I have a 20' X 44' in ground vinyl pool. Aprox 38,000 gal according to an online volume calculator. Its new and been running about a month. Currently I'm getting my CYA up where it needs to be. I also have a Aquamatic auto cover and we will keep it closed when not in use. I want to set up the pump system and will probably go with a 15 gal brewers barrel. I understand I should get the higher pressure pump as the injector is also a check valve. I don't think I want the adjustable rate as I figure I'll handle the dosing thru run time. I can't figure out which pump to get. Also, do they all come with the tubing and weighted pickup and stuff? With the cover I would think my burn off would be greatly reduced. I assume the 10 GPD would be the way to go and just reduce the run time but I would have greater capabilities if needed. I was also thinking of partially burying the tank just outside my equipment house as another member did. Is there any problem with this? With it being so late in the season, would I be better off waiting for next year? I will leave my pool open all year, but if I understand correctly, once the water temp hits about 60 it will not require much chlorine. I was thinking I could manually dose it periodically thru the winter. Any guidance is appreciated.
Help me get the right components for a Stenner system.
- Thread starter crashxx
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Have you been monitoring your chlorine demand per day? How much chlorine are you currently adding each day and in what form (bleach, trichlor, dichlor etc.)?
There may seem like a lot of choice with the Stenner pumps but with the fixed rate pumps it's only two variables - pump rpm (45 or 85 series) and flow (determined by the tubing size inside the pump). Simple calculations and decisions once you know your demand. You can change out the pump tube if you want to change the flow, and it needs to be replaced every year anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much about getting the 'wrong one' as it's an easy fix.
For my situation I got the 45MPHP10 (high pressure probably isn't necessary but seemed like cheap insurance). On full summer days in Houston my chlorine demand is ~3ppm/day, which means running my 10 GPD pump for 75 minutes/day if I'm using 10% chlorine (75 minutes = 66 oz = ~3.3 ppm/day). Your pool is a lot larger than mine, so if you have the same 3ppm demand you'd need to run the 10 GPD pump about 3 hrs/day. A higher flow rate would allow you to run the pump less time each day and save a bit of wear and tear.
I think they all come with everything you need - pump tube (with a spare), 20-ft of tubing, pickup and injector fitting. Only "extra" would be a rain roof or other cover. I bought the integrated tank, and the pump and pickup tubing came all pre-installed which was nice. My plan in winter is to turn off the scheduling for my pump (I have it hooked into my automation system) and just run it when required.
There may seem like a lot of choice with the Stenner pumps but with the fixed rate pumps it's only two variables - pump rpm (45 or 85 series) and flow (determined by the tubing size inside the pump). Simple calculations and decisions once you know your demand. You can change out the pump tube if you want to change the flow, and it needs to be replaced every year anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much about getting the 'wrong one' as it's an easy fix.
For my situation I got the 45MPHP10 (high pressure probably isn't necessary but seemed like cheap insurance). On full summer days in Houston my chlorine demand is ~3ppm/day, which means running my 10 GPD pump for 75 minutes/day if I'm using 10% chlorine (75 minutes = 66 oz = ~3.3 ppm/day). Your pool is a lot larger than mine, so if you have the same 3ppm demand you'd need to run the 10 GPD pump about 3 hrs/day. A higher flow rate would allow you to run the pump less time each day and save a bit of wear and tear.
I think they all come with everything you need - pump tube (with a spare), 20-ft of tubing, pickup and injector fitting. Only "extra" would be a rain roof or other cover. I bought the integrated tank, and the pump and pickup tubing came all pre-installed which was nice. My plan in winter is to turn off the scheduling for my pump (I have it hooked into my automation system) and just run it when required.
Not sure on the chlorine usage since it is so new. Is there any benefit to the 45 or 85 RPM?
AFAIK the 85 series use the same tubes as the 45, and just generate a proportionally higher flow because of higher rpm. As far as I could tell that was the only difference between the two. Per Stenner's spec sheet (also lists all the accessories you get with the pump) http://stenner.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/FSPECCSFX.pdf for the HP models:
45 Series (26 rpm): 3, 10 or 22 gpd for the #1, #2, #7 tubes respectively
85 Series (44 rpm): 5, 17 or 40 gpd for the #1, #2, #7 tubes respectively
So faster rpm models will have shorter runtime. Not sure about downsides, may put more stress on the tube, and could be noisier I suppose. Chlorine concentration from your pool returns will be slightly higher if that matters.
I don't know whether it really makes a difference for our purposes - we don't have to inject a lot of chlorine in a day unless there's very high demand (algae) or we use very weak bleach. For the pumps using the mid-sized tubes, it's a runtime of 2.5 hrs (45) vs 1.5 hrs (85) for 1 gallon. I can only see it mattering if you are on an extreme end of the scale, like you need to add 2 or 3 gallons of chlorine but only have a 3 or 4 hr pool pump runtime.
You said the pool has been in for about a month. Are you testing daily? What are your current FC and CYA levels? How much chlorine are you adding each day? I don't think a new pool has significantly different chlorine demands than an established pool (once you get your CYA level up), so I think you could get a reasonable idea of chlorine usage right now. It might be best to wait on the Stenner until you establish what your usage is for your particular pool, particularly with the cover.
45 Series (26 rpm): 3, 10 or 22 gpd for the #1, #2, #7 tubes respectively
85 Series (44 rpm): 5, 17 or 40 gpd for the #1, #2, #7 tubes respectively
So faster rpm models will have shorter runtime. Not sure about downsides, may put more stress on the tube, and could be noisier I suppose. Chlorine concentration from your pool returns will be slightly higher if that matters.
I don't know whether it really makes a difference for our purposes - we don't have to inject a lot of chlorine in a day unless there's very high demand (algae) or we use very weak bleach. For the pumps using the mid-sized tubes, it's a runtime of 2.5 hrs (45) vs 1.5 hrs (85) for 1 gallon. I can only see it mattering if you are on an extreme end of the scale, like you need to add 2 or 3 gallons of chlorine but only have a 3 or 4 hr pool pump runtime.
You said the pool has been in for about a month. Are you testing daily? What are your current FC and CYA levels? How much chlorine are you adding each day? I don't think a new pool has significantly different chlorine demands than an established pool (once you get your CYA level up), so I think you could get a reasonable idea of chlorine usage right now. It might be best to wait on the Stenner until you establish what your usage is for your particular pool, particularly with the cover.
At 37,000 gallons you should use about 1.3 gallons per day or a little less. Depending on your pump run time the 10gpd should be plenty big enough.
The good thing about the Stenners is that if you bought the wrong size or just want to change the size, all you do is buy a different pump tube and you're all set.
The good thing about the Stenners is that if you bought the wrong size or just want to change the size, all you do is buy a different pump tube and you're all set.
You could wait till spring I bought my Stenners when we built the pool but did not install the 10GPD for chlorine till spring since the FC demand was so low. Also I think there was value in manually adding while I was learning how the pool reacts to various conditions. If you don't have a control panel with an open relay to control the Stenner you may want to consider a WiFi switch or outdoor plug. I recently switched my timers for the pumps to WiOn Wi-Fi switches, I also have a Wemo WiFi switch we use for an ice maker that works equally well, it's much more convenient to be able to see my schedules and adjust my dosing times from my phone then standing in the sun at the equipment pad.
Do most people run the 1/4" tubing or the 3/8"? I would think the 3/8" would be less likely to clog up.
The GUI on the WiOn is a little more intuitive and it is about $5 less expensive but they both preform the same when setup. I got an amazon echo recently and that is what lead to the purchase of the Wemo but if not for that would have stuck with the WiOn. My only minor complaint about the WiOn is I have not figured out how to delete a program once entered unless you reset the whole switch and rejoin your home WiFi network. So for example if you set 4 start/stop times per day and then decide you only want 2 you have to either set the extra timeslots for a minute at the end of one of the other programs or reset the switch completely but as I said it is a minor complaint and does not affect the performance.
The ¼" tubing is fine. I've never heard of anybody having a problem with the tubing clogging up. The 3/8" tubing is for very viscous liquids like honey or molasses.
Be sure to use the black tubing. The clear tubing is susceptible to damage from UV rays.
I got the white so I could see the bleach in the tube. All this will be inside so UV shouldn't be a problem. If I fill my tank with 8.3% and when it gets low fill it with 10%, is that a problem? Do I just estimate the % for pool math? Or do I let it empty all the 8.3% it can and then fill with the new %?
I think you can just guesstimate the change. If you have 4 gallons of 8.3% left in the tank and you add 4 gallons of 10% then the 8 gallons will be aprox 9%.
Where's the best deal on these? I priced a 45MP2 and a 7.5 gal tank for a bit less than $375 delivered.
Right now I'm adding about a quart of MA every 2 days to maintain 7.4-7.6 in a 3 month old 15K River Rok SWG pool. TA is 80 and is holding steady with the amount of acid I'm adding. pH will jump to 8+ w/o acid in 3 days and I am getting some scaling in the dark finish. Manually adding acid has become a PITA. I see other suggesting lowering TA to 50-60 and see of pH stabilizes, but the acid additions aren't doing much if anything to TA.
Right now I'm adding about a quart of MA every 2 days to maintain 7.4-7.6 in a 3 month old 15K River Rok SWG pool. TA is 80 and is holding steady with the amount of acid I'm adding. pH will jump to 8+ w/o acid in 3 days and I am getting some scaling in the dark finish. Manually adding acid has become a PITA. I see other suggesting lowering TA to 50-60 and see of pH stabilizes, but the acid additions aren't doing much if anything to TA.
When I bought mine in late July, Locke Well & Pump was the best deal I could find. Looks like the pricing is still the same as what I paid.
If you haven't already done so, you might want to post your pH situation on one of the other boards to get some advice. Seems like lowering TA would be a good thing (you need to get pH down to 7.0-7.2, and aerate) if the rest of your parameters allow it and it doesn't risk violating your plaster warranty. Hopefully it settles down for you, new plaster takes a bit of work at the beginning.
If you haven't already done so, you might want to post your pH situation on one of the other boards to get some advice. Seems like lowering TA would be a good thing (you need to get pH down to 7.0-7.2, and aerate) if the rest of your parameters allow it and it doesn't risk violating your plaster warranty. Hopefully it settles down for you, new plaster takes a bit of work at the beginning.
