Liquidator installation thoughts and comments

[JohnT]

Installed it this morning. Piece of cake! The only tools I used for the install were a cordless drill with a 3/8" bit and a knife to cut the tubing.

I can get full flow on the meter, with what I think is a fairly typical IG pool installation.

What do they expect you to do with those tiny cable ties? The manual says to use them to clamp the flow meter in place on a pool pipe, but it takes three of them to reach around an inch and a half PVC. Minor nitpick, I know :lol:

I'm amazed how distinct the chlorine layer is in the tank and how quickly it forms. I'm just using 6% bleach and it is very distinct. This should reinforce the idea that you shouldn't add liquid chemicals to your pool quickly or without the pump running.

Make sure you choose a spot so the lid will lift all the way. That way the bleach bottles will sit in the funnel so you can drain the last little bit.

My thinking is that I might want to do some night runs of the unit to get a feel for ppm/hour at various settings of flow so I can zero in quickly if I change pump run time for solar.

Overall, two thumbs up.

 

[Sabot]

Congrats on your install! Looking forward to hearing reports.

 

[JohnT]

I'll add another note: Even though Dave had warned me to make sure I had the plumbing taps aligned correctly, my suction line was off a little, which resulted in a pump that wouldn't prime. No big deal, but since it happened to me even after being warned, it's probably going to happen to somebody else.

 

[poolhound]

I have been considering the Liquidator and everything looks positive. I Emailed the Liquidator website the following question last week and have not gotten a reply. My pump and filter are about 2 feet above water level and the pump basket drains back into the pool when the pump is off, will this be a problem for the liquidator? I guess I could add a check valve to the pump supply line if needed.

 

[duraleigh]

Poolhound,
It's not a problem for the liquidator. How long does it take your pump to prime after the water has drained back to the pool? Air is leaking into your system somewhere.....do you get bubbles in the pump basket when the pump is running?

Sorry, I know you didn't ask about the other stuff. Anyway, the liquidator doesn't care. It will drain down to the output valve as the water goes back to your pool but it only takes a minute or so for it to return to it's normal level and introduce chlorine once your pump re-primes.

PS - JohnT is right about the zip ties...they're worthless. I have asked liquidator to supply me with meaningful ones and I will be including them in all the ones I sell whether they provide them to me or not.

 

[poolhound]

The pump primes within seconds so it is not a problem with normal operations, I just didn't want to drain all the bleach every time the pump shuts off. Since I am obviously lazy, will the commercial model work as well on a residential size pool and give me more time between refills or will I be degrading the strength of the bleach (I use 6%) with the added volume and time in the tank? If all else is equal, the few extra $'s for the commercial model seems worthwhile.

 

[JasonLion]

6% bleach is reasonably stable. If the tank is in direct sunlight you may want to make a little cover for it so the sun doesn't shine directly on the bleach. Given that it will be fine.

 

[duraleigh]

The pump primes within seconds so it is not a problem with normal operations, I just didn't want to drain all the bleach every time the pump shuts off. Since I am obviously lazy, will the commercial model work as well on a residential size pool and give me more time between refills or will I be degrading the strength of the bleach (I use 6%) with the added volume and time in the tank? If all else is equal, the few extra $'s for the commercial model seems worthwhile.

Yeah, the commercial model is identical except for the bigger tank. Since you are already using bleach, you have a good idea what your daily consumption rate is.

Since you know that, you can come pretty close to figuring how long between refills for the 4 and 8 gallon models. I would suggest not having more tha a 30-40 days supply. It'll probably last that long (if protected from UV and excessive heat) but that just SEEMS like that's about long enough. I have no scientific evidence nor any reason other than just common sense to refill about once a month at a minimum.

 

[poolhound]

Thanks. 8 gallons would give me about two weeks since I like to keep my CYA around 30 and FCL at about 3. I also keep borates at 50 thanks to Waterbears great experimental work. I don't spend a lot of time keeping the pool great, but I would like to make it a simple as possible so I can recruit my grandson to take over the work and I can spend more time in the pool and on the golf course.

 

[jlb]

Liquidator "slow" bleach addition tip

I just fired up our new pool yesterday and the Liquidator shortly after. I hated the idea of standing with a jug of bleach and very slowly adding it at the funnel - especially 3 gallons in a row. Half way through the first gallon I had an idea that worked out very well.

Remove the cap and drill a 1/64" or smaller hole in the cap. Replace the cap and invert the jug with the neck in the funnel. Then use a knife and cut a small hole in the bottom of the jug so it will drain easily.

The rate is very slow so there won't be any mixing of water and bleach. It takes at least 30 minutes for the jug to drain completely. The only risk is that you might forget to go back and close the cover on the Liquidator.

 

[duraleigh]

I am able to get the 12.5% in 5 gal carboys.

W-a-a-ay to heavy to pour in, I set it above the liquidator on a little platform and let it siphon in.

The rate is almost perfect. I used the remainder of the tubing supplied with the liquidator. It's almost a foolproof system...........anyone interested in knowing what 12.5% chlorine tastes like?

 

[JohnT]

Another piece of information: I was getting ready to vacuum yesterday, and I had water running through my hose. I got to thinking that the water in the hose was what was going through my pump, so I had my son hold the end of the hose and fill my sample bottle. I tested it, and with the Liquidator flowing at 3 and the tank at about half its chlorine capacity with 6%, the return water tested at 4ppm, while my pool water tested at between 2 and 3ppm. That should reduce any worries about the output of the Liquidator being injected right before the pump.

 

[poolhound]

More good news about the Liquidator! From the Hasa website it looks like the difference between the residential and commercial model tank is only height and the flow control valve is the same. What are the WxDxH dimensions for the tanks and is the flow control valve the same (seems the commercial model would have a higher flow capability)?

 

[JohnT]

More good news about the Liquidator! From the Hasa website it looks like the difference between the residential and commercial model tank is only height and the flow control valve is the same. What are the WxDxH dimensions for the tanks and is the flow control valve the same (seems the commercial model would have a higher flow capability)?

The commercial model is 15"X15"X29". IMO, you'd have to be pretty tight on space to justify the residential model. The parts list only has two model specific parts: The tank and the extension tube for the filler, so I would assume the valve is the same for both.

 

[duraleigh]

Yeah, the residential and commercial names are misleading. It ought to be 4-gallon and 8-gallon model....they're identical in every other respect.

The 4-gallon doesn't make too much sense to me unless you have a smallish pool and 12.5% chlorine. The extra 4 gallons would be in your liquidator too long in that case.

Say if you had a 8,000 gallon pool using 12.5% you would need less than a quart of chlorine daily. The 8 gallon model would then last you in excess of 40 days which may be a little too long to leave it in there.

For most pools, the 8 gallons seems to make the most sense to me. That said, I'm running the 4 gallon on my big pool because I want to fill it often and learn from it so I can be able to answer questions.

 

[duraleigh]

Here's another thing I found out about the liquidator when I opened mine. There are coupons inside for HASA chlorine....8 gallons worth. HASA distrubutes there products along the West Coast so it won't help many of us but for you California, AZ, OR, WA folks, that might be a $30.00 dollar or so bonus....not bad!

 

[Florida Penguin]

:cop: I am curious about the "Chemical Salts" that are produced when adding liquid chlorine to a pool. These Chemical Salts are said to be removed by the float system of the liquidator.

What are these salts. I always thought adding bleach to a pool was pretty simple and had no other issues (other than raising the pH some)?

Can someone explain why they go thru all this trouble with the float system for the bleach?

Thanks!

 

[chem geek]

The chemical salts are mostly just plain table salt (sodium chloride). The process of making bleach or chlorinating liquid has it produce extra salt. Specifically, for every 10 ppm FC, there is 6 ppm salt (in addition to the 6 ppm salt that comes from ALL chlorine sources when the chlorine is used up).

 

[duraleigh]

HASA touts the salt removal process as beneficial but that doesn't really hold up.

The float valves and the water passing over the top of the bed of chlorine is a method that SLOWLY introduces chlorine into your pool at a controlled rate. The fact that the salt drops out is interesting (I'm not sure why it does) but is of little use to the pool owner, IMO.

 

[JohnT]

Another note: I had left the check valves out initially. After shutoff, the pressure side was draining water out down to the float level. I installed the check valve on the inlet side. This had no effect on flow, and now the tank stays full.