Chlorinator Settings

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sharper4

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Sep 2, 2008
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Well, I was officially handed off maintenance of my pool last Monday. I took the water in for testing and it showed there was next to no chlorine in the pool (0.27 FC). I shocked it and increased the pucks / speed of the cholinator at the store's request. I took the water in again a cpl days later and was told there was WAY too much chlorine (11.99). So they told me to just shut everything down for 3 days and check again. On the 3rd day my chlorine measured 0. So I shocked again last night, added 3 pucks and set the speed to 5.

So... lesson learned, check chemicals every single day and never shut completely off the chlorinator, no matter what anyone at the stores says.

But the question is this... what is a good baseline for the chlorinator to be set at out of the gate? I just don't want to keep going back and forth. It has two settings... the first is a dial (set the flow of water) from 1-5. The second is the number of pucks it holds (up to 8).

It's a 14,000 gal, QuartzBrite pool in DFW. Daytime temps are nearly 100* and full sunlight. Thank you in advance!
 
It depends on what your CYA is. With that information you can look up your level on the chart and determine what FC level you need to maintain. From there you can get an idea of where to start your chlorinator.

Using tablets you will need to keep a very close eye on your CYA level, and pool store CYA testing is rarely very accurate. You may consider getting a kit (not strips) that has a CYA test and checking it yourself. Overstabilization is an unpleasant situation that you need to be proactive about.
 
I did just buy one of the recommended kits from here and I'm learning it. I think its a K-2006 or something like that. The CYA has ranged from 39 to 49 (actually, it was 49 - 43 - 39 on the dates listed above). I should have included that with the first msg. Sorry about that.

Aside from these tablets that dissolve during the day while I'm gone... is there a better product that serves this purpose?
 
Experience and testing will tell you where to set it because weather will come into play. Pump run time also comes into play because it's only putting chlorine into the pool when the pump is running.

As mentioned if you're going to use pucks you'll need to test your CYA very frequently, as in about every two weeks. TA will also go down as the CYA in the pucks as acidic so you should also test TA weekly and keep plenty of baking soda on hand to raise it above 120 at all times. If you don't your pH will drop (again, CYA is acidic). You will need to do water changes to keep the CYA under control, I deal with it by vacuuming to waste. Each puck that dissolves is adding CYA to your pool.

For example I know when my TA is low because my pH will drop. My pool holds a rock solid 7.7 at all times without any adjustments and if it wanders down I know my TA is below 100 or possibly 110.

The K-2006 only has enough for 4 CYA tests I think so it would be a good idea to buy the big bottle of CYA reagent from tftestkits.net.
 
Most here use liquid chlorine/bleach or a salt water generator. The main reason is those sources do not add the problematic CYA like pucks, trichrlor or dichlor.

I use pucks in a chrlorinator, but as I said I have to be very diligent about CYA, pH and TA. The only way to remove CYA is removing water which means higher costs over the long term.
 
Chlorine does not need to be added constantly, most of us add liquid chlorine once a day or every other day. When a pool is properly balanced the daily loss is minimal and easy to keep up with. A salt water chlorine generator creates chlorine right in the pool and many on the site use them. There are also options for automated liquid chlorine dispensing. As spidey07 proves, tablets can be used with careful monitoring of your levels and occasional water replacement, but few people on the site use them regularly.

Once you get your kit you can do a full set of testing and can be advised from there. Hopefully the pool store CYA test is roughly correct, that would put you right in a decent range. From there you can decide which direction you want to proceed with your chlorination.
 
Chlorinator setting depends on:
Pump run time
UV time (sunlight)
SWG capacity
Pool size
Swimmer/organics load
Temperature
CYA

Even with all those (and maybe more), there can still be variables between unit to unit. Recommendation is to check it daily until you get it stable where you want it, then adjust as weather/load/etc. changes.
 
Sharper... short answer: Liquid Chlorine (aka BLEACH)

As you have seen, the store testing is inconsistent "The CYA has ranged from 39 to 49 (actually, it was 49 - 43 - 39 on the dates listed above" Unless you replaced (drained) 20% of you water, you can't see your CYA reduce from 49 to 39.

If your CYA is really only about 40%, you can effectively manage your pool using liquid chlorine (LC) with no worries. I am going to guess yo will need about 1/2 gallon of LC each day.

I would stop using pucks as they drive up your CYA and the only way to fix it, drain water.

When you get your test kit, read the extended instructions and do your CYA on a sunny day to get your best results.
 
Hey--I'm in the DFW area, too. I keep CYA around 50 because we get so many hours of sun here. My pool is about the same size as yours, and I add about 1/2 gallon of 8.25% bleach a day. It doesn't add any CYA, just chlorine and a little salt.

I have a chlorinator that uses pucks, and I don't use it. (Well, it's handy if I leave for several days or more, but that's it.) CYA is hard to manage while using pucks. I have a cartridge filter, so there's no water loss due to backwashing. We have dry summers, so rain seldom causes the pool water to rise and reach the run-off drain. With the water restrictions, purposefully draining and refilling just to maintain CYA doesn't make sense to me. Bleach is easy, readily available, and lets me reduce my pump time without causing the chlorine level to drop.
 

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Edited:

I was concerned because the pool store talked me in to buy a HUGE stock of pucks. I thought it was a great deal. They are letting me return them (for store credit). Is there a bleach equivilent at the pool store I can use or should I just go down to Sam's and buy the regular bleach? I'm sure sooner or later I'll use the credit with them but if i can just substitute the bad chlorine with the good then I'll be satisified.

Thanks everyone for the input.
 
If they have liquid chlorine (they may call it liquid shock) then you can get it there with your credit. It will be stronger concentration than bleach, probably 12% vs. the 6% or 8.25% you will find in the store. Be worth asking them, just be ready if they try to convince you to stick with the pucks. I have heard of some very misinformed pool store employees when it comes to their knowledge of chlorine sources.
 
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