Liquidator function/operation questions

[jamyers]

DIY "Mega-Liquidator"?

Here's what I'm thinking of putting in the pump-house of the Camp's 144,000-gallon pool, trying to feed around 1.3 gallons of CL per day.

Take a 55-gallon drum, maybe fit some clear hose from top side to bottom side of the drum as a sight gauge of the CL depth. Drill holes in one of the bungs, one for a vent hose (that'll go to outside the bldg) and the other for a bottom-feed hose connected to the strainer basket (suction side) on one or both pumps. Put a check-valve in as a precaution, and get either a fine needle valve or some other metering valve, and maybe even some sort of flow indicator. Since these pumps run 24/7, I'd hope that once I figured out the metering I'd be able to adjust it "High-Med-Low" according to pool use and basically keep ahead of CL demand/use.

Thoughts?

 

[jamyers]

After reading up on ways to auto-feed liquid chlorine, I'm intrigued with the Liquidator...only thing is, I buy liquid chlorine by the 55-gallon drum (it's WAY cheaper, and smaller carboys are not available around here, and I'd like something bigger than the 8-gallon Liquidator tank). My goal is to have a system that I won't have to reload every week, but I can throttle up/down according to the pools needs. Recent experience is indicating the Pool needs a minimum of just over 1.25 gal of 10% CL per day, more with heavy swimmer loads (even when there are no swimmers, the trees dump an amazing amount of pecans/leaves/etc into the pool).

So...I'm wondering;

* The liquidator keeps a layer of water on top of the CL to keep the CL from escaping, but what do you do with that tank-full of high-CL water when it's time to reload the tank - crank open the feed valve and let the system suck it out as you refill?

* Why does the Liquidator pull from the high-CL water bed instead of the CL bed? Seems like you'd never have a really exact CL metering system, since you're pulling from more and more diluted water.

 

[duraleigh]

Re: DIY "Mega-Liquidator"?

If you are trying to use that as the exclusive chlorinating source, I think you need closer to 4 gallons in a 24 hour period.

If so, that might be doable. The problem is the valve. Metal simply will not work...trust me.

A plastic valve would have to be small enough to deliver ONLY 25 oz/ hour and that just might work......I was trying to deliver 1/4 that ampount and couldn't find a valve small enough.

 

[RobbieH]

The CL dilutes into the water on the upper layer. This lower CL concentration is what runs into the pool while the pump is running. Full strength chlorine does not run into the pool. With your pump running for several hours, you would not want to shoot straight chlorine into the pool for all that time. It's not necessary. Think of it more along the lines of how a SWCG works, low and slow.

When you refill, there's a funnel that fills the tank from the bottom up. You slowly fill it as the normal low concentrate water is taken from the top of the tank. I did open my valve all the way to make it go faster, but that's up to you.

I just noticed the size of your pool. Even for a pool my size, a Liquidator was not as convenient as I hoped, so I went to SWCG.

 

[duraleigh]

Please keep similar posts within the same thread. I have merged these but the sequence is a bit confusing.....nevertheless, these should be together.

 

[jamyers]

Please keep similar posts within the same thread. I have merged these but the sequence is a bit confusing.....nevertheless, these should be together.

Will do, no worries. I started them together, then split them apart - but together works just as well!

Thanks for the Liquidator explanation and other info, your previous posts were some of the ones that got me thinking along this line.

With the surrounding trees and their daily deposits, this pool loses just under 1ppm FC per day with nobody swimming in it. Using 10% liquid, it takes 1.44gallons to add 1 ppm. Looking back at the last week or so (practically no swimmers), I've been adding about 1.5 gallons per day and the FC level has been slowly rising, at 1.25 gals / day it barely maintains FC. You're right, to feed straight CL out of the drum I'll need either a really fine metering valve or some sort of timer on the feed system (another can o' worms). Or a timer and a pump to feed the CL into the plumbing after the filters.

There is an outfit in Abilene that deals in commercial metering, instruments, valves, etc, I'm visiting them tomorrow to see what's available.

We've thought about going to SWG, but the initial expense on a pool this size is a killer, especially for a little old non-profit budget like ours...

 

[stev32k]

With a pool that size you should consider a peristaltic pump either with variable flow rate or on a timer. I have the liquidator with a much smaller pool and would not recommend it for a pool my size or larger. The pump can take suction from a 55 gal or larger drum with no problem so that means longer intervals between re-fills. The liquidator works by diluting the chlorine before it is sucked into the pump suction. The pump pumps the concentrated chlorine so there are no worries about transferring 10 or 12% chlorine from one container to the other to get the required dilution (which is required by the liquidator). The amount of chlorine delivered by the liquidator can vary for several reasons - as the filter becomes plugged and the pressure increases the amount of chlorine from the liquidator will decrease. When the filters are cleaned or back washed and the inlet pressure decreases the chlorine flow will go up. None of that matters with a peristaltic pump it always delivers the same volume of chlorine independent of filter pressures or pump run times.

The cost of a peristaltic pump including purchase and installation will be slightly higher than the liquidator, but I believe it is more than justified by better and more consistent control - not to mention longer running times between refills.

 

[RobbieH]

What he said, right there. A LQ will never keep up with your pool. There's a reason I went to SWG.

 

[Bama Rambler]

X2 what S32 said, a metering pump is your best bet. I'm a fan of peristaltic pumps and you can either buy an adjustable model and run it whenever your main pump is running, or a fixed output model and run it on a dedicated timer.

 

[jamyers]

Yup, looks like a peristaltic is the way to go.

I have zero experience with them, anybody have some suggestions on what to look for?

 

[Bama Rambler]

I would at least double the size of the pump above what you need and probably more.

If there are any specific questions about them I (and others) would be happy to try and answer them.