Just got my Liquidator-

[JCJR]

I set it up, very easy. I ran my pump and the guage on the flow meter barely got up to the 1 marking. I figuered this was ideal due to long pump run times (8hrs winter 12 hrs summer)and I am using 12.5% bleach. I am barely getting a 1ppm on CL. I am using my pump on low speed and I have 4 suction lines and 4 return lines. I use two suction lines most of the time (main drain and cleaner) and 1 return line (5 return nozzle) the other 3 return lines are for 1 5ft sheer descent and 2 lion heads and I do not use due to areation.

In order to get a higher reading on the flow meter, I have to close one of my 2 suction lines almost 3/4 closed. This setup the flow meter goes up to 4 yet not much change on CL (maybe 2 ppm) Am I straining the pump? my filter reads about 3 psi on low and 15 psi on high.

What are some of my options? I really do not want to run my pump on high.
Can I remove those check valves on the tubing?

 

[JohnT]

I recall reading that people have removed the check valves. You might look through the threads about it.

 

[JCJR]

Thanks JohnT,

I found a link back to PoolForum and that is where the posts were. They stated that as long as the liquidator is above the pool water level there is no need for the check valves.

I will try to remove them and see what happens.

 

[DLSDO]

JCJR,
I am alittle confused. What is the purpose of the check valves? What problem are you having? Are you having trouble getting enough pressure in the liquidator to chlorinate the pool? Why? Is it because your equipment pad is at a higher level than your pool water level?

I am probably going to get a liquidator and I want to know what to expect. My pool equipment is level or just alittle below the pool water level. What significance does this have?

Thanks,

 

[JCJR]

Dave,

In order to get a higher reading on the flow meter, I have to close one of my 2 suction lines almost 3/4 closed. This setup the flow meter goes up to 4 yet not much change on CL (maybe 2 ppm) Am I straining the pump? my filter reads about 3 psi on low and 15 psi on high.

quote]

The problem I am having is that the flow meter only reads 1 when I run my 2sp pump on low ( I never run on high unless I turn on the water features). In order to get the meter to go to 4, I need to close my suction valves. John T told me that others have removed the check valves. ( these are one way flowing devices that do not let pool water get back into the liquidater through the "out" opening). I do not know what is inside of the check valves but I am assuming they are springs. If you blow on one side air will not come out, if you blow on the other side you have to blown pretty hard to open the (spring?) valve. That is why my flow through the meter is not much. If I remove the check valves the water will flow freer and give me more CL water passing through the meter.

I have not tried it yet, but those posts stated it worked and from blowing through the check valves, I can see why it will work.

 

[JCJR]

I tried removing the the check valve from the vinyl tubing and the plastic adapter that connects the tube to th pipe broke. That tube was really stuck in there. I had to use an exacto knife on the other to cut the tube.

Now I am having difficulty finding that plastic part. I called Hasa and the salesman said he will send it to me free of charge but it will take 3-5 days to get here and that part can be found locally for a few bucks. I had to plug up that hole with a rubber gasket and tighten the clamp to keep the pipe from leaking water.

If any one is going to try to remove these tubing, becareful.

 

[keithw]

Removing the check valves should help solve your problem. I was the one who had posted about removing them. They are only necessary if your liquidator is going to be installed below pool water level such as with an above ground pool. I am confident that you will be pleased once you get it up an running. Let me know if you have any questions. I never did get my flow up above 3-4 but I also find that I don't need to set it above 1ish to keep my pool balanced.

 

[DLSDO]

Okay. I think I understand. The purpose of the valves is to keep the flow in one direction. From the main drain and skimmers back to the pad then through the liquidator to pick up chlorine then back to the pool by way of the returns....yes?

My equipment pad is at or just below water level. So in my setup I will need the valves--yes? In that my pool pad is just a liitle lower than water level I can anticipate no problems with achieving adequate pressure through the liquidator?

My pump is single speed and I do not have any water features.

Will the liquidator work for me based on my setup?

Thanks for the help,

 

[keithw]

Okay. I think I understand. The purpose of the valves is to keep the flow in one direction. From the main drain and skimmers back to the pad then through the liquidator to pick up chlorine then back to the pool by way of the returns....yes?

Not exactly. The purpose of the check valves is just to keep the liquidator from overflowing when the pump is not running ONLY IF your liquidator is below water level. The liquidator is not a sealed environment like your pump system is. The lid just sits on top of it. So if it is below your pool's water level and do not have check valves, when your pump is not running a siphon will be created that would overflow the liquidator and drain your pool.

My equipment pad is at or just below water level. So in my setup I will need the valves--yes? In that my pool pad is just a liitle lower than water level I can anticipate no problems with achieving adequate pressure through the liquidator?

As long as the top lip of the liquidator is above the pool water level, you are fine without valves.

My pump is single speed and I do not have any water features.

Will the liquidator work for me based on my setup?

Yes

 

[DLSDO]

Keith,
Thanks so much for the quick replies.

Sorry I am so darn dense. I am starting to understand. I think the top of the liquidator might be slightly below water level with my setup so I will likely need the valves.

Ultimately my primary concern is that I will have a low pressure issue you have described but since my pad is lower than the pool water line I would not be able to remove the valves to remedy the problem. Or in that my pad is lower than the water line is this gonna prevent the low pressure issue in the first place?

Is the reason you folks with pads at a level above the pool water line are having low pressure issues in the liquidator due to your pump having to pump uphill from the pool to the pad?



Thanks,

 

[JasonLion]

The Liquidator runs on the pressure difference between the intake and output sides of the pump. This has only a little to do with the height of the equipment above the pool. (There will be more suction required when the equipment is raised, so more pressure differential. But that will be partially balanced out by a slightly reduced filter pressure and so is normally only a small part of the pressure differential.)

JCJR is having problems because he is running his pump on low speed, which greatly reduces the pressure differential. You can see how dramatic this is by looking at his filter pressure at each speed (3 psi vs 15 psi). If your filter pressure is 10 psi or above you shouldn't have any problems. I suspect that even at the low pressures his system is running at he will still be able to get it to work, but the system will have less head room should there be a period of unusually high chlorine demand.

Filter pressure is only half of the pressure differential. Intake suction also enters into it, and is more difficult to measure. This is why the Liquidator works better when JCJR turns off one of his suction lines, more suction is required to move the water so there is a higher pressure differential (even though there is lower total water flow and so lower filter pressure). He could get a similar effect by restricting the returns, which would raise the filter pressure and lower the water flow, again increasing the pressure differential.

 

[DLSDO]

Makes sense. My filter pressure usually runs about 15 psi. Looks like it should work well for me.

Now I have some install questions. As you can see from the pic I have 3 lines leading to the pump. The far right is the main drain and the 2 to the left of the main drain are skimmers. The far left (4th line) is from the returns. Where do I connect the output from the liquidator? I assume I need to put it on the pump side of the valves. Is it okay to drill a hole that close to the pump? If I put it on the pool side of the valve I am going to get very wet when I drill the hole..correct? How about the input to the liquidator? Just after the heater but before the valve?

 

[ktdave]

Dave,
Check out this THREAD. It may answer some of your questions (with pics of tubing placement).

 

[keithw]

Dave,

One hole should be drilled right in front of the leaf catch on the pump where the three lines have terminated into one. Looks like you have just enough room there. The second hole should be drilled somewhere on the pipe where it exits your sand filter. I am not sure what you are referring to about getting wet when you drill the hole. You should not have the pump running when you drill. And if your system is below water level, then shut off all of the valves on the return and supply lines.

 

[DLSDO]

(KT)Dave,
Thanks for the link. Very helpful.

Keith,
Got it!

Thanks everyone,

 

[JCJR]

I finally got the replacement tube adapter that broke. It seems like it is a specialty product and not available anywhere. I found it in a pool store that does a lot of repairs. Now my pressure on the meter goes above the three mark so I guess it is at 3.5 and that should be enough to add the right amount CL.

I do have 1 tip to report. When running low on CL in the liquidator, you can only add maybe 1.5 gals of CL at a time before over filling. What I did was I held the "in"" FLoat so that no new water was entering into the Liquidator. SO by the time the liquidator's "out" float shut off the flow I had about another 1.5 gals of empty space which allowed me to fill up with 2.5 gals of CL all at once (pouring slowly of course). I hope I explained that correctly.

 

[DLSDO]

Funny you should post back today. I just posted a few questions on the old Liquidator thread. You answered one of the questions. Would you be willing to take a stab at the others??

Here they are from the other thread...


1) As the level of CL drops in the unit does the concentration delivered to the pool change? In other words are you constantly needing to adjust the chlorine output from the liquidator as time passes?

2) When the CL runs out and you need to refill the liquidator.... the container is now full of pool water. How do you refill with the full 4 gallons of CL when the container is already full with pool water? Are you only able to add alittle bleach at a time? This would seem to defeat the purpose of the unit.

3) Metered CL is being fed into the pool pump then pool filter then heater before it gets diluted in the pool. Isn't this higher concentration of CL corrosive to the heater?

4) Has anyone considered getting the 8 gallon unit? I figure you don't have to place all 8 gallons of CL. You would be refilling the unit even more infrequently than the 4 gallon version. Or would you worry about potency loss?

Thanks,

 

[keithw]

I can answer these.

1) As the level of CL drops in the unit does the concentration delivered to the pool change?

Yes. It would have to. As the water layer above the chlorine become larger, the concentration will decrease somewhat.

In other words are you constantly needing to adjust the chlorine output from the liquidator as time passes?]

No. The 4 gal version give me about two weeks before it empties. I keep the flow rate/concentration level in the pool on the upper side of the BBB best guess for my pool. Then after about a week and a half, I will it fill it back up. I don't really even check the CL levels that much but even as it drops, it is still above the minimum acceptable. I try not to tinker with the flow after it has been set. If rain or heavy usage (or letting the liquidator run out!) has affected my CL level, I do a manual bleach dump into the pool to correct.

2) When the CL runs out and you need to refill the liquidator.... the container is now full of pool water. How do you refill with the full 4 gallons of CL when the container is already full with pool water? Are you only able to add alittle bleach at a time? This would seem to defeat the purpose of the unit.

I have removed the check valves on mine. If the pump is running, the Liquidator is pretty full. You can only add about 1 gal at a time during this period and then you have to let it come back down. But if the pump isn't running the water drains down to the lower level and I can add 3-4 gallons at a pop. So I turn off the pump when doing refills.

3) Metered CL is being fed into the pool pump then pool filter then heater before it gets diluted in the pool. Isn't this higher concentration of CL corrosive to the heater?

I would say not. When it comes out of the Liquidator, it is at your desired CL level. The Liquidator is not "shocking" your pool water. It is pushing out a low but constant CL concentration, ideally near the same CL level that you already have in your pool. Make sense?

4) Has anyone considered getting the 8 gallon unit? I figure you don't have to place all 8 gallons of CL. You would be refilling the unit even more infrequently than the 4 gallon version. Or would you worry about potency loss?

No. I don't have a large pool and wouldn't know where to store the larger container. 1.5 weeks between refills is fine for me.

 

[DLSDO]

I think I have exhausted discovering any glaring pitfalls of the Liquidator. I am left simply with choosing the 4 or 8 gallon version.

Thanks for all your responses,

 

[chem geek]

3) Metered CL is being fed into the pool pump then pool filter then heater before it gets diluted in the pool. Isn't this higher concentration of CL corrosive to the heater?

In the steady state (keeping the FC constant), the chlorine concentration coming out of the Liquidator will essentially be higher than the pool's FC level by the amount of FC loss that occurs during one turnover of the pool water via the pump. A worst case might be where half of the FC level is normally lost (with The Liquidator turned off) due to sunlight in daytime hours and where there is one turnover of the water in that time. In that case, the FC level coming out of The Liquidator will be 50% higher than the pool's FC level. This is far from shock level and should be fine for the heater and other downstream components. Essentially, The Liquidator has to replace whatever chlorine is lost during the time of one turnover of water.

Richard