be after. If it is before the low pH of the trichlor could cause damage to the heater.

I'm in the process of keeping the chlorine levels very high to get rid of leaf stains at the bottom of the pool. I thought leaving the chlorine feeder completely open and full of pucks would help this problem? Maybe I'm wrong and causing more harm than good.

What is your stabilizer level? The biggest problem with using trichlor or dichlor is that it causes your stabilizer (CYA) to constantly rise and that requires you run the pool and shock the pool at higher FC levels. The reasons are somewhat technical but you might want to check out this thread for some more information on what levels to run your pool at.
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=365

Most of the folks on this forum add CYA manually to a level of about 30-50 ppm and then run their FC and shock levels according to the chart in the above thread by using bleach ( which is non stabilized chlorine, sodium hypochlorite). This is probably the easiest and most economical way to chlorinate your pool.

Take some time and read through the stickies on the forum and read everything on the sister website www.poolsolutions.com and you will soon understand the BBB method of pool care (Bleach, Borax, and Baking Soda)

If you have any questions just start a thread in the appropriate heading and you will get all the advice you will need.

If you haven't got one already DO get yourself a good drop based test kit that will measure FC, TC, pH, ALK, CAL, and CYA. Do not use test strips...they just don't have the accuracy for maintaining a pool.

Hope this is helpful