Liquidator sucking air

[Nightmare]

There is about a 50/50 chance it is an install issue (the installer did put the floats in upside down). I got it to quick sucking, but if you move the hose it will either suck air or leak water. I'll re-install the fittings after the system runs for a little longer today.

I'm not a fan of those type of Speedfit fittings. Has anyone found something that works better? Or am I the only one sucking air? :?

 

[Bama Rambler]

Take a little pool lube and put on the end of the tubing. A little dab'll do ya! That should stop it from leaking. Also make sure the ends of the tubing are cut clean and square.

ETA ~ You can buy barbed fittings or compression fittings for the tubing but you sacrifice I.D. with both of those because you need an insert for the compression fittings.

 

[RobbieH]

I've tried everything I can think of, tried the lube, even tried the smaller control and check valves, which would rule out the tube cuts (I have the 3/8" upgrade) and still no luck. It's sucking air pretty bad. Anyone find a permanent solution for this?

 

[JasonLion]

Occasionally the float valves are defective to being with.

 

[RobbieH]

That's possible. I do see some air in the line between the regulator valve and the float valve though. At first glance it seems like there's more air as it goes through the system (as in the float valve leaks too), but I think it is actually that the bubbles are coalescing from lots of tiny bubbles to a few large bubbles as they pass through the system.

I'm kind of bummed, got my filter situation resolved, was excited to have the Liquidator, and now this. I just fixed my other suction side air leak 2 weeks ago.

 

[mrnick0483]

I was leaking a little air after my install yesterday and tried some liquid plumbing thread sealer on the screw in fittings on the flow meter, and that eliminated almost all of my air. I still have some bubbles passing through the suction side but i think its a chemical thing more that an air leak, i have it more so when my pump first comes on, and even more when when i have the flow cut down to around 1 1/2 to 2 on the flow meter.

 

[RobbieH]

Mine came with teflon thread sealer. I didn't mention it, but I took those fittings off and reapplied the teflon tape with no luck.

I am on 2 right now because I don't have high chlorine consumption at the moment, and I also noticed it seems to be slightly worse at low flow rates.

I have some liquid sealer, it's yellow for gas, but I am going to hold off on that for a bit since I see the bubbles in the clear line between the regulator valve and the float valve. I think I'm going to just ignore it for now and see if it's better tomorrow.

 

[Bama Rambler]

If you're seeing air between the float and flow control valves then the leak is at the float valve. I'd take the tubing fitting off the float valve and trim the tubing and reinstall it and the nut. If that doesn't work take the nut off and wrap a piece of string around the tubing that will be inside the nut and tighten it back up.

 

[RobbieH]

From the Liquidator on the Out side, it's in this order:
Liquidator
Control Valve
Flow Meter
Check Valve
Suction side of pump

It appears there's air in the tube right after the control valve. It appears to get worse as it goes through each valve. I have recut (using a new razor to cut the tube, carefully, not pinching the tube) and reinstalled several times, tried pool lube, even tried the smaller valves that came with the kit and still have the problem. Note, I haven't looked at it since about 8 PM last night, I decided to just relax and let it run for a while to determine if it's from aeration in the water or something along those lines. I'll check it when I get home this evening and report back.

Thanks!

 

[Bama Rambler]

Sorry, it can't be that way. The float valve is inside the tank of the LQ and only the bulkhead tubing connector sticks out.

Ok, I think I've figured it out. What you're calling the "float valve" is actually the flow meter. So the air appears after the control valve?

Can you post a picture of your layout? I think that will help us figure out what's going on and how to remedy it.

I used the tubing but replaced all the barbed fittings with the push-in fittings. I didn't have any air leaking into the tubing after that.

 

[RobbieH]

Sorry, when you said float valve I was confused and thought you meant the flow meter. I will edit my post above.

Yes, air starts appearing after the control valve (I've tried 2) and gets progressively worse after that, although like I said it may be a coalescence thing.

I will take a picture of the entire setup this evening. Since I got the 3/8" upgrade, I have all the push-in SpeedFit fittings. I tried the barbed fittings for the heck of it, but had the same results.

 

[daddybug]

I got mine installed last week and found the flow meter was cracked. I am still waiting for my replacement from Hasa.

 

[Bama Rambler]

I used to get a few bubbles sticking to the tubing but it took several days for it to build up and then I'd just thump the tubing and run them all through. Another thing I do is use teflon paste pipe compound and not t-tape. I don't like t-tape, but that's from years of working with pneumatic instruments and seeing lots of clogged nozzles from t-tape.

 

[RobbieH]

Here's a pic of the equipment and a close-up of a line full of bubbles. In the red circle is a large bubble going down the line. I had to take a ton of pictures to get one, might be better if I uploaded a video of them, that way you can see how many bubbles are making it down.

I realize you can't see the intake side, you can barely see the clamp on the far right side on the bottom pipe. There are no issues, leaking or air, on the intake side.

I had all the lines tied up, but removed the ties to try the lube, change fittings, etc.

It doesn't really seem to be putting much air into the filter, I expected far worse based on how much air I see.