Liquidator Issues

[TXNDallas]

Well, I was VERY excited to purchase the liquidator a couple of months ago, got it all setup, had reverse osmosis process performed on the pool water (really high CYA and calcium hardness) and I'm having a terrible time getting this thing to actually "auto-chlorinate" the pool!

I have the 3/8" upgrade, it's plumbed correctly as best I can tell--Out is going to the filter basket drain plug, check valves are correct, flow valve after OUT and before flow meter. Not using a variable speed pump...have about 6" of bleach in the bottom, don't seem to have build-up on the in/out valves, but I can't get the darn thing to chlorinate worth a dang. I even switched to 12.5% $trength liquid thinking maybe it needed a higher concentration. Water's at 85 degrees, pool runs from 9:00AM to 8:00PM, I'm in Dallas and we're in the "hot" part of summer (100 degree days). I can never get the flow all the way up to 5 even running it wide open and I'm wondering....

So I replaced a puck offline chlorinator during this installation, I plugged one of lines that was directly after the pump before hitting the filter as I mentioned I'm coming off the filter basket for Liquidator...HOWEVER on the "In" side I used the existing 3/8" plumbing that was from the puck chlorinator--for whatever reason when that was plumbed in originally it comes directly after the split for the pool return and spa return and comes off the pool return after the split...we have the spa waterfall into the pool so normally it's set to 50-50% spa/pool return.

All that being said, I'm wondering if maybe the "in" flow to the liquidator is too low vs. the suction from the pump side?--since it's probably only getting 50% of the return as input into the liquidator tank. Does this make reasonable sense as to why running it wide open only produces about a 3.5 flow on the liquidator?? When I close the "out" float and wait a couple of minutes, and then release it, I *do* get a "5" on the flow meter for 20 seconds or so...

I really want to make this work but don't want to unnecessarily drill another hole in the plumbing if it's a lost cause here? Maybe it's just too hot, and it get direct sunlight for most of the day, and perhaps the Liquidator just can't cope with that? (I've read about painting the bottom half of the liquidator, but undecided). At any rate, aside from the 6" of liquid in the bottom of the liquidator, I'm adding at least a quart of 12% a day--and that stuff ain't cheap. Again the original theory was that perhaps enough water just wasn't moving through the liquidator and the increased strength would compensate...

Also, I'm finding keeping up with the acid demand to be quite onerous...I've had company and haven't been measuring the levels frequently enough (about a week since the last time), and now my pH is up at 8.0 and TA at 120...just added a gallon of acid. Borates are at 80 FWIW. Calcium is 300, CYA about 50.

Suggestions on making this work? My excitement for the Liquidator is fading as it becomes a money pit of bleach and acid and doesn't chlorinate basically at all as far as I can tell (FC measured 1.8 this morning and that's with my supplemental directly liquid chlorination last evening).

HELP!!! Thanks!

 

[glewis29]

I see you've tapped into the puck chlorinator and that may be the cause of your problem. Maybe there's insufficient pressure to generate flow, especially since it's only getting 50% of the return water.

You know your OUT is working, because if you let the water build up and then open the valve, you get a 5 for a little while. Especially with a full speed pump, you should be able to get a 5 with no problem.

I'd move the tap back to the main pipe, right after the filter.

Have you done a manual addition of liquid chlorine to see what your FC ppm daily loss is versus your starting FC? At 50 CYA you should losing 30% or less I'd think.

In southern CA, I'm maintaining 6.5 FC with 50 CYA by running a 1 HP pump for just 2 hours a day. The flow meter shows a 5 when it's running. And this is with me having very low pressure after the filter... I run 2" pipe after the filter versus the 1.5" into the pump.

Hope this helps.

 

[glewis29]

According to the pool calculator, a quart of 12.5% will only raise your FC 1.2 ppm. If you have an uncovered pool getting a lot of sun you may be losing more than that with a decent FC level. On the other hand, you mention your FC is only 1.8. Have you done an overnight chlorine loss test? It seems like you're losing a lot more than you should just due to solar degradation at the FC levels you're reporting.

 

[laprjns]

It seems clear to me that you are not getting enough flow into the Liquidator. This results in the out valve being barely open and limiting the flow. On page 12 of the Liquidator Manual, the trouble shooting guide for "Chlorinator not filling" suggest that its ok to connect the input line between the pump and filter if the pressure is insufficient to keep the Liquidator filled. Since your puck chlorindator appears to have been plumbed this way, I would guess that it had the same problem.

I'm on my second year with my Liquidator and love it.

 

[TXNDallas]

Well, I took the suggestion and swapped the "In" side of the liquidator to come off the output directly after the pump and the flow is now solid. Hopeful this is going to do the trick!


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[johnnymack]

I think I'm having the same issue. Valve opened all the way and it's only about a 3.

Before I drill another hole in my PVC, if I check the water in the Liquidator what FC level should it read? If my chlorine is bad I don't want to drill anymore holes.

If I do drill another hole, how do you patch the old one?

 

[RobbieH]

I'm going to skip your patch question, because I see some other info you need to know. You need to get your TA down to around 70-80 (80 will work) or you are going to fight pH drift up continually. Also, with the LQ, you are going to want to keep TA and pH in check, or you are going to get scaling (white stuff) in the LQ. I found in my installations that adding borates to 50ppm once you have TA down to 70-80 will solve the white stuff issue completely.