Pentair R171218 Rainbow 320C Automatic in-Line Chlorine/Bromine Feeder for Pool and Spa - Amber Body

This is my second item I have used. The sun and chlorine causes the clear material to get opaque and you can no longer see the level of the chlorine tablets inside. I had the first one 7 years and it was still working, just couldn't see through it anymore. It does a great job automating your chlorine task.

Put the unit in (very straight forward) and put 3-3" tabs into service. Monitored with test strips and it appeared to be doing great. After about 5 days the chlorine began dropping and it didn't seem the tabs were dissolving. Upon reading numerous reviews here on Amazon, I went to check if there was water in the tab column and there wasn't (I couldn't tell by looking - I can now). So I vented the column by loosening the cap and re-torquing shut, increased the thru-put and let it go at that. Pump shuts down at 8:30 PM and starts at 8:30 AM. Next morning upon start the chamber did not fill until I vented it as before. I took the timer out of the mix to run 24/7. I ordered a 1/2" npt air vent (like used to vent water baseboard heating systems) and a 1/2" nipple, TEE and cap. Placed the the works on the unit and it works like a charm with no problems at morning restart. I ordered the air vent (cast bronze - $10-$12) through Amazon and the other components I bought at the nearest box store. Problem resolved. Pool is crystal clear and test strips all running in range. Beats hauling liquid Chlorine and it's good for 3+ weeks (12,000 gallon pool} on 8 tabs. I'll add that chlorine concentration to harm brass and bronze must be 100ppm and I have 3-5 ppm free chlorine at any time and as the tab chamber drains when the pump is off there is little chlorine dissolved during the off period.

I purchased the chlorinator with the amber/clear chamber to replace my old Pentair. It was a direct "Bolt & Go" so I didn't have to modify my plumbing which was nice. However, where the manufacturer I'm assuming solvent weld's the upper cap fitting to the amber tube, is dripping non-stop. It definitely is not the upper cap or the threaded port.I reached out to InTheSwim to return this item for a new one but they chose to hide behind the baloney excuse of saying this is a "Hazardous Item" and can not be returned. Even though they as a business literally ship and warehouse 50lb tubs of Chlorine. And UPS certainly ships 50lb tubs of Chlorine seeing as how I purchased one off Amazon earlier in the spring.They advised me to contact Pentair directly. Which I did. I filled out their web form with all the required details and still no reply. It's been a week and yes I check my spam filter to be sure.Seeing as how my old one needed to be replaced I have to keep this leaking one on my system. The cool part is how the chamber drains when the pump is off because the leak breaks the vacuum. Then when the pump kicks on, it fills the air with what is basically chlorine gas for the first 30 seconds or so. I can admire the fresh scent of a pool from down the street this way.

I purchased this kit to help with the problem of remembering to add chlorine on a regular basis. It has helped tremendously! The unit installs just after the filter tank (the pressure side) by splicing it on an existing 1 1/2 or 2 inch PVC pipe. Whichever one you have it does include 2" x 1 1/2" reducer bushings. The directions are easy to follow and thorough from start to finish. An average DIY-er should have no trouble with installation. You simply cut enough of the pressure side of the filtered line to glue in the Chlorine Feeders PVC Tee fitting. That's thee difficult step! Once installed you load the polycarbonate container with chlorine tabs. ****Health Tip***** Use a breathing respirator when handling chlorine tabs. Remember what happened in WW1? There's a dial for the amount of chlorine the feeder emits; 1-5. 5 is the maximum. The chlorine is sucked into the filtered water line because of the Venturi Principle. The container holds 11 large tabs. With the setting on 5 I refilled mine in a month. The water was crystal clear so I dialed it down to 3. About 45 days later I reset it to 2. Very time saving and affordable pool upgrade.

This is one of the best and simplest upgrades I've bought for my pool. I love the clear tube - so easy to monitor the tablets inside without having to guess and open it up to check on them (messy and dangerous!). And it does a great job stabilizing my chlorine levels - no more wild fluctuations that end up costing more money in chemicals to correct water problems. I run through about 1 tube-worth of tablets a week, so it's an easy task on the weekends to open it up and top it off with more tablets.I totally disagree with the one reviewer saying it is a "good concept but poor quality and design" - Mine is 4 years old and going strong! I did just have to replace the short black flexible chlorinator tube that attaches to the dial at the bottom because it was cracking and leaking from chlorine-rot, but that was a super simple and cheap repair using household hardware. And while my clear tube has turned cloudy, I can still easily see the tablets inside.