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Liquid chlorine (bleach) slow dispenser


bassie123456

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Hi,

I have recently successfully switched to the dichlor-then-bleach approach thanks to the awesome help and information on this forum.

Everything is going great, the only thing is I have a spa with ozonator (can't control it) and the FC is used up pretty rapidly. So I need to check my FC everyday and add bleach to increase it to for example 6ppm.

So, this got me thinking.. Why isn't there an easier way (except for saltwater chlorine generators or expensive tools) to dose liquid chlorine into the pool automated? I mean, this could be a really simple device. Something like a water proof floater on batteries which automatically injects for example 0.5oz of contents (in my case 12,5% bleach) into the tub every X hours. That way I could maintain a proper FC level for way longer times without active maintenance.

Just curious if someone knows if there is already a simple device that does this. PS. I cannot use a chlorine feeder which I manually have to put somewhere in my filtration system because I have a Jacuzzi and I cannot access those parts. So a simple device like a floater would be ideal. 

I am not sure if many spa owners are looking for something like this, but I think it might be a great little gadget for every spa/hottub/Jacuzzi owner. 

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Edit: I have been searching and I think a dosing pump should do the trick. It's an easy tool (not too expensive) to dose an amount of liquid. With this, I could dose liquid chlorine into my tub twice a day (during filter times) for example. Of course I would need to check the FC level on regular basis and adjust dosing amount or manually add extra chlorine if needed, but this could be a great (and affordable) solution for automated chlorine dosing when you are away. If you have a steady baseline then you can dose pretty accurate for days, maybe even weeks.

Something like this would work I think: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Jebao-Jecod-DP-2-Auto-Dosing-Pump-Peristalsis-Pump-2-Channel-Dosing-Aquarium-Tank-Coral-Reef/32803620312.html. Add one tube in your chlorine container, the other in your tub. 

Wanted to share this in case others are looking for an affordable solution to this. I will update once I have actually used it on how it's working out for me. 

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Thanks! I found a website specialized in aquarium auto-dosers so I e-mailed them what they have and if it's damp and chlorine proof.

Do you know what the price would be of the product you suggested? I can't find the prices on their website. If you don't know it I will sent hem a mail to find out.

By the way, is it safe to store my can of chlorine in my house? We have a space which is cool and dark, and we use it for storage of packed food and cleaning products. But I read somewhere that you have to store chlorine bottles in a special container or something?

PS: I have 12,5% chlorine. It came as a 25liter jerrycan but since it is very hard to pour chlorine from that container I have poured 1 liter into an empy bleach bottle I had. So I now use the bleach bottle and I refill the bottle from the larger can once it is empty. Should I store the large can and the bleach bottle in some special container or place? 

 

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Ps. I got e-mail from the store I mentioned. They say that this product: https://zeeaquarium-winkel.nl/Group-115-Auqaholland voudige doseerpomp can be used. The hose is made of silicone which according to them should be fine. Also, this device is made for damp/humid areas according to them. It can be set to automatically dose every hour with a maximum volume of 99ml (3,3oz) per dose. Seems like a good solution to me (not too expensive too). 

I am now thinking of the following setup:
- A bottle of 12,5% bleach next to my tub (should I store this in some kind of special container?)
- Drill a small hole in the cap of the bottle
- Put the silicone hose through the hol so that it gets close to the bottom of the bottle
- Maybe glue the hose to the cap so it won't move and is air tight (don't want chlorine fumes to escape)
- The hose from this bottle goes into the pump and out of the pump I have a hose which goes to the spa
- I would only set the autodosing once or twice a day, during filter times so that the water is moving when the chlorine is being pumped into the pool

Do you think this would work? Of course I still would need to manually keep an eye on my FC and adjust if required, but at least it would help a lot when I am away for a couple days. 

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The unit I suggested is about $200 in the US.

Your chlorine storage location sounds fine. You can store the smaller container in another location as long as it doesn't get hot or below freezing.

I like the idea of the unit you are using (especially the price). It seems like your plan should work. My concern is that the electrical connections on the back are exposed. You would really want it to be at least 2 meters away from the spa and above the floor. Is your spa indoors? You would never want it to get wet and may want to mount it to a wall or something so it can't fall on the floor or in the spa.

If you only used it when you were gone and disconnected it when using the spa it would be much safer.

The unit I linked to must be protected from sun, rain and freezing temps. There are also specific instructions for the location and type of outlet used for the power.

I saw your post on the other forum. A salt water based system would be a good way to go. I considered this myself but the manufacturer of my spa disapproved of their use because of the corrosive properties of salt.

 

 

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Thanks a lot arobbert! 

If I use this kind of slow dispenser then I would have to store a container of chlorine close to the pool. It would be a bit warmer over there, but probably not too hot (especially not now with the winter coming). 

Thanks for the safety instructions on the liquid doser. I will defintely only have it in the spa and running when I'm not in the spa. Maybe I will even build some kind of container around it (which I can open) so that it's covered and only the hose comes out of the container. The spa is outdoors, but we have a wooden roof with walls around it (don't know how this is called in English..). Anyway, it doesn't exposed to direct sunlight, rain or snow. It might get cold in the winter, but less cold then outside. 

Yeah, I looked into a SWG system and contacted my spa dealer, but they say that it's not yet available for my spa. They are working on it and will probably be able to install this on my spa in the future. Obviously I could buy a SWG myself, but if I am able to install this, I am afraid that I lose my warranty or get in trouble if I ever need a repair because the dealer said that they were developing and testing this but they don't recommend using it at this time.  Apart from these concerns, I think installing an auto-doser is probably way more easy and cheaper. 

Thanks for your help and advice, and I will update once I have installed either a SWG system or the chlorine auto-doser!

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  • 8 months later...

No I did not.. Might still do it sometimes but I had some concerns like:

  • How to get the chlorine mixed in the water? I have to turn on jets for a little while but I can't do this when I am not there
  • What dose would I need. I now find that sometimes I can go days without adding bleach, if the water is clean there is very little chlorine consumption. However, as soon as I have had a few guests in the tub I need to add more bleach. I think you will always need manual dosing as well.

At the moment I add like 70ml  (2,63 fl ounces) of 10% bleach every 2 - 3 days. And after every soak I add 50-70ml directly. This is working very well. If I don't use the tub for like a week then chlorine consumption goes down significantly and I can take maybe 5 days between adding chlorine. When I add a little extra chlorine just before leaving and I don't use the tub at least 3 days before leaving. Then I add a trichlor tab in a slowdispenser. This can last 2-3 weeks and if I get back there is still chlorine in the tub. 

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I've been using this one:
BRS 2 Part Doser - 1.1 mL per minute - from Bulk Reef Supply 

With this timer for a 200 gal tub. 
EcoPlus Dual Digital Timer  - Bulk Reef Supply..

Works great, maintains  1 to .5 ppm. I add the correct amount of oxidizer for the number of bathers each time I use it. I haven't had to shock once. I keep the chlorine in my basement about 15 ft away. Ran it all winter unless it got below 8 F using 12% strength. Switched to the manual method when temps got near zero.

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  • 3 months later...

I to have the BRS 1.1 mL per hour doser.  I just got back from a 2 week vacation and my daughter (22 yrs) had a hot tub party a few times while I was gone.  I have been shocking since Sunday.  I broke out the doser because I was adding a crazy amount of bleach just to keep it at shock level.  I can say my chlorine demand is now decreasing, so I know I am going in the right direction.  The highest I had it was 2 ppm per hour for about 12 hours on one day (a few days into shocking).  I am now down to 0.5 ppm per hour.  Anyway here is my temporary set up.  I have it on a WEMO timer for the once per hour dosing.  It is working well with the dosing.

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This is cool stuff guys! I still haven't set this up myself. The main problem I have is how to get the chlorine mixed through the spa. I would have to time  the doser whenever the filter is running, but I am not sure if that will mix it enough. I mean the chlorine will go into the pipes in pretty high concentration, won't that be a problem? 

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When I first started doing this last week, I was trying to keep my spa on as I have been shocking.  But the doser I am using is literally only 1.1ml per minute.  It is literally a slow drip.  I am only running this currently at 4 minutes every hour.  My spa, when in its regular run mode, will run twice a day for 4 hours each.  In between those cycles, the spa periodically kicks on (every 30 minutes) to keep the water at the desired temperature and it will run for 2 minutes thus periodically mixing the water.  So for me, it is such a small amount  coming out that I am not concerned about my pipes and it keeps getting mixed.

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This looks awesome!! I've been in the same position as many who've posted on this thread. I use the dichlor/bleach method, and I have a high output ozone system which burns through chlorine. I don't want to disconnect it, but I want to get off the treadmill of adding bleach every other day.

Ravie - I just purchased everything I need to get started on this exact same approach and will set this up next week. One question;  I'm thinking of placing the line into the filter compartment to keep it out of sight. But I have a sundance optima with a skimmer:

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It keeps the water in the filter and plumbing largely separated from the water in the tub unless it's circulating. I'm wondering if I need to set the timer to only release when the water is circulating, since it may be too highly concentrated otherwise, especially since the water in the filter is not allowed to freely mix. what do you think? 

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Silversun - You can certainly program it to only deliver when the tub is circulating, you just need to know when that is (not hard to figure out).  Mine is currently programed to run once an hour during the hours of 5am to 9pm.  I am doing it hourly because I am shocking and I leave it off from 9p to 5a just to see how much chlorine was consumed during that time.  You can see my timer rules below.  With the WEMO, you can easily program it when you want it to run. but you have to keep in mind it is slow, at 1.1mL per minute.  If you were dosing once per day, you could very well need to run the pump from 15 minutes to 1 hour daily curing your current filtering cycle, which would be easy to set up and do.

Also, placing the filter line into the filter would be easy. You would need to just get an elbow and direct it into the skimmer.  I have added a picture of a T piece, but you would need an elbow.  I don't have an elbow. I would keep the tube above the water line.  You wouldn't want any accidental syphoning down into your chlorine doser setup.

My current setup is still temporary as I haven't decided if I want to continue it after the shocking process, although I do like the convenience it has created. :)

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I set up this system yesterday. So far so good. I dug around the tub and buried the extension cords and tubing. The only place it's exposed is up the side of the hot tub. I ended up placing tube directly into the tub, as you've done Ravie.

I tested my BRS doser and discovered that its closer to 2ML per minute, so adjusted the smart plug to keep a +- consistent  1ppm of chlorine and scheduled a shock (10PPM) once a week. 

The only difference from yours (Ravie) is that I'm using a tp-link smart wifi plug instead of wemo, which I'm guessing is not significantly different. Everything else is exactly the same.

I've also drilled holes into the bottom of the container housing the brs doser and chlorine bottle to make sure any condensation is removed. Now off to costco today to buy the large containers of bleach. 

Once i fine tune the dosing, adding chlorine should be an afterthought!! Just changing out the bleach container every so often.

Ravie how's your system going? 

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15 minutes ago, silversun said:

Ravie how's your system going? 

It's sooo convenient, I love it.  I am no longer on my hourly dosing and I am down to once a day as my shock process is complete!  I am currently running it 30 minutes every day.  

One rule I have been trying to set up is a dosing rule to run after using the hot tub to give it to 150ml that Chem Geek has stated.  The rule I have tried to set us was an automatic off timer.  What I want is  that when I manually turn the device on, that it automatically turns off after so many minutes (136 minutes in my case).  My WEMO will only do the scheduled on/off or the auto off timer.  I cant get it to do both....  Maybe yours will do it silversun?

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 years later...

To those of you using this system, how is holding up? Specifically, have any of the pump components degraded due to exposure of concentrated bleach over time? How are you providing 120 V to the system in a safe manner, i.e. > 6 ft from the water's edge? The product description says it comes with 17 ft of hose with 20 ft of max head (vertical) so it seems like the safest option is to have the pump far away from the tub and use the hose, rather than an extension cord, to get the bleach into the tub. I don't see any link to the instructions to this product; is it possible to set it up like this?

I too have an ozonator (UV) and am already weary of the daily Chlorine dosing required to keep FCl at >= 1-2 ppm. I'm eager to try an easier way! 😀

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