Automatic Chlorinator Refill Alternatives

[BrendaD]

I have an Aqua Smarte Model 6700 Automatic chlorinator attached to my AG filter. It requires an Aqua Frog Bac Pac at $20 a piece and I am going through one every 5 days. It has been very hot. M question is, Is there a cheaper way of feeding the auto chlorinator, like adding 3 inch tablets directly in the chlorinator without damaging anything, or better yet is there a "bac pac" out there that is refillable? Please help before I go broke!

[txpoolguy]

What has your chlorine level been over the past few weeks, using one bac pac per week? The mfg. suggests one bac pac every 2-3 weeks, but often these estimates are averaged over a year, when you may only need 1 per 60 days in winter, and 1 per week during summer. You may be able to reduce the feed setting on the Frog, but only if you're chlorine residual is on the high side of the recommended range. Unfortunately, many of these sanitizing systems are designed to bring you back into the pool store often, so I'd guess that you're probably seeing typical results. I'll assume that you've had your water tested for stabilizer/cyanuric acid, which will help keep the chlorine in the water as long as possible.

It is dangerous to mix chemicals in an inline chlorinator, so unless you're 100% sure exactly what the bac pac contains, I would not recommend changing chemicals in this feeder. As an alternative, you could add the 3" chlorine tablets via a floating chlorinator.