not feeding chlorine

[Rita G.]

i am not getting any chlorine reading when i test water for chlorine with reagent, nor do i smell any chlorine in pool. chlorine feeder (pentair model 300) is only 2 months old and is full of tabs. pump and all other equipment is running well. anyone know what this could be? could the feeder possibly be clogged?

[Backglass]

Remember, your feeder is only adding chlorine when the pump is on. How long are you running it for? The fact that you have -0- chlorine is dangerous and if it were a public pool would be shut down by the health department. It could easily turn all sorts of lovely colors overnight. You should add some chlorine manually (liquid/shock/anything) ASAP.

There is also the remote possibility that your levels are extremely high and bleaching your reagent (it can happen) When you add the drops, do you see a flash of color before going clear?

FYI: You shouldn't smell chlorine in your pool...ever. If you do, this usually means high levels of CC and you don't have enough chlorine. A properly chlorinated pool doesn't smell or sting your eyes.

[Rita G.]

thank you backglass.
i run pump from 8am to 12mid daily. i forgot to mention in my last post that regulator on feeder has been set to maximum flow for last 3 days due to lack of chlorine. I have used 4 cups of powdered chlorine yesterday. i just tested and got no flash of color, just a barely yellowing of color i would say about 0.1.

[Rita G.]

i just went out and tested cl & ph with brand new reagents and get same results. cl is about 0.1 & ph is about 6.9. ph has been low too, even though i just dumped a 5 lb. jug of ph+ in yesterday. i have a feeling the reagents (that i bought from same store as old reagents) might be from a bad batch, perhaps? this is driving me nuts! from all outward appearances, everything seems to be normal; pool water looks nice & clear, pucks are dissolving, but i can't tell what color the water is in the feeder because glass is tinted yellow.

water level in (bypass) feeder drops all the way down when pump is shut off and comes back up when pump is turned back on, which probably means the feeder is ok. any ideas?

[Rita G.]

PROBLEM SOLVED!

after adding 15 pounds of ph+ powder in the last 2 days, i brought it up to 7.6.

and now the chlorine level went up with it; so all is well!

[Backglass]

PROBLEM SOLVED!

after adding 15 pounds of ph+ powder in the last 2 days, i brought it up to 7.6.

and now the chlorine level went up with it; so all is well!

I hope you didn't pay too much for 15 pounds of PH+. All PH+ is is Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda). 12 pounds for $4 at Costco or Sams.

Be sure to re-check your TA as well as PH+ will raise both.

[chem geek]

pH Up is sodium carbonate, not sodium bicarbonate. pH Up is the same as Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda.

Alkalinity Up is sodium bicarbonate and is the same as Arm & Hammer Baking Soda.