water not reaching chlorine generator

[VAwaterboy]

I just installed a salt water chlorine generator. When I turn the pump on, water seems to be flowing normally; water comes out of the returns in the pool forcefully. But water does not flow into the generator cell, which is mounted (following the manufacturer's instructions) 6 inches above the return line.

The manufacturer of the chlorine generator says the water flow must be insufficient, but I don't see any leaks. I can see water moving in the vertical pipes just below the generator, but it doesn't quite get into the body of the generator. Any suggestions? I attached a photo; I hope you can see it.

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi welcome to TFP,

Im afraid you have it plumbed incorrectly.
You need to Remove the 2 Tee's. Put a 90 up into the front side of the cell, then come out the other side and into the return line.
Basically, the plumbing w/ Cell should look like upside down U

With teh T's installed, the water is just going straight through and there isnt enough flow and resistance to push water into the cell.

Edit to add:
Also, can you explain more about the entire plumbing. From the pic, it looks like Pump > Filter > Cell > Heater ... is this how you have it? Or is it the other way around.... its hard to tell from the pic.

If the cell is in front of the Heater, you dont want that high chlorine water from the cell going through the heater.
The cell should be the very last thing the water goes thorough, before it goes back into the pool.

I hope this helps,

 

[PoolESQ]

This is something I would totally do. LOL

 

[VAwaterboy]

Duh! Now that you explain it, Dave, it's obvious. I used Tees instead of 90 degree elbows, so the water is of course bypassing the cell. Believe it or not, I renovate houses and do a lot of my own plumbing, but somehow I screwed this up.

As for the plumbing: the cell is the last thing. The water goes from the heater, through a check valve, and then to the cell. I was smart enough to install a check valve to keep highly chlorinated water from flowing back to the heater -- but dumb enough to plumb the cell wrong. Thank you!

Andy

Hi welcome to TFP,

Im afraid you have it plumbed incorrectly.
You need to Remove the 2 Tee's. Put a 90 up into the front side of the cell, then come out the other side and into the return line.
Basically, the plumbing w/ Cell should look like upside down U

With teh T's installed, the water is just going straight through and there isnt enough flow and resistance to push water into the cell.

Edit to add:
Also, can you explain more about the entire plumbing. From the pic, it looks like Pump > Filter > Cell > Heater ... is this how you have it? Or is it the other way around.... its hard to tell from the pic.

If the cell is in front of the Heater, you dont want that high chlorine water from the cell going through the heater.
The cell should be the very last thing the water goes thorough, before it goes back into the pool.

I hope this helps,

 

[jblizzle]

Well, with a SWG there is no need for a check valve after the heater. Because when the water is not flowing the SWG should not be generating there for there is nothing to flow backward to the heater.