I have a pool, and use an ancient Guardex "open" chlorinator that takes 1-inch trichlor tablets. But I can't get parts for it anymore, and every now and then the check valves get crud in them, and overnight when the pump is off I lose prime. So it may be time to get a new one.
All the modern chlorinators appear to be sealed systems. There are input and output ports, and there's a screw-on lid that I assume is air-tight. But I don't understand exactly how these things work. What determines how high the water level gets inside the chlorinator? Is there any way to adjust that? I assume it doesn't fill up completely, but there's some air in the top.
The other issue I'm concerned about is that I only run the pump about 12 hours a day. And I wonder what happens to the chlorinated water in the chlorinator when I turn the pump off. Does it stay in there and continue to dissolve the chlorine? In my old chlorinator, the water drains out when the pump turns off, and I'd like to keep that feature if possible.
I guess the alternative is floaters, but I'd rather avoid that if possible.
Anyway, if anyone knows of a link where the operation of these things is explained in detail, I would appreciate knowing about it.