FC always low

[klavant]

Need some suggestions. I've had an issue with FC for about 2 years. Last year I started getting help here and things have improved dramatically for me. I had a tremendous amount of CC and organics and was able to clear that up last year. So far this year I have not seen any CC and I think I've got it pretty well balanced. The problem is that I still am seeing a relatively low FC level. I used mostly Bleach last year. To start this year, I'm using TriChlor tabs with an inline feeder, which is 5yrs old. I've put 4 jumbo tabs in and have the dial wide open. It seems to me that I should be seeing a much higher level of FC in the water at this point, like I did when the pool was new. When it was new I only used 1 or 2 tabs. I was never able to get the FC much higher last year either, unless I had recently dumped bleach in. Why can I not get a higher FC level with the feeder anymore?

FC=1
CC=> .5
PH=7.4
TA=110
CYA=60

 

[JohnT]

Feeders get dirty and the chlorination rate slows down. They don't last a long time. Your CYA is getting pretty high already, so you need to consider switching to bleach.

 

[klavant]

Define "dirty". The inside of the feeder seems to be covered with what looks like scaling. I assume that's the plastic's reaction to amount of chlorine that it is holding on a daily basis. Should this be replaced? I need to use the feeder at times during the summer as i won't be around on a daily basis to maintain the water with bleach. This is my first pool, so I have nothing but other peoples info to rely on for new issues.

 

[JohnT]

Define "dirty". The inside of the feeder seems to be covered with what looks like scaling.

You defined it well. The inside gets coated and the water flow over the tablets gets reduced.

 

[duraleigh]

What does your water look like?

Have you done an overnight FC loss test? (See Pool School)

My bet is you have algae growing in your pool and need to shock. The Overnight test will show us that one way or the other. (See Pool School)

Your chlorine consumption will come down once you cleared the pool of the organics (algae)