Rainbow 320C Chlorinator

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BlueBell

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Jan 17, 2011
30
Austin, TX
Hi everyone,
I am planning to install a Rainbow 320C inline Chlorinator. Do I need to install a check valve in between the chlorinator and the filter? We do not have a heater just a filter. Also the unit will have to have 3 simple pvc valves downstream from it will this be a problem?

Is this chlorinator the best of the lot? And does the clear version have any downsides? It seems that it would be helpful to be able to see how many tabs are left.

I realize that there are not to many fans of trichlor on this website but we a have decided that its our best option given our situation.

Thanks!
 
I do not know which chlorinator is better so hopefully someone else can chime in on that.

The PVC ball valves can be problematic in that they can become hard to turn, and can break with no way to repair. The pool valve (Jandy, Pentair, etc) are easier to turn and can also be rebuilt if a seal goes bad without having to redo plumbing.

Using the pucks can be OK if you are well aware of the CYA/FC relationship and are willing to do massive water changes every year or so when the CYA gets out of hand.

Are you willing to elaborate on "your situation" that makes the trichlor your best option?
 
The 320 is one of the less problematic chlorinators.

My pool is similar in size to yours, and if your chlorine use is like mine, you'll start having excess CYA issues well before the swimming season is over. Just guessing, but you'll probably be well over 150ppm by the end of the year.
 
Thanks, I am totally aware of the cya issues with trichlor, but we are trying to avoid salt which has eaten up our stone work and I will have to drain every year either from salt or from cya.
We already have the pvc valves so we will keep them till I have to replace.
Any ideas about the need for a check valve between filter and chlorinator?
Thanks again
 
FYI, you should not have to drain the pool due to salt levels increasing (unless you keep adding too much salt) ... although the stone work is a valid concern. Did you previously have a SWG that resulted in the stone work issues?

The other option is a liquidator setup which will automatically add liquid chlorine to your pool ... since is appears you do not want to be adding the liquid chlorine manually every few days.

But, on to your question:
Some chlorinators have check valves built in ... but in any case it will not hurt anything to just put one in between the filter and chlorinator. Again the Jandy and Pentair check valves are better as they have less head loss and are rebuildable unlike the inline PVC type check valves.
 
yes we had a swg and loved the ease of care but in 6 months it was destroying all our stonework. Sealing processes cheap and super expensive would not slow it down. I'm still not certain that we will not have to replace alot of it, as it is still continuing to fall apart.
Our tap water has a fairly high level of salt so we will be over 1000ppm salt quickly if we use bleach. Given the damage that 2700ppm salt did I'm trying to keep the salt level as low as I reasonable can. I can think of no solution were I will not have to replace the water so trichlor seems the easiest of my bad options. If there is a solution I haven't thought of please let me know.

I have read that people complain that the rebuildable check valves ( jandy Pentair) need rebuilding every year or so, which seems a bit excessive. Have you heard many complaints like that?
Thanks for all the help
 
BlueBell said:
I have read that people complain that the rebuildable check valves ( jandy Pentair) need rebuilding every year or so, which seems a bit excessive. Have you heard many complaints like that?
Thanks for all the help
Click to expand...

I had not heard that, but will have to look into it as I was about to order 2 of them when I redo my pad. I liked the reduced head loss (since I am switching to a small pump), but do not want to have to fix them all the time. Thanks for the heads up.
 
You need to be aware that trichlor adds salt at about half the rate as bleach.

10 ppm worth of trichlor adds 8.4ppm of salt.
10ppm worth of 6% bleach adds 16ppm of salt
 
The Rainbow feeder with the clear barrel will quickly turn opaque with the sun after a few months and then you still need to unscrew the cap to see what's inside. Other than that it works just fine just like it's brother with the solid barrel. No check valves are needed and valves downstream are usually not an issue. 99.9% of my pools here in Texas have them and use them. Just be sure to do the mod that I described in this thread http://www.troublefreepool.com/rainbow-feeders-air-problem-t41359.html that will help eliminate any residual air build up. The Rainbow will have the needed extra tubing already supplied in the box.
 
flyingVranch thanks for the tip on the rainbow 320. So I dont need to install a 2" check valve to stop chlorinated water from flowing back into the filter housing when the pump is off?
As I am in texas as well how often do you find that you have to drain and refill pools due to CYA overload when using the rainbow 320 with 3inch tabs. thanks again
 

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