In-line vs. off-line chlorine feeder dilemma

[mvoltin]

Leaning towards the off-line feeder but wanted to see if others had a different suggestion since in-line is preferable by default:

In-line chlorine feeders (that I found) have 2" piping and further restriction in the middle (maybe 1.5" or less) that may be a bottle-neck? I have small 11,000 gallon pool but 9 jets that require occasional high flow (20-to-90GPM); thus my piping is 2.5". I could have pressure based check-valve to bypass extra flow but it would complicated things significantly.

Down the road planning to transition to salt-water system and keep chlorine feeder as a back up. This is another reason to keep it off-line and not restricting flow?

is there any compelling reason to have in-line feeder in-light of the arguments above?

 

[tim5055]

You have a very small pool. Either would be overkill. Stick with a floater until you get the SWG in place. This saves you money for the SWG.

Amazon.com : Aquabeacon Pool Large Chlorine Floater for 3" Chlorine Tablets - Optimal Water Sanitation and Enhanced Control with 15 Flow Vents - Premium Pool Chlorine Tablet Dispenser : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : Aquabeacon Pool Large Chlorine Floater for 3" Chlorine Tablets - Optimal Water Sanitation and Enhanced Control with 15 Flow Vents - Premium Pool Chlorine Tablet Dispenser : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

 

[mvoltin]

You have a very small pool. Either would be overkill. Stick with a floater until you get the SWG in place. This saves you money for the SWG.

Amazon.com : Aquabeacon Pool Large Chlorine Floater for 3" Chlorine Tablets - Optimal Water Sanitation and Enhanced Control with 15 Flow Vents - Premium Pool Chlorine Tablet Dispenser : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : Aquabeacon Pool Large Chlorine Floater for 3" Chlorine Tablets - Optimal Water Sanitation and Enhanced Control with 15 Flow Vents - Premium Pool Chlorine Tablet Dispenser : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

Thank you, I considered this but I may not have the salt-pool for a while and preferred something less manual than the floater. Plus, after reading more about it, don't want kids swimming in with the floater. It will cost only $100 extra either way and the benefits easily outweigh the cost.

So, my question was about selecting between the in-line vs off-line

 

[1Sammy]

i see Off Line more and once you are done with it you just need to plug 2 little holes.

 

[Enzodast]

My pool is larger than yours 36k. But I have 2" pipe all around pool equipment and 1.5 inch return and drain lines. The in line chlorinator has 1.5 inch plumbing so I went with offline to avoid a bottle neck like you described.

 

[sktn77a]

Personally, I would go with the inline filter. The Hayward CL200 has a control to adjust the amount of water entering the tablet reservoir and when you don't want to use it, just don't put any tabs in it. Hayward also has a 2" chlorinator of sorts (the CL2002S).

I never did see the point of the Pentair "inline filter" as it looks more like an offline filter(?!)

 

[anotherpyr]

The Pentair is also available in an offline model. They work the same (inline vs offline), just how you plump them into your system is different.

Regardless which one you choose, with trichlor tablets you’ll need to watch your CYA as its easy to let these chlorinators do all the work. I find it’s a nice way to handle vacations until I either go SWG or bleach injection.

I guess I should add that I have the inline Pentair 320 as it was the only one Ben over at old the pool forum recommended back when I purchased it.

 

[markayash]

Leaning towards the off-line feeder but wanted to see if others had a different suggestion since in-line is preferable by default:

In-line chlorine feeders (that I found) have 2" piping and further restriction in the middle (maybe 1.5" or less) that may be a bottle-neck? I have small 11,000 gallon pool but 9 jets that require occasional high flow (20-to-90GPM); thus my piping is 2.5". I could have pressure based check-valve to bypass extra flow but it would complicated things significantly.

Down the road planning to transition to salt-water system and keep chlorine feeder as a back up. This is another reason to keep it off-line and not restricting flow?

is there any compelling reason to have in-line feeder in-light of the arguments above?

Wish I had the Delorean from back to the future..I threw a god one away back around Feb.
If you buy one I would do off line for sure and look at rainbow, I liked it better then the hayward ones that seems to break after a couple years.
I do agree if you can wait go for a SWG, life is soooo much easier and the water is smoother

Pentair Rainbow 300 Off-Line Automatic Chlorine & Bromine Feeder - R171016 - INYOPools.com

R171016 - Rainbow 300 Offline Chlorinator

www.inyopools.com

 

[mvoltin]

Wish I had the Delorean from back to the future..I threw a god one away back around Feb.
If you buy one I would do off line for sure and look at rainbow, I liked it better then the hayward ones that seems to break after a couple years.
I do agree if you can wait go for a SWG, life is soooo much easier and the water is smoother

Pentair Rainbow 300 Off-Line Automatic Chlorine & Bromine Feeder - R171016 - INYOPools.com

R171016 - Rainbow 300 Offline Chlorinator

www.inyopools.com

This is my first pool and, having read so many people having issues with SWG failing (Amazon reviews), i figured to install chlorine generator first and gets some experience with managing the chemistry before jumping into SWG. I was also advised to keep a chlorine dispenser as a back up. I have a friend who is going to guide me with chlorine.

Based on your response, it seems starting off with SWG could be OK for DIY with no experience?

 

[markayash]

I installed mine, lot of folks on this board have bought Circupools from Discount salt and the few that have had problems got them resolved fairly easy. Circupool is made for self installation and still gives you the full warranty. If you can cut PVC and basic wiring its a piece of cake
You usually want to double your size so a 15,000 would be perfect. I am hoping the prices come back down next year, my Edge40 was $840 in Feb and now goes for $1100!!
Somebody said the metals are becoming expensive and some think it's demand but either way I would wait and buy in Jan/Feb 2021

 

[sktn77a]

This is my first pool and, having read so many people having issues with SWG failing (Amazon reviews), i figured to install chlorine generator first and gets some experience with managing the chemistry before jumping into SWG. I was also advised to keep a chlorine dispenser as a back up. I have a friend who is going to guide me with chlorine.
Based on your response, it seems starting off with SWG could be OK for DIY with no experience?

You generally find 10 negative reviews to every one positive review of a product online. People who are p_ssed off about something are far more likely to post a negative review than people who are happy with something. By all means put in a tablet chlorinator as a backup but I wouldn't worry about the salt water generator being unreliable. The cells do need replacing every so often and they aren't cheap but they are much more convenient.