Installed Pentair's IntelliPH

[bxcrwlly]

o.k., after much delay and being tired of dosing the pool every other day with MA, because of my SWG, I bit the dust and installed Pentair's IntelliPH. My pool contractor tried to steer me toward the IntelliChem, but for my application, that seemed a bit overboard with functionality and price. Many thanks to some member research on TFP(thanks for all the info) and pics furnished by aholmes5 (Thanks a bunch!), I contacted my local pool store and they said they could order and install. They shot me a price(which I liked) so we did the deal. One exception, I wanted a "T" fitting(Input from TFP's "aholmes5") for the injector vs. the saddle clamp that comes with the unit. Due to space limitations on my plumbing at the SWG, the install was done vertically vs. horizontally (see pics). So far so good.
Day 1. PH holding at 7.6 with a 35% MA dispense setting.
Day 2. PH at 7.7 - Increased dispense rate to 40% - Not increasing as fast as without IntelliPH
If this device holds true, I'm going to be one happy camper....uhhh pool owner. Will keep this post updated over the next week or so on progress/changes.

 

[bxcrwlly]

Re: Installed Pentair's IntelliPH - See Post

See Daily Updates In Post That Follows, starting with Day 3

 

[bxcrwlly]

Re: Installed Pentair's IntelliPH - Day 3-14 Final Anlaysis

Day 3 - PH at 7.7 - Increased dispense rate to 45%. Trying to hold PH at 7.6

Day 4 - PH still holding at 7.7
Increased dispense rate to 50%
Trying to achieve constant 7.6
My Intellichlor was running at 35%. Chlorine at 7.0. Lowered to 20% as I like chlorine at 5.0
This may also facilitate reducing PH

Day 5 - Void
Added CYA which reduces PH

Day 6 - PH holding at 7.6

Day 7 - PH holding at 7.6
Appears, at least from a couple of days, that, in my situation, there is an approximate 2 to 1 ratio between the IntelliChlor and IntelliPH setting. My IntelliChlor is running at 20% with the IntelliPH at 40%.

Day 8 - Had to boost Intellichlor to 25%. Corresponding to my 2-1 ratio, I raised IntelliPH to 50%. PH tested 7.6
Had to raise my borate level, so suspect Day 9 results will be skewed by Borax and MA additions.

Day 9 - As expected, the addition of borax and MA impacted my PH. Suspect I got a little heavy handed with the MA. PH dropped to 7.2. Turned off IntelliPH to give PH some time to rise naturally back to 7.6

Day 10 - PH slowly rising. 7.4 this p.m. Will turn IntelliPH on at/about noon Friday 6/14 at 50%. Raised IntelliChlor to 35% due to extreme heat, water temp and bather load. May have to compensate with 2:1 ratio on IntelliPH. Will monitor.

Day 11 - PH at 7.6 Did not adjust IntelliPH to the 2:1 ratio I was using.

Day 12 - PH at 7.6

Day 13 - PH at 7.7 - Increased IntelliPH dispense rate to 55%. Intellichlor still set at 35%

Day 14 - PH at 7.6 with dispense rate at 55%. Intellichlor still set at 35%

I'm not anticipating any further post regarding the IntelliPH performance at this point. I was hoping for an exact ratio between the Intellichlor and the IntelliPH but that doesn't appear to be the case. It's approximate at best. Nonetheless, for my pool and settings the IntelliPH is doing the job keeping my PH at or near 7.6 given other additive variables, from time to time. I'm happy with the installation and the performance as of this writing. Finally, the chore of constantly manually adding MA is in the distance.

p.s. - Wanted to add, in case you weren't aware, the IntelliPH unit requires manual adjustments (not a big deal for me). It isn't supported by any type of automation such as Easy Touch wireless remote, etc.

 

[bxcrwlly]

Thought I'd post an update on my IntelliPH for inquiring minds. I noticed my PH level beginning to drift upward. To ween out the issues I validated and adjusted my Borate level. PH continued drifting. I kept adjusting the IntelliPH to a higher dispense rate; much beyond what my 17th month history ever indicated. I placed a piece of tape on the tank as a marker and dispensed manually from the tank and let the marker remain. The marker revealed MA was dispensing as the level dropped approximately 1+ inches below the tape marker. I checked again the following day and noticed an "INCREASE" in MA in the tank.....WHAT???? Apparently water was backing up into my MA tank. I contacted my installer. He, in turn, contacted the local Pentair rep and was advised that the pump head needed to be replaced as some of the devices were manufactured with "bad metal" and would fail around 1 year plus of use. What? No recall? Pentair is covering my replacement under warranty. My installer contacted me yesterday and says he had the replacement part and noticed a bright orange sticker on the pump head denoting "REPLACE EVERY YEAR." Well now, in the interest of full disclosure, wonder why Pentair did not advise(me or my installer)of this requirement when I purchased the unit.......NOT GOOD. I did a quick scan and you can pick up a pump head for around $35 or so. I just checked one site. Not a deal killer although it would've been nice to know of this so called "requirement" to prevent my sudden state of anxiety knowing I had a PH Increase culprit abounding. I didn't check this site to see if others may be experiencing the same phenomenon before I launched this post, so my apologies if this posting is redundant. I also included a link to another site where others are advising of similar situations, also denoting that it could be the check valve gone awry vs. the pump head. Apparently one sure fire pump head indicator, is the visibility of corrosion and/or rust appearing in/around the pump head itself. http://www.poolfyi.com/forum/having-trouble-my-intelliph-backflow-tank-and-acid-leaks Nonetheless, I still love my IntelliPH as it has saved me on the the constant manual monitoring and continually adding MA to my pool the "old fashion way."

 

[FTC3]

I'm thinking of getting the IntelliPH as well. Do you control it through your EasyTouch system? Or is it stand alone?

I like how you used an actual T instead of the saddle clamp. Do I only need one or two? Are there separate probes for injection of acid versus checking chemistry?