Plumbing, Heating and Pool Repair Guides

Hayward Chlorinator Troubleshooting & Repair Guide

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The Hayward Chlorinator comes in an offline and an inline model. The inline chlorinator connects using PVC fitting and unions and is piped “inline” with the swimming pool plumbing. The “offline’ Hayward Chlorinator hooks up in a completely different way. This type hooks up using flexible chlorine feeder hoses with saddle connection fittings. Now that you know that there are two different styles of the chlorinators you will now have to find out what type you have before you can start working on it.Hayward Automatic Chlorinator Troubleshooting

Before working on either the in ground model which is the CL220 or the above ground swimming pool model which is the CL110 you will always want to make sure you can run the pool water though the chlorinator for a few minutes. Sometimes chlorine gas can build up inside the chlorinator and when you open it, the gas could make you sick. Always be sure to stand back when removing a chlorinator lid that has chlorine tablets inside of it. Try to always run water through the chlorinator by turning the pool on first, this was NOT a typo that was said twice, Chlorine gas can be very dangerous, be careful anytime you work with any type of swimming pool chlorine or tablets.
Hayward Automatic Chlorinator
When working on the chlorinator you will want to make sure that your swimming pool filter system is shut off. You will also want to unplug t he pump cord if possible to prevent the swimming pool timer from kicking on the pool pump while you are working on rebuilding your Hayward Chlorinator.

How To Replace The Hayward CL220 & CL110 Cover O-Ring

One of the most common o-rings that will leak on both the CL220 and the CL110 Hayward Chlorinators is the top cover gasket as shown in part number 6 in the diagram. This part is called the Hayward Chlorinator Cover Replacement O-ring if you should decide to buy the part at a local pool supply store such as Leslies or even online.

The first thing you will need to is to remove the hold down screw that connects the top of the cover to the bottom disk below. You will first need to remove the cover that protects the hold down screw. This hold down cover is part #1 in the diagram. The hold down screw you will be removing is part #2 in the diagram. Once you remove the screw, which is, plastic you can remove part #5, which is the bottom, halve of the cover. You will now to be able to see the o-ring. You can now take a flat head screwdriver and pop the o-ring of the bottom part of the cover disk. Once the old o-ring is removed you can replace it with the new Chlorinator o-ring that you have purchased. You will also want to put a bit of Jack’s Pool Magic grease on the o-ring to prevent it from drying out.
Hayward CL220 Chlorinator Parts Diagram
Now that the new o-ring is back on the disk you can start to put the chlorinator back together in the reverse order that was described you above. Be careful and do not over tighten the hold down screw or you could crack it. It’s only made from plastic so you need to be careful when tightening this back down.

How To Replace The Hayward CL110 Chlorine Feed Hoses

The Hayward CL110 Chlorinator is a bit different from the CL220 model. This model uses flexible black chlorine feeder hoses to connect the tank to the filter system. From time to time these lines will become brittle and need to be replaced. You can buy replacement Hayward Chlorine feeder lines online or from a local swimming pool supply store.

To replace the lines on the Hayward CL110 Chlorinator you will need to loosen the nuts at the end of each line. Turning them counter clockwise will loose these nuts, be sure to do it carefully or the chlorine feeder line nuts could break or strip out. Once the nuts are loose you can remove both the feed and return lines. The Hayward re-build kit for the Chlorinator should have new nuts and lines in the pack.

You will now want to measure the length of the lines before cutting them and it’s very important to cut them straight or they will leak. Once you have pre cut the lines you will want to slip on the new lock down nuts and screw them on to the saddle fittings that you removed them from. Make sure to hold the line in all the way as you are tightening them down to ensure a proper seal. If the lines leak after installing new ones your problem could be an end that is cut on an angle, go back and re-cut that end of the line and re-install the line and you should not have a leak.

How To Adjust The Chlorine Setting on The CL110 & CL220

On the side of the Hayward CL220 & the CL110 is an adjustment knob that has a dial setting on it. The dial setting ranges from 1 to 10. You can use this dial on the side of the chlorinator to control the amount of chlorine that goes back into your swimming pool. To increase the level of the chlorine into the pool you would want to turn the dial up towards the 10 setting. If you wanted to have the chlorine feeder feed at the lowest setting you would adjust the dial to 1. Most people keep the dial set on mid way, which is 5, until the pool is running for about 2 weeks and then fine tune it later on for the proper chlorine levels.

How To Check The Direction Of Flow On The Hayward Chlorinator

In order for the Hayward CL220 or the CL110 to work right you must have the chlorinator set and installed with the correct direction of flow. On the side of the chlorine feeder you will see an arrow that says, “flow”. This arrow needs to be pointed towards the return side of the swimming pool plumbing.

How To Drain The Hayward CL Style Chlorinator:

If you want to drain the chlorinator you will find a drain plug on the bottom. You can use a 9/16 open-end wrench to remove this drain plug. Turn the drain plug counter clockwise and then the drain plug will be able to be removed. Once you remove the drain plug all the water will properly drain from the chlorinator if it is standing in the upward position.

149 Comments

  1. For those with difficulty removing lid. Keep a monkey wrench near at hand, already opened to the right size. No effort needed!

    • Joanne, I thought it was just me! I cant open my new chlorinator for the life of me. I see a latch on one side but it doesnt move and I can squeeze anything (?) enough to make it open. what do you do with a monkey wrench. I’ll have to buy one of those if I know what to do with it. Thanks, every bit helps.

  2. Hi I have a Hayward CL110 I believe,

    The problems I always have is not removing the lid, but closing the lid so that it latches and locks.

    Is there a special way to align the lid.

    This part is such a pain, it will only go down so far and it can’t get any lower to latch.

    Can someone help me thank you

    • My experience was the o ring was jammed up. Take the lid apart make sure all looks good silicone grease the O ring and reapply lid with everything kind of loose. Once lid is on you can tighten the lid bolt slightly. Mine works smooth and easy to latch all the way.

    • This is a common problem with the Hayward Chlorinators. If the O-ring stretches (it will eventually) it will jam up and you will not be able to close the lid tightly and it will leak. This is a big deal for in-line chlorinators because you will not be able to use the filter until it is fixed. Replacing the o-ring is pretty easy. I needed to buy a non-Hayward part from Leslie’s because as I mentioned I was in a hurry and you can’t use the filter. This lasted about a month. Go with original Hayward parts. Having a spare would not be a bad idea. I would recommend poolpartsonline.com. They have good prices and the delivery time has been incredible. If you are down and the local parts store does not have original Hayward parts poolpartsonline.com would be a good choice to minimize down time.

    • I have the same problem I installed a new O ring greased it with the proper lube but when I put the lid back on I have to reaf it down extreamly tight. It works but I am not happy with how much I have to tighten it.

  3. Which way should the big nut on the bottom and side of the chlorine dispenser– should it be facing straight up or sideway. Chlorine tablets are desolving in three days-8 of them but reading on my test strips show little chlorine. My big nut is facing straight up and the arrow underneath is pointing toward the pool.

  4. Hayward CL220 inground pool…..this is 3rd year. late last season noticed Chlorine levels high and unable to get it down. Same problem this year..past 2 weeks high levels off reader, and set at off….looked inside after 1 week to make sure chlorine tabs were intact! nope….all dissolved despite chlorinator turned off. no wonder cannot get level down. Should the chlorinator be replaced?

    • Did you ever determine what the problem was for the feeder providing too much chlorine? We have the same problem, the picks dissolve and pool is way over chlorinated.

  5. We have an in ground pool with the CL 220. The number of 3″ chlorine tablets are the same as a week ago. It does not seem to be running through. The chlorinator is only 2-3 yrs old. What could be the problem?

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  7. My advice is to get rid of it. Use the old fashion floater to chlorinate your pool. No noise, easy to fill and works just fine. Good luck.

  8. I have the Hayward off_line chlorinator, it keeps leaking where the hose goes in.I replaced the white piece but if you tighten it too much the part that goes into the chlorinator breaks. This keeps happening. Don’t know what to do except get rid of it.

    • If you are talking about that plastic screw in the top of the lid you might have to use aa ratchet to get it undone I was told today that all it needs is snug tight with finger tips then many a quarter turn after that I broke mine when I tightened it too much.

  9. I have a salt water in ground. My box is saying that me chlorinate flow switch is off. How do I fix that?

  10. My tablets are not dissolving, it appears that the Chlorinator is blocked, how can I get this running again?

  11. These chlorinators are just shit. They’ll be fine for two or three years and then the lid will refuse to tighten. Happens every time and no amount of lube or replacing the O ring will remedy that. Either will trying to clean up the threads or anything else.

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