Automatic chlorine dispenser??

[roederrl]

I live in Iowa and have been using 1 gallon bleach bottles to keep up the required level. I have a 24ft round a/g pool. Is there any type of chlorine dispenser out there I can hook up to the system that is reliable? I keep up with my pool usually daily and have never had problems since subscribing to poolsolutions in 2001 and following Ben's advice. This is when I set up my pool for the first time and have never added any chemicals not recommended on this site. Roger

[aylad]

I think CarlD played around with a couple of types of liquid chlorine dispensers and didn't find one that worked well for him, unfortunately that information was lost with the server crash earlier this year. Hopefully he'll see this, though, and chime in.

There are always trichlor chlorinators you can get and connect, but you have to be really careful because trichlor pucks will drastically increase your CYA over the length of a summer.

Janet

[CarlD]

Yeah, I tried the Liquimate brand and had disappointing results with it (I'm being nice here).

But there have been people who've had GREAT results with low-rate peristaltic pumps (used for chemicals, medicines and blood) on timers. You have to hunt up peristaltic pumps on Google or eBay, figure how much bleach you want to pump in, and how many times a day.

I think with some effective planning you can get a pretty good system going for a few hundred bucks.

[KurtV]

One guy, HawksNestBay, in this thread reports good results with the Liquimate: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=1549.

I've read other good reviews of it elsewhere but also others much the same as CarlD's. Seems like kind of a crapshoot but maybe worth a try if you can get one from a vendor with a liberal return policy.

[Hawksnestbay]

I still use my liquimate with excellent results. But the problems that Carl described are accurate. If you set it above the lowest setting, It will empty the 5 gallon carboy in 6 hours.

This season {2006} I adjusted my routine. I now filter 4 on 8 off, and run my Dolphin Pro a least once a week. This allows less flow so that I have to change it once every 8 days. But I never have to add any bleach at night.

I believe the Liquimate cost me $89.00, and I even bought a back up, which I have never used. It is a low cost item that is worth the try, but certainly not for everyone.

I did go on vacation for 18 days, and I used pucks in the inline feeder instead. It did the job till I got back.

My pool is 35,000 gallons, heated, and located in Massachusetts.

I put the pool in in 2002 instead of buying a boat. I am so glad I did.

[Deuce2]

I'm new to this forum, so forgive me if this has been asked. I understand that everyone on here is stating that pucks keep adding to the total CYA, and that the CYA gets too high if you keep using pucks, and that is why everyone is using bleach. The problem with bleach is it is more manually intensive, and you can't use it when you travel for periods of 4 days or more. That is why pucks are great, you just put them in the inline chlorinator and everything is swell. Why hasn't any of these great chemists invented a puck that doesn't add to the CYA? Isn't it possible? I would think there would be a huge market for this if possible.