Permanently Cut Flow into Inline Chlorinator?

[Mark Shvitz]

I have a CL200 inline chlorinator I inherited with the pool. I hate it. I n ever use it, and it always leaks. The surface that mates with the O-ring is not in great shape, and O-rings always go bad eventually, even if you use Viton (or what Internet vendors claim is Viton).

I would like to get rid of the chlorinator, but cutting the pipes would necessitate replacing a lot of PVC. Is there any way to stop one of these things up so no water gets into the main chamber? I guess one alternative would be to epoxy the lid on after gluing all the little holes shut.

 

[Pool_Medic]

Easier to just cut it out and replace with 1.5’ rigid pvc and a couple of unions.

 

[Texas Splash]

I cut mine out and replaced it with an SWG. Space permitting, is that an option you have considered?

 

[PoolStored]

Completely remove the inbound 1/4" line to the clorinator. Leave the tap for it on the PVC.
Remove the outbound 1/4" line to the pool return FROM THE CHLORINATOR ONLY.
Connect the old chlorinator outbound line to the tap you left on line 1.

This way you can at least leave it until you decide to permanently replace or fix.

See upside down U of black 1/4" line here in this pic. Hope that makes sense. One way to remove chlorinator without having to deal with the plumbing...

 

[Mark Shvitz]

If it were as simple as cutting PVC in two places, I would have gleefully launched the chlorinator into the dumpster already. It's up against a 3-way valve, and I would have to slice 4 pipes, cobble together patches, and replace the valve. It will look like a committee of 15 people did my pipes.

I guess maybe I'll have to get a new valve and get it over with. Sometimes the hard way is the easy way.

 

[Texas Splash]

It's up against a 3-way valve, and I would have to slice 4 pipes,

I hate to see that. Those who don't care much for the potential work later. Just like gluing-in adapter fittings without unions. Reminds me of engineers who make a car engine but it takes 30 minutes to get to the oil filter.

 

[Mark Shvitz]

Ask me about installing the air filters in my buddy's Mercedes. Or replacing the alternator belt in my John Deere lawn tractor.

It looks like I can kill this thing by tapping the water holes and putting stainless screws in them.

It appears it's connected to the other pipes by threads, not cement. Maybe I can find some kind of adapting fitting with the same thread. Then I could remove the chlorinator, screw the new fitting into the old pipe, and run new pipe from the fitting to the existing pipe on the other side of the chlorinator.

Thanks, Poolstored, for the photo, but I'm not sure we are talking about the same hardware. The 1/4" line in your picture doesn't seem to be anywhere near a chlorinator, and my chlorinator has no external fittings. There is no 1/4" line. It just has a screw to regulate the output and a hole to let water in. It connects to the system via 2" pipe.

 

[PoolStored]

Thanks, Poolstored, for the photo, but I'm not sure we are talking about the same hardware. The 1/4" line in your picture doesn't seem to be anywhere near a chlorinator, and my chlorinator has no external fittings. There is no 1/4" line. It just has a screw to regulate the output and a hole to let water in. It connects to the system via 2" pipe.

Got it. Mine was external. Had that 1/4" black hose go to the cholinator, then another 1/4" go to the return.

 

[Mark Shvitz]

There is a hollow vertical post in the chlorinator, and the water leaves through it. I tapped it, crammed some epoxy putty in the hole, and inserted a 5/16" stainless screw. I crammed more putty into the inlet hole after drilling a hole from the top. The hope is that having putty go in from two angles will create a plug that can't be blown out.

Maybe it will work. If not, there is always the sawzall.

 

[Mark Shvitz]

I started the pump today, and no water entered the chlorinator. Maybe now I won't have to refill the pool every 5 days.