I too have not had very good luck with an AutoPilot chlorine generator. Fans (warranty), LED panel (warranty), and the entire power supply unit ($1,000.00) all had to be replaced within 3 years of the original installation. I also never got 3 years out of the $350.00 salt cells. (Tried using Compupool cells because they were cheaper, but 2 of the 3 I had failed with leaks, and did not last more than a year or so.) ON top of all that, the power cord design is very susceptible to moisture, and I had to rig up a plastic bag to keep rain off of it. Despite this, it wears out quickly and must be replaced every 2 years or so ($45.00). Now, my second AutoPilot power supply unit is shot, and I'm not inclined to give that company any more of my money.
I've done a fair amount of research, and have decided to forget about chlorine generators and go with a peristaltic pump to feed liquid chlorine. (Coincidentally, this past weekend, I happened to notice that the hotel I stayed at uses the exact model of pump I'm planning to install, which I think at least partially validates my thinking.) Here are what I think are the advantages of going this route--I'd really like to hear opinions though:
* Acid demand is high and very volatile with chlorine generators--I've found the opposite to be true when manually adding liquid chlorine, and expect the same to be true when I install the peristaltic pump.
* Apparently, the electrolysis process makes metal stains much more common with chlorine generators--I hope this becomes less of an issue by using liquid chlorine.
* One of the touted advantages of using a chlorine generator is that you don't have to handle "dangerous" chlorine. Well, muriatic acid is a lot more dangerous to handle than sodium hypochlorite, and, with the huge acid demand I've experienced with the chlorine generator, I was handling lots of acid, and consequently had to go to the store frequently to purchase it. So, if I'm going to go to the store frequently anyway, I'd rather be buying more chlorine and less acid since chlorine is a lot cheaper than acid. I'm installing a 15 g chlorine tank recessed into the ground to keep it cool and dark and hope to end up not needing to buy chlorine more than once every 2 weeks.
* AutoPilot recommends a stabilizer level of 60-80; however, this high level can interfere with the chlorine's effectiveness. That, fact, and the poor reliability of the AutoPilot chlorine generator caused many algae blooms and the attendant expense of cleaning them up, because it would stop working unexpectedly (moisture on cord, failed cord, failed fans, short cell life). I'm hoping that the peristaltic pump I bought will be much more reliable.
Please, if anyone thinks I'm dreaming about the benefits of not using a chlorine generator, I'd like to hear from you.