How do I add in liquid chlorine in to a swimming pool?

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Flamingo Bay

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Oct 8, 2013
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Hello TFP fellows,

I'm a new comer not only to TFP but also to the swimming pool itself. My husband and I are thinking about building and owning our very first pool :party:

We have started talking to the local builders (we are in DFW area). The knowledge I learned from the forum has helped us tremendously through the discussion. So big thanks to y'all here!!

Now I've got this one question that I can't figure out through reading the Pool School or the posts - it might seem a little dumb to most of you with any kind of experience with maintaining a pool. I just simply have no idea :?

So I read about different sanitization methods and would like to go with liquid chlorine (BBB) method. Now how exactly does that work mechanically? Where do I pour the B, B, and B in when needed? Can't just dump them into the pool, or can I? Whenever I mentioned liquid chlorine, I got this weird look from the designers who are trying to sell their ozone or Fusion system, which are obviously not going to be my choices - I did my home work in this forum! :-D I asked about an automatic dosing system but one PB said they've never seen that on a residential pool. But there were plenty of people around here talking about installing one.

Could anybody take the patience and explain how the liquid chlorine sanitization system works, especially mechanically? What kind of equipment is involved, where does it go in, how do I do the maintenance (physically) and if there is an automatic dosing system available for the residential pool? Thanks so much I advance!

Don't have a pool signature yet. Hopefully will have a good idea of what we are going to have in a couple of weeks! We are getting excited :-D
 
Welcome to TFP. :wave:

With using liquid chlorine you can either manually pour it in front of a running return when you need to (at least once a day) or you can get an automatic injection system to do that part for you. There are a few different methods of doing that. If your pool is less that 20,000 gallons and you don't have a lot of leaves, etc. that would clog the skimmer quickly, you could use the liquidator. There is also a few different injection pump types and brands that work well. I use a Stenner peristaltic pump and a 15 gallon drum, but that's just a personal preference. Just keep reading and learning and asking more questions and you'll soon get the hang of it.

Having said all that, I'd suggest you start out manually dosing your pool. That way you learn the personality of the pool and gain a better understanding of what does what, both chemical and mechanical wise.
 
Not sure why you guys are limiting the Liquidator to pools of 20K gallons or less. I've got a 30K gallon in ground and I use a Liquidator without problem. Was able to go a week without refilling using 12.5% liquid chlorine and that was with a cya of 60.
 
Welcome to the forum!

I'm about to build a 30K gallon pool and I plan on manual dosing liquid Chlorine (bleach) for the first season for the exact reason Bama mentioned. I'll get a feel for what I need after the first year and know exactly what my pool will demand. I may consider salt at some point, but I plan on bleach for the foreseeable future. It's only drawback is handling and transport, but well worth it to prevent unwanted side effects. Its amazing what builders have never heard of, so don't be surprised when you mention things like that, especially chlorinating with liquid. One builder I talked with never heard of adding DE to a sand filter or treating with bleach. Some are embarrassingly ignorant of even the most basic pool chemistry sometimes depending on who you talk too. Glad you are enjoying the forum and hope you stick around. Being here two years has helped me tremendously in preparing for my upcoming build. Robbie gives good advice to consider with that size of pool. His is similar in volume and he USED to dose manually with bleach, but it's a lot of liquid to handle.
 
Wow, you guys are awesome :wave: Thanks so much for all the great advice and quick responses! Now that makes much more sense to me :)

I had a busy day interviewing PBs yesterday. It was quite an interesting experience. Almost everyone had a strong opinion on a thing or two and most of the time they go contradictory against each other :lol: These conversations along with what I learned here helped shape out some of the big choices we are leaning toward: various speed pump, a big cartridge filter for the straightforward maintenance (as we are the greenest out of the greenest for owning a pool); high % of quartz finish (90-100% quartz) for the pool surface; a few deck jets.

We are going to follow the sound advice of you guys and manually add the chemicals at least the first season to understand our pool better. So is it a relative simple thing to put an automatic injection system later on or should I still get it in now so it's ready to go down the road?

Our pool is going to be 30K+ gallon wise with a deep end. Bama's comment about "more than a week" is a good point since we tend to take longer than a week vacation. So it would be nice to be able to go beyond a week. What are some other good options out there that we could consider? If a PB said they never heard of it, could we just order the equipment and have them install it during the appropriate building stage?

Another question came up during our talk with PB. Our initial basic design started with a straight-line geometric shape but we are really open to free form as well as long as we got the functionality out of it that we need. Two PBs have very different opinions on the form thing. One insisted that straight-line was the least economical shape - it gives you the least square-footage in a pool with same cost. Thinking about a basic geometric law - given the same perimeter, a circle gives you the biggest surface - I'm thinking that was logical. Then the other PB said the opposite: the straight-line is the most cost effective because between the two points, a straight line gives the shortest distance, and the PBs charge mainly based on perimeters, which again sounds logical. So obviously, I'm a little lost :? . What's your guys opinion on this one?

I'm not sure if I should do another thread for this shape question. If yes, mod please feel free to move it.

Again, big thanks to y'all!!
 
Oh, for Robbie's suggestion on the salt pools: unfortunately hubby is quite adamant about not having them with various concerns with our fence material and possible stone choices.

So do Stenner pumps handle bigger pools better? Thanks!
 
One insisted that straight-line was the least economical shape - it gives you the least square-footage in a pool with same cost. Thinking about a basic geometric law - given the same perimeter, a circle gives you the biggest surface - I'm thinking that was logical. Then the other PB said the opposite: the straight-line is the most cost effective because between the two points, a straight line gives the shortest distance, and the PBs charge mainly based on perimeters, which again sounds logical. So obviously, I'm a little lost :? . What's your guys opinion on this one?
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Choose the design that pleases you aesthetically. The cost difference is quite marginal and would not be something I would consider.
 

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Flamingo Bay said:
Another question came up during our talk with PB. Our initial basic design started with a straight-line geometric shape but we are really open to free form as well as long as we got the functionality out of it that we need. Two PBs have very different opinions on the form thing. One insisted that straight-line was the least economical shape - it gives you the least square-footage in a pool with same cost. Thinking about a basic geometric law - given the same perimeter, a circle gives you the biggest surface - I'm thinking that was logical. Then the other PB said the opposite: the straight-line is the most cost effective because between the two points, a straight line gives the shortest distance, and the PBs charge mainly based on perimeters, which again sounds logical. So obviously, I'm a little lost :? . What's your guys opinion on this one?

I'm not sure if I should do another thread for this shape question. If yes, mod please feel free to move it.
Again, big thanks to y'all!!
Click to expand...
I can tell you that this was a subject of great discussion between the Wife and I. We asked each builder for a 36X18 Free Form pool and got a variety of linear and square ft from each one. An example of the average would be 105-110 linear and 520-560 sq ft. Now, if you measure a 36X18 rectangle you cannot change the math of it being 108 Lft/648 sq ft. The problem we found was not one of them would quote more than 560 sq ft, save the builder we chose who said we would be right around 650. I asked a couple we strongly considered where our other 80-100 or so ft. went too, and they had no answer. They would say something like "it gets eaten up in the curves". I asked both these guys if I could build a rectangle 36X18 for the same money, and both said no, it will cost a little more. That was all I needed to hear. Interesting perhaps, but very odd if you ask me.
Flamingo Bay said:
Oh, for Robbie's suggestion on the salt pools: unfortunately hubby is quite adamant about not having them with various concerns with our fence material and possible stone choices.

So do Stenner pumps handle bigger pools better? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Hubby is right, salt will cause damage so surrounding materials are an important consideration. Depending on materials used, like some flagstones, there are builders who make you sign a "salt clause". It releases them from salt damage to said materials. Some ignore it, some say you'll be fine with sealer and the correct materials. It does seem more damage occurs where salt can penetrate materials and not be washed out from frequent rains. Like where I live. We all know how most metals... especially ferrous ones react to salt exposure, so that is a concern for sure. In the end, I will likely not go with it for those reasons.

Stenner is the best choice and they will handle a large pool fine if sized properly, and there is no argument on the latter point. Bama has thirty years experience with various chemical pumps, and has used Stenner himself a lot. I have about half that time with just about every chemical pump made except Stenner. Based on peoples experience here like his and other's, I will choose Stenner If I automate my feed of bleach. Bleach is tricky to inject with certain pumps because it gasses when compressed. Stenner pumps don't compress it, therefore avoiding that problem which is one of the most prevalent. Plus, they are much less expensive than most others, and very easy to repair.
 
Very helpful, Guys!

So for the Stenner pump, if the PB says they don't have them, do I buy my own and ask them to install during the course of pool plumbing or do I just wait after the pool is done and get one to install on my own? And for a 30 - 35K gallon pool, what size of the Stenner pump is recommended? Thanks!!
 
Welcome, I'm also a BIG Stenner fan...I agree with Bama as I did myself by manually dosing to get the hang of the demand of bleach my pool needed, then it made it that much easier to dial in my pump when I set it up to the specific amount of dosing I needed per day...since then I haven't looked back and I'm confident if needed I can leave my home for a month (if I can afford to be off work that long) and come back to the same as I left it (maybe a slight PH adjustment but thats about it) with my stenner pumping away with my 15gal drum as well...definitely our 1st and best option since my wife and I never really liked swimming in a salt pool....
You found the right forum for sure, just keep reading and asking questions and you will have a GREAT experience and enjoy owning a pool:)


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