Hooking up ozone?

[BSMet94]

My IG pool came with an UV lamp ozone generator that was never plumbed in to the system. It was, however, electrically connected, so those expensive lamps come on any time the pump is running. If the wind is just right, when you walk by the equipment, you can definitely smell ozone. I've read all the posts here for and against ozone. And I figure that before I abandon this (rather expensive) thing, I may as well hook it up.

Rather than spend hundreds of dollars on the manufacturer's connection kit, which amount to nothing more fancy than a clear plastic rotameter, some tubing, and some fittings, I bought all the bits on e-bay and at the hardware store. The mfr. recommended installation is to run the ozone into a standpipe on the suction side of the pump. The standpipe existed, so I was able to connect from the ozone unit through the ebay-sourced 1 - 10 SCFH rotameter with valve, and into the standpipe. Mfr literature says this unit should run about 6 SCFH. That all works fine, and it's definitely sucking in air (something I tend to question on a pump, but whatever).

Now comes the problem... not all that air getting sucked in goes through to the pool. Some portion of it accumulates in the headspace of my cartridge filter. Can I just put a tee on the top of the cartridge filter and run a small bleed line back into the pressure side of things (say right after the heater before entering the pool/spa valve)? Would I need a valve in that line?

Final question, wouldn't an ozone system like this (that draws in air) be hooked up from the get-go to an eductor on the pressure side of the equipment? Wouldn't that avoid the problem of accumulating air in the cartridge filter?

Thanks,

Eric

 

[Bama Rambler]

Ideally there should have been an eductor on the pressure side and a check valve in the tubing. I'm not sure a bleed line will work but you could temporarly hook one up in place of the pressure gauge to test it.

 

[JamesW]

An outdoor residential pool is usually better off not using ozone. However, I think that ozone can be useful in some limited circumstances.

 

[BSMet94]

I didn't want to get into the ozone debate really. I just want to try this thing out for a while, keep an eye on the chemistry, and see if it makes any difference in my pool one way or another before I decide to whether or not to completely disconnect the unit and be done with it.

Really, all I want to know is if a bleed line from the top of my cartridge filter into a convenient spot in the line between the heater and the pool/spa supply valve will work. The ozone line is 3/8" OD tubing. Should I make the bleed line the same? Nothing is really temporary since I don't have a good place with a union to break into... I'm going to have to use some kind of saddle tee or something to get this bleed line into the 2" PVC going back to the pool/spa.

Just looking for the practical plumbing advice...

Eric

 

[racket]

I'll agree with what's written above, however what you want to do is fine. You can always use a 1/4 pipe tap, and thread the pipe. Then you will install a tubing fitting into the threads you created. You will want to drill where a fitting (not a reducing bushing) overlaps the pipe so that you get more substance to thread.

 

[BSMet94]

OK, that sounds better than messing around with a saddle tee. Even with that, I was afraid that the SCH 40 PVC would have a tendency to crack if I drilled into it. I'm a little more confident with drilling through a fitting overlap and running a pipe thread tap through that. If I abandon it all, then I'll just need to plug the hole.

PVC is wonderful, until you want to start making changes; then it becomes a real pain.

 

[Brian@UltraPure]

Hi Eric,

I work for the manufacturer of the Ozone Generator that you have (UltraPure Water Quality, Inc.). What you have done to hook up the unit to this point should be fine, providing that the flowmeter you are using has Ozone resistant o-rings. If it has rubber based o-rings in it they will oxidize and deteriorate very quickly.

As far as the air being trapped in the top of your filter goes, we have a bleed kit available to address this issue. They are available several places online and are relatively inexpensive (MSRP $66.30). The part number for the External Safety Air Bleed Kit (ESABK) is 1008028. This kit comes with everything you will need to run a bleed line from the top of the filter back to the return line (including PVC saddle clamp fittings).

Please give me a call if you have any questions.