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Anyone Use Any Chlorine Liquid Feeders?


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Looking for a Chlorine Liquid Feeder (one that isn't overly priced either) so that I don't have to constantly add bleach to my pool. The only one I could find is the Liquidator. Anyone use it? Is it recommended? Reliable? Work well? Any other brands you could recommend as well?

Thanks!

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Interesting! I looked them up and tried to find some info on them but finding it a bit difficult.

How does it work? Do I attach it the tube to some kind of plastic container with chlorine in it, and it automatically adds the right amount needed? Any kind of maintenance required other than adding more chlorine?

Thanks for the link!

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Down at the bottom of the link, there is another link to the companys main page.

Great! Thanks! I called the company and got some extra info.

It seems very good and like it would be a good way to go. My only sense of hesitation is that I so far haven't been able to find a bad review of the Liquidator and that's about a 1/3 of the cost.

Does anyone know any reasons why I should go the peristaltic pump route over the Liquidator? Anyone hear anything bad of the Liquidator?

Thanks!

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Great! Thanks! I called the company and got some extra info.

It seems very good and like it would be a good way to go. My only sense of hesitation is that I so far haven't been able to find a bad review of the Liquidator and that's about a 1/3 of the cost.

Does anyone know any reasons why I should go the peristaltic pump route over the Liquidator? Anyone hear anything bad of the Liquidator?

Thanks!

There are definitely bad reviews of The Liquidator due to the "white stuff" which is calcium carbonate scale that forms in the output valve. See this thread, this thread, this thread, and this thread (among others). The problem seems to be partially mitigated if one uses 50 ppm Borates in the pool and makes sure their saturation index doesn't get too high, but there is no sure-fire way of making sure the problem doesn't occur. The problem happens for less than half, possibly one-third, of users. Some just deal with it by periodic cleaning (with dilute acid).

Richard

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Last year I rigged up something that seemed to work fairly well. I've changed all the above ground plumbing since then so I'll need to re-install it but I wanted to get my wood-fired pool heater done before I attacked this one.

I started with some 1/4" tubing, 2 barbed 1/4" screw-in inlets, a manual valve for the 1/4" tubing, and a 5 gallon flexible camping water bag.

Drilled a hole in an elbow on the pump vacuum side, teflon taped the one of the barbs into the hole, inserted the other barb into the outlet of the water bag (the 1/4" barb was juuuust about the right size for the water spout) and connected the two barbs with the hose and valve in between.

Added 1 gal of 6 % to the bag, 4 gals of water, and adjusted the valve so that the suction in the plumbing system would meter out an appropriate amount of the diluted bleach. The flow rate could be checked by allowing a small bubble of air into the hose and seeing how fast it moved. Through trial and error, and knowing roughly how much bleach I was using, I could set it so that it kept the CL level close to right. Could also adjust how much flow it needed but changing the concentration of bleach in the bag.

Took some fiddling and testing will always be necessary but it was a cheap, easy fast and fun fix. Sort of like putting the pool on a chlorine IV drip.

I think I still prefer a peristaltic pump though. Especially if it could be controlled based on an electronic ORP or CL measurement. Pump on when CL too low, pump off when CL ok. Now THAT would be a set and forget. (expensive too, probably.)

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There are definitely bad reviews of The Liquidator due to the "white stuff" which is calcium carbonate scale that forms in the output valve. See this thread, this thread, this thread, and this thread (among others). The problem seems to be partially mitigated if one uses 50 ppm Borates in the pool and makes sure their saturation index doesn't get too high, but there is no sure-fire way of making sure the problem doesn't occur. The problem happens for less than half, possibly one-third, of users. Some just deal with it by periodic cleaning (with dilute acid).

Richard

Thanks for the links Richard! They were very helpful!

I called the peristaltic pump company from Pool Clowns link. They were definitely very eager to help over the phone. It sounds like even for those, you will still need to do regular cleaning for what sounds like a very similar problem as the Liquidator. The representative said there will be a white build up which will need to be cleaned in a similar manner on a regular basis. I asked her how often and she said everyone is different and it could range from once every 2 weeks to once every 6 months.

Since that seems to be the primary complaint of the Liquidator, and it's the same for the peristaltic pumps, and the Liquidator is much cheaper, I think I'll give the Liquidator a shot.

Thanks again everyone!

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Pool Newbe,

The way you are introducing the concentrated chlorine may be harmful to the soft metals in your equipment by eroding them. Thats the reason for a "feeder pump" its so you can introduce the chems on the pressure side of the equipment, usually down stream of everything where the chemical can't attack any equipment. I realize some of the old chem feeders, E-Z Chlor, etc. used to put chems in on the suction side. But I don't think you can find one these days that offer that kind of a setup.

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I agree and that's one of the reasons why I haven't bothered to reinstall it yet on my system after replacing all the above ground plumbing and pump last year. It is also one of the reasons I didn't want to put pure bleach or even 12% into the bag. I'd rather have to refill the bag every two or three days than have some parts rusting or corroding somewhere.

On the other hand, I have no metal in the system except the stainless steel heat exchanger in the wood-burning pool heater and a few bits of metal like screws and clamps scattered throughout the system.

Also, liquid chlorine is only a bit higher pH than the pool water so would there be any corrosion if the water flowing through the system is slightly higher pH than than normal? All the tablet chlorine feeders say expressly to plumb them into the return line but the tablets are very low pH so that makes sense.

If I want to keep feeding chlorine without using a pump, I think the best solution is to raise the bag high enough so that gravity drains it into the pool. I have a "sampling port" near the filter on the return line above the water level, and there is usually very little pressure there (depending on pump speed and return valve settings - I'll need to check this). If that is true I could connect the bag into the system there. But that would give me three different flow rates; pump on high, pump on low, and pump off.

Worst case scenario would have the bag hanging from a pole near the edge of the pool with the line just dribbling liquid into the pool.

Still thinking about it but I really appreciate the elegance and simplicity of using gravity or pre-existing vacuum to feed the cl vs. getting an extra pump. I also appreciate the concept that the bag collapses as it empties, preventing air from entering it and giving a good visual clue how full it it. Of course since light tends to reduce the cl, this would need to be in a dark place if it were to be filled for longer than about three or four days use.

Especially now that SW(CL)G's are getting cheap, before I put several hundred into a peristaltic pump I would probably just get the generator.

I have a photo ready I'm just not certain where to post it. Suggestions?

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I have a photo ready I'm just not certain where to post it. Suggestions?

I'd just start a new thread with the description you gave above and maybe some extra details if you think any are required. Of course be ready for questions/comments if you did decide to.

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Soft metals also include pump seals. I have witnessed chlorine attack stainless as well. I don't want to squash your idea, but I think you will get more mileage out of your brand new pump if your not beating up on it with chems. Why don't you look at a Pentair Rainbow 300 feeder. I believe they are affordable. Under 100 dollars. And it puts the chems in the system down stream of everything. :)

(Not an advertisement) http://www.pistolworks.com/Pentair-Rainbow...ator-P2249.aspx

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Soft metals also include pump seals. I have witnessed chlorine attack stainless as well. I don't want to squash your idea, but I think you will get more mileage out of your brand new pump if your not beating up on it with chems. Why don't you look at a Pentair Rainbow 300 feeder. I believe they are affordable. Under 100 dollars. And it puts the chems in the system down stream of everything. :)

(Not an advertisement) http://www.pistolworks.com/Pentair-Rainbow...ator-P2249.aspx

It all really depends on the flow rate. If the automatic feeder is injecting chlorine very slowly over a long period of time, such as dripping it into the flow only when the pump is running, then it will get diluted quickly to much lower concentration. This is why suction feed systems like The Liquidator are reasonably safe to use.

You are right that if the peristaltic pump just rapidly injects chlorine in bursts every so often, then that's not a wise thing to do except downstream. SWG systems are put downstream for similar reasons since they run a fraction of the time and output somewhat high chlorine levels.

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Soft metals also include pump seals. I have witnessed chlorine attack stainless as well. I don't want to squash your idea, but I think you will get more mileage out of your brand new pump if your not beating up on it with chems. Why don't you look at a Pentair Rainbow 300 feeder. I believe they are affordable. Under 100 dollars. And it puts the chems in the system down stream of everything. :)

(Not an advertisement) http://www.pistolworks.com/Pentair-Rainbow...ator-P2249.aspx

I'm using liquid chlorine, not tabs.

When I first got the pool up and running I was using an inline erosion feeder.

Learning about pool chemistry on this site taught me about measuring my own water and figuring out what it means. I found >100 ppm cya in it. At the same time I was having problems keeping the pH up. I put in more tabs, I get more cya and lower pH, I put in pH up and get higher Total Alkalinity etc etc.

I won't regularly use any form of stabilized cl in my pool again - I don't replace the water often enough and the cya builds to unbearable levels. I only got them somewhat lower this year by draining to below the returns before closing, and refilling with the dirty but chemically empty rainwater that fell onto the winter cover.

Have you seen any corrosion on any parts in a pool that have been serviced with bleach over an extended time? I know that cl is agresive but I don't think the bleach form is as corrosive.

Also, as chem geek says the concentration of cl is very low at the injection point - possibly hundreds of ppm but not at the level - or the low pH of tabs/sticks.

I don't want to risk the pumo or heater but it woudl be nice if this would be a useful idea.

Another idea I've been toying with is connecting it to the return line with some sort of a venturi (create vacuum by a flow passing over an opening).

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Another idea I've been toying with is connecting it to the return line with some sort of a venturi (create vacuum by a flow passing over an opening).

There you go! Forgot about those. Give it a by-pass, you don't want to send all your water thru that venturi (duh).

Then you could still use your sack!

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This would not be a bypass. I don't want to use a bypass because that would involve two lines, two valves to manipulate, varying levels of cl as the bleach is depleted and replaced with water, and just a management headache. Is still something to think about and I believe it is the concept of the liquidator.

It would be a venturi. If a small pipe is positioned just right in a larger pipe, the water flowing through the larger pipe will create a vacuum in the smaller pipe.

In fact, I think the sampling port (1/2" garden hose connection) is working as one. When the pump is on one speed (I forget which), there is pressure and water comes out the connection. But on the other speed air is sucked into the line.

I may be able to use that concept to get it working on the suction speed.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am again using the equipment in the photos above to chlorinate ("bleachinate"?) my pool.

But instead of making holes in my plumbing I:

- filled the bag with 1 large bottle of cheap ($3.00/196 oz, probably 5%) K-mart bleach and a little more than two bottles of water (diluted down to about 30% of original so probably under 2% cl)

- Hung the bag in a shaded deck box not far from the pool and about 2-3 ft above water level

- Laid the line on the ground up to the pool

- clamped (restricted) the line so that it was giving me about a drop per second

I've had to adjust it twice so far - first it was less than one drop per second and CL got too low. After a long overnight the CL was about right so I just barely reduced it again - probably very close to 1 drop per second, and after about two days the CL level looks fairly good, no adjustment needed right now but I may increase it just a tiny bit because the weather has been cold and the cover has stayed on.

Not very elegant but this has a bunch of advantages:

- doesn't rely on plumbing

- doesn't cost much - maybe $10

- easy to set up

- requires no electricity

But it has disadvantages:

- getting the drip rate correct can take a while (several days).

- drip rate will probably change as the weight in the water bag changes and probably as outside temperatures change

- Getting the hose connected to the water bag was a pain and it does drip veeeery slowly. Need to improve

- having a hose laying across the the pool deck is a trip hazard and doesn't look good (if I had a diving board, under there would be a good option).

.

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Puck Chlorinator? Could a puck chlorinator somehow be utilized in making a liquid chlorinator?

I've got a perfectly good puck chlorinator that just attracts dust now. It seems like there's gotta be someway to make use of it without adding stabilizer to the pool. Why can't they make non-stabilized chlorine pucks?

I am again using the equipment in the photos above to chlorinate ("bleachinate"?) my pool.

But instead of making holes in my plumbing I:

- filled the bag with 1 large bottle of cheap ($3.00/196 oz, probably 5%) K-mart bleach and a little more than two bottles of water (diluted down to about 30% of original so probably under 2% cl)

- Hung the bag in a shaded deck box not far from the pool and about 2-3 ft above water level

- Laid the line on the ground up to the pool

- clamped (restricted) the line so that it was giving me about a drop per second

I've had to adjust it twice so far - first it was less than one drop per second and CL got too low. After a long overnight the CL was about right so I just barely reduced it again - probably very close to 1 drop per second, and after about two days the CL level looks fairly good, no adjustment needed right now but I may increase it just a tiny bit because the weather has been cold and the cover has stayed on.

Not very elegant but this has a bunch of advantages:

- doesn't rely on plumbing

- doesn't cost much - maybe $10

- easy to set up

- requires no electricity

But it has disadvantages:

- getting the drip rate correct can take a while (several days).

- drip rate will probably change as the weight in the water bag changes and probably as outside temperatures change

- Getting the hose connected to the water bag was a pain and it does drip veeeery slowly. Need to improve

- having a hose laying across the the pool deck is a trip hazard and doesn't look good (if I had a diving board, under there would be a good option).

.

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I think the non-stabilized pucks are impossible because they actually use CYA to make chlorine. I also think the chlorine would dissipate in the supply chain even if they could find a way of making it into such a hard cake that it would erode as slowly as the current pucks do.

I've also been thinking about using by old feeder to do something but it just doesn't work out.

My current setup with the tubing and bag also the problem that it doesn't maintain steady state droplet speed as the source weight diminishes. One possible fix for this is to put a weight on the water bag - say an old bucket full of 3" tabs ^_^ - that would keep the output pressure steady.

I was at Leslie's again today and they have the Hayward 40,000 gallon SWG for 899.- after rebate and discount. Good till May 25. Dang I wanna do it.

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