Liquidator math

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C

chuzie

0
May 14, 2014
50
Tampa
I like this little contraption but would like to have more adjustment flexibility both in terms of wait time between measurements and finite control of the flow valve.

Is there a way to read the chlorine level from the return and calculate if that level is sufficient to cover a pool of X gallons that loses X ppm per day?

Has anyone come across a flow valve that has more control? The plastic one is hard to adjust. It is either too much or too little.

I lose 2-3ppm/day. This is only an issue when I am out of town for weeks and I have to rely on my wife. That never ends well. ;-)
 
There was a better valve listed a while back, but I couldn't find it through a recent search. I'm curious to see if someone will post it up.

When I was using one, it was more of a trial and error to finally get it adjusted out.
 
If anyone has experience with this Hayward needle valve, I would like to know before buying one. I also find the current valve difficult to adjust. In addition, it restricts flow to a little over 4 (out of 5) on the rotometer scale. I would have thought they would give you a valve that allows max flow when needed. (By the way, my overall impression of the Liquidator is generally a "thumbs up".
 
chuzie said:
Has anyone come across a flow valve that has more control? The plastic one is hard to adjust. It is either too much or too little.
Click to expand...
I use this: http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?sku=44560&gclid=CIf8jsOzwr8CFSxo7AodyH8AVA. Much easier than the one that came with my Liquidator. Once I got it dialed in it's been rock solid. I just came back from a business trip that lasted six days and the water was still crystal clear with FC testing at the lower end of my range. I found that if I load up the Liquidator with 12.5% chlorine I can go about a week without any problems.
 
I also use a pinch valve from U.S. Plastics on my liquidator and have for two years. Like laprjns said it is rock solid and very precise. I can change the flow from 3.5 to 3.75 on the rotometer and it stays right there.
 
As far as determining run times before refilling the liquidator I have kept good records of when I filled and how much each time. I also record the liquidator rotometer setting and TC in the pool. Putting that all together I know that this time of year I set the rotometer at 3.75 and that will put out about 1.75 - 2.0 quarts of 10.5% chlorine per day and maintain a TC of 4.0. So that makes it pretty simple to keep from running out of Chlorine - I just add 5.0 gal every 10 days and that keeps about a 2 gallon reserve in the tank in case I'm gone or forget to add any on time.
 

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I like that pinch valve. It is a heck of a lot less expensive than the Hayward needle valve and sounds to be within tolerance for the precision and finite adjustment we are looking for. I am going to give it a try. Thanks.
 
So after a month or so I have noticed a problem with the liquidator.

At min level (a couple inches above bottom) I set the flow to maintain my min FC requirement. At max level (top of white tube) my FC jumps 7 points. This tells me it is wastefully injecting chlorine.

Anyone else experiencing this inconsistency?

Sent from my GS3 on Cyanogenmod with T2.
 
Chuzie, it should change because as the chlorine drops, the amount of water in the Liquidator goes up, so consequently even if the same amount of chlorine is "skimmed" off of the chlorine layer, it will be more diluted
 
I'd say just fill it regularly enough (weekly) that the volume of the water doesn't fluctuate too much. Honestly, I haven't gotten mine dialed in fully yet, so can't comment with any authority.
 
Chuzie, one last thought is that to keep your FC levels more constant, you'd be better off keeping the chlorine level low in the chlorinator so a given drop of the chlorine level corresponds to a smaller percentage increase in the water level.

As a simple example, imagine the Liquidator is broken into 8 layers. To keep the example easy, let's say the top of the white tube is in the middle. If you fill chlorine to the top of the white tube and it drops 1 layer, your water goes from 4/8 to 5/8, a 25% increase (new minus old/old). If however, you're at 2/8 and it drops 1 layer to 1/8, your water goes from 6/8 to 7/8, this is only a 16.7% increase (7-6)/6.

Hopefully this helps. I'm not sure if I said it really clearly.
 
glewis, that makes perfect sense. I will give that a try next season now that the sun is not sucking up my chlorine.

Some feedback on the pinch valve. After a couple months, I have determined it is not the best option for me. I was initially impressed with the ability to fine tune the flow. Unfortunately, the heat from the sun causes it to expand and causes the flow to change throughout the day. Perhaps if it was placed in the shade, this would not be an issue.

The next step will be to try the Hayward needle valve. http://www.usplastic.com/mobile/item.aspx?itemid=32223&catid=662&clickid=searchresults
It appears to be sturdier and I hope it will not be as reactive in the hot sun. Will report back next season...
 
chuzie said:
Has anyone noticed whether the output of the liquidator changes in strength when chlorine filled to max vs min?
Click to expand...

Yes. When I realized that this was happening, I started to think the Liquidator was not for me. The plumbers had connected it incorrectly to begin with , and they had to re-plumb some of my equipment anyway, so I had them remove it. I really don't have much use for it anyway. I'm home every day and so testing and dosing daily is not an issue for me.
 

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