Getting Chlorinator Set-up

[beemer]

Builder officially turned the pool over to us on Tuesday and turned on the inline chlorinator (CMD PowerClean) for the 1st time. They hadn't been using it during setup. Our chlorine level was at .3 so they cranked the chlorinator up pretty high, and then told us there was no need to do anything other than enjoy the pool until Saturday. With all the rain we've been having we hadn't even been out near the pool until Friday evening and by then the smell of Chlorine was overpowering. Tested the chlorine and it was at a whopping 9ppm. Turned the chlorinator off and started testing the chlorine daily. Dropped 3ppm down to 6ppm on Saturday, and is down to 4ppm today. So looks like we are losing 2-3ppm per day on nice hot sunny summer days.

I am not sure we will use the chlorinator long term, but at this point our CYA level is still pretty low (40) and we have a bucket of tablets so I'd at least like to get it setup and learn how to use so that when we go on vacation we can turn it on and not to have to worry about the chlorine too much while we are gone.

The chlorinator (CMD Power Clean) holds 5 tabs and has 5 graduations on it, but they aren't marked to give you any idea how much chlorine each graduation puts in the pool. I've looked online at the manufacturer's site and can't find guidance there either. Anyone have any experience with this kind of chlorinator and have a suggestion on where to start dial wise? It's also worth mentioning that we have a UV system that seems to do most of the work (the chlorine has been pretty much non-existant for the 6 weeks the builder took care of the pool (reading anywhere from 0 - to 0.5) yet it's been sparkling clean the entire time. Builder recommends running the chlorine on the low end of the scale - at 1 to 1.5ppm. We also have a VS pump and are running it 12 hours a day from 8am to 8pm.

Worst case figured we'd start with the first graduation and see where that takes us.

 

[beemer]

Bumping...Anyone??

 

[pabeader]

Unfortunately, you have two devices that very few folks here use. UV has been shown to be unnecessary in outdoor residential pools since the sun is a free source of UV. The other is a puck dispenser. The folks here only use liquid forms of chlorine. Usually common household bleach. There are times when pucks can be useful, like for trips or if you need to increase CYA.

If you want to look into taking control of your pool and making sure you are doing things the best way possible, please read this site:

Pool School - Pool School

 

[Texas Splash]

Like Bob said, make sure to read the pages in Pool School. But remember that depending upon which type of tabs you have, each one can add anywhere from 7-9 ppm of CYA to your pool. So it adds-up fast. Here in SA I run my CYA a little higher than normal in the summer because of the intense sun - about 60-70. So you'll want to watch for that as well and not go too high. I too have an in-line chlorinator that was installed as part of my original set-up. The dial on mine is unpredictable which brings me to my next point .... test kit. Do you have a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C? If not, please make that a priority so you can start monitoring those levels accurately. If you do have one, please add it to your signature. Don't rely on our "local pool stores" to give you an accurate reading or advice. It simply won't happen.

Congrats on the new pool, and welcome to another hot TX summer.