I've defected to the dark side! New peristaltic pump

[Bama Rambler]

As the topic said. I replaced my LQ with a Stenner peristaltic pump. Right now I have the Stenner 45MHP2 (3gpd) pump sitting on top of the LQ using it as the reservoir until the drum arrives. It's only been in service one day but it works fine. I got the black UV resistant tubing. The check valve threaded right into the piping where the inlet to the LQ went. I had and extra circuit on my pump timer so it runs the same time as the pump (8 hours per day).

I got the 3gpd unit, but I can change it to a 10gpd by just changing the #1 tube to a #2 tube. I'll let you know how things work out.

I have to say I was surprised at how little the flow was, even with the dial set on 10! it was literally drips. But then 3 gallons in 24 hours isn't very much

 

[dmanb2b]

Sadly, I noticed your signature change yesterday

 

[Melt In The Sun]

Why? It always seemed to work for you.

 

[Bama Rambler]

The LQ worked great except for a few times. We have a lot of live oaks and they shed tons (ok maybe hundreds of lbs) of blooms and leaves during the year. So every once in a while the skimmer basket would fill up completely, causing the suction head to increase dramatically and thereby increasing the flow out of the LQ greatly. That in turn, would completely empty the LQ of chlorine in less than a day.

The straw that broke the camels back happened about two weeks ago. I completely filled the LQ with 8.5 gallons of bleach and the next morning the skimmer filled up, and of course we were gone all day, so the next day when I went to clean it out I saw the water in the LQ was completely clear. I had 2 large jugs of bleach left so I added them to the LQ and shut the valve off. It took 4 days for the FC to come down to normal levels. That's when I ordered the pump. Now no matter what the suction head does the pump will inject a set amount of bleach into the water.

In all fairness, I wanted one anyway. I had about mastered all the intricacies of the LQ and it was time to learn something new that I can pass on.

 

[bk406]

I had about mastered all the intricacies of the LQ and it was time to learn something new that I can pass on.

The real reason. You like to tinker

 

[doopie]

Where did you purchase it from?

 

[Isaac-1]

Welcome to the world of pumping bleach, at least with the Stenner you will not have to keep being tempted to mess with the pump rate and stroke length knobs that I have with the LMI diaphragm pump.

Ike

 

[teapot]

Dark side??? seen the light more like, welcome to the club

 

[Bama Rambler]

I bought it from US Water. They had the best price and free shipping. AND it got here in two days.

 

[susa]

Does it have a sensor that you can dial, similar to the Simpool pH system for acid ? If not, how do you control when and how much is injected ?

 

[Bama Rambler]

It's just an adjustable dosing pump. You can go to Stenners site and learn all there is to know about it.
I made a spreadsheet to convert the dial setting to oz per day based on the pump run time.

 

[CGS]

How much does a setup like that cost if you don't mind me asking?

 

[dmanb2b]

 

[Bama Rambler]

I paid $259 for the pump and another $20 for a 15 gallon plastic drum.

I promise to add pictures in a few days.

 

[CGS]

I'm definitely interested so I'll be staying tuned. They have a nice pump and drum combo but it is in teh $450 range which is a little too rich for me. I really like the idea of a pump with a container instead as it would make life much easier for me.

 

[ChiknNutz]

To get away from using Trichlor pucks, I'm highly considering going this route and it seems that the Liquidator isn't adequate for my needs, based on what others have suggested. A couple questions if you don't mind. I don't run my pump 24/7, typically about 8 hrs per day. Just so my math is correct, the pump you are using is a 3GPD, so if I were to run my pump for 8 hrs/day, then I would only get 1 GPD...correct? I know that there are variables and your pool is larger than mine, but can you run me thru how you determined your total chlorine need per day?

My initial thoughts are that I might need the next larger size pump to ensure I can get enough chlorine in based on my current pump running time. I don't see the need to run the pump any more than what I do, and since electricity isn't free, I'd like to keep my pump running the minimum necessary. Thanks!

 

[thunderkyss]

I paid $259 for the pump and another $20 for a 15 gallon plastic drum.

I promise to add pictures in a few days.

So, like the liquidator you have to periodically load bleach into this thing? Up to 15 gallons at a time?

 

[Bama Rambler]

ChiknNuts -- I determined how much chlorine I used per day by manually dosing for a couple of weeks. I run my pump 8 hours a day also and use about 2 quarts a day of chlorine so I figured that 1 gal a day would be just right. So far it is. I'm running the Stenner pump on about 5½ so it correlates to the amount I manually dosed.

I would go to the next size pump for your pool. The great thing about the Stenner pumps is that you buy what you think oyu need and if you were wrong or your needs change, you just order a different sized pump tube, and you have the next size pump.

thunderkyss -- Yes, you load it with chlorine. The LQ comes in two sizes, either 4 gallons of bleach or 8 gallons of bleach. The pump can be associated with any sized tank/drum you want, so you're not limited to a set amount of bleach.

 

[Isaac-1]

Also remember when sizing pumps that your peak chlorine demand will likely be in the middle of summer during hot weather, and heavy pool use.

Ike

 

[shakenbake]

Also remember when sizing pumps that your peak chlorine demand will likely be in the middle of summer during hot weather, and heavy pool use.

Ike

Stenner pumps are rated at 1.7A @120V, or about 200W. That's about half of what you need to run a filter pump on a slow speed for a long (~24H) cleaning cycle.
If you can control how long the pump is on, I would choose a higher flow unit and run it for shorter periods of time to save power.

(I should actually check to see how much power mine uses)