A few questions regarding a new Stenner pump installation

[EngineerNerd]

I just received a Stenner 3 GPD pump and 15 gallon tank system to add to my pool equipment for liquid chlorine dosing, and I have a few questions:

1. Can anyone suggest a cover for a 15 gallon tank and pump that will help to shade the Stenner tank from direct sunlight that looks somewhat attractive?

2. I have spare relays in my Pentair Intellitouch i7 panel for the new 220V “classic” Both main pool pump and Polaris booster pump have 220v wiring fed through “flex PVC” conduit purchased at Home Depot / Lowes. Does a Stenner pump need this same treatment, or can I just feed the cord that comes with the Stenner “as is” into the control panel box?

3. My 220v. wiring bundles are getting pretty crammed in the Pentair control system cabinet. I currently have two wire nut “twist bundles” for 5 wires in two wire nuts (1. From breaker box, 2. Pool heater, 3. Intelliflo pump, 4. To Polaris booster relay, and 5. Intellitouch panel power). So, do I add a 6th wire for “to Stenner pump relay” or is there a better way to wire up the Stenner. Possibly daisy-chaining the 220v. in wires from the Polaris booster relay over to the Stenner pump relay would make sense. Bottom line – how should I wire the 220v for a new Stenner pump relay?

Thanks in advance!

Jim

 

[Flying Tivo]

Some people burry the tank to protect it from sunlight and heat, which are chlorines worst enemy.

 

[EngineerNerd]

Felipe,

Thanks for that! I was going to purchase 4x 12" x 12" concrete pavers to make a mini pad for the Stenner tank, but it is certainly hot here and you've convinced me to do a partial bury now. I think that will help with my question 1 above too! I will not need something nearly as large to cover and shade it with part of it underground. I don't want to fully bury the pump itself due to how much rain we can get here.

I'd love to see anyone's photos of a buried Stenner tank, if anyone has done this already. I did find some excellent photos of a TFP member that buried a tank (only) used for his Stenner system.

Jim

 

[RonsPlc]

A few picks of my buried 55g drum...

With the lid/platform in place. I can stand on it to access the pool.

A shot of the drum. You can see the thin tube coming out of the back of the tank in the upper left.

The underside of the lid. With 1" foam board insulation.

 

[Flying Tivo]

Make sure you have the black tubing, UV can get through the white one and degrade CL.

 

[RonsPlc]

My white tubing lasted me less than a season, then started leaking. Since installing the black tubing a couple of years ago, I haven't had an issue.

 

[EngineerNerd]

Thanks RonsPlc! And I have to ask, how did you (or someone) dig a hole for the 55 gallon drum!?

 

[tim5055]

1. Can anyone suggest a cover for a 15 gallon tank and pump that will help to shade the Stenner tank from direct sunlight that looks somewhat attractive?

Maybe a fake rock? They come in multiple sizes and colors to cover stuff in the yard and some are already insulated on the underside.

Google Well fake rock and you will see a bunch of options.

 

[RonsPlc]

Thanks RonsPlc! And I have to ask, how did you (or someone) dig a hole for the 55 gallon drum!?

It was ALL yours truly with a set of manual post hole diggers.
The tricky part was the fact that I ONLY had a FULL barrel of bleach to put into the hole.
The wife asked me how I was going to get the barrel into the hole without it busting wide open when it hit bottom.
That's when I smiled and told her that I was going to fill the hole with water, and let the weight of the bleach displace the water as it sank!
To her surprise, it worked... Oh ye of little faith! LOL

 

[iamtexmax]

Off topic - has anyone in Austin, TX done a Stenner installation and used a contractor to do it (I am not handy - 2 left hands ) - so if anyone has used a contractor to handle this, I will be eternally grateful......until then its manual dosing

 

[EngineerNerd]

Maybe a fake rock? They come in multiple sizes and colors to cover stuff in the yard and some are already insulated on the underside.

Google Well fake rock and you will see a bunch of options.

Thanks Tim! The fake rock would not work well for my location, but your suggestion with a tweak was loads of fun and did provide some interesting ideas. I searched on "well fake cover". I guess it is no surprise that there are a lot more homeowners trying to hide wells than acid and chlorine tanks.

 

[EngineerNerd]

2. I have spare relays in my Pentair Intellitouch i7 panel for the new 220V “classic” Both main pool pump and Polaris booster pump have 220v wiring fed through “flex PVC” conduit purchased at Home Depot / Lowes. Does a Stenner pump need this same treatment, or can I just feed the cord that comes with the Stenner “as is” into the control panel box?

3. My 220v. wiring bundles are getting pretty crammed in the Pentair control system cabinet. I currently have two wire nut “twist bundles” for 5 wires in two wire nuts (1. From breaker box, 2. Pool heater, 3. Intelliflo pump, 4. To Polaris booster relay, and 5. Intellitouch panel power). So, do I add a 6th wire for “to Stenner pump relay” or is there a better way to wire up the Stenner. Possibly daisy-chaining the 220v. in wires from the Polaris booster relay over to the Stenner pump relay would make sense. Bottom line – how should I wire the 220v for a new Stenner pump relay?

Bump... I've receive some great ideas for question #1, but nothing for Q2 and Q3. Anyone???

 

[EngineerNerd]

For anyone watching, I found my own answer for #3 -- Wago 221 series connectors. They look really solid and the 5 connector part looks perfect for what I need. I ordered some 20Amp (Wago p/n 221-615) and 30Amp (Wago p/n 221-415) sizes from Amazon and will decide after looking at each next to all of my current equipment wires which to use in my pool control box.

Pre-Stenner, I have 4x wires going into wire-nut twist connectors (from breaker, to Intelliflo pump, to Polaris booster pump, and to a MasterTemp heater and I understand that 4x wires into a single wire-nut is the absolute maximum. And now with the Stenner, I'll have the need for a 5x wire connection.

 

[rphpool]

I cut the bottom out of a garbage can. I then slid can over the chlorine tank. I then stuffed various types of bubble wrap between tank and garbage can. Believe it or not it keeps tank cool. I also put bubble wrap on the top of the tank and the garbage can lid on top of the garbage can.

 

[EngineerNerd]

Rick (rphpool),

Thanks for your reply!

I'd love to see some photos of what you've done! I seem to recall you saying in another thread that you covered a Stenner with a garbage can. I actually searched garbage can dimensions and what I found would look terrible, and definitely not fly with my wife (pool equipment is low profile to stay out of view from our kitchen windows which run continuously between the countertops and cabinets).

I'm envisioning that maybe a partial bury + "cutdown" garbage can cover could maybe the best of all worlds for our installation now though.

Regarding your comment, "believe it or not i keeps tank cool", I can certainly believe it. Shade and insulation vs. a dark gray plastic tank on a hot Texas sunny day sounds like a significant difference to me.

Regards,

Jim

 

[trivetman]

Nerd - the stenner 220v electrical has a plug attached. Designed to go into the type of outlet linked below. Ive definitely read of people who cut the plug and hard wire it in but I think that will void warranty. Also makes it harder to disconnect for servicing etc.

Leviton 20 Amp Commercial Grade Double-Pole Single Outlet, Light Almond R66-05821-0TS - The Home Depot

Leviton offers a comprehensive line of UL listed products for every electrical need. Leviton's wiring devices and accessories are backed by state-of-the-art research, design, engineering, manufacturing,

www.homedepot.com

 

[FnC80]

In regards on how to wire it in, I’d go the route of just wiring in a new outdoor outlet connected to your relays in your control panel. I did this for my stenner and it makes servicing much easier, with zeei issues in years. You just unplug when needed and then can move indoors in the air conditioning to do maintenance. All that’s required is an outdoor electrical outlet box, outlet, and some flexible conduit. Even a person with moderate skill can do it without worry.

 

[EngineerNerd]

trivetman and FnC80,

Thanks so much, I appreciate both of your suggestions.

So, my current plan is now to:
- Wire the Stenner relay 220 to a weatherproof outlet and jbox
- And, get a 220v male to 220v female "adapter" so that I can do maintenance (annual peristaltic tube changes) inside (in our air conditioned utility room)

 

[kffolts]

Off topic - has anyone in Austin, TX done a Stenner installation and used a contractor to do it (I am not handy - 2 left hands ) - so if anyone has used a contractor to handle this, I will be eternally grateful......until then its manual dosing

I installed a Stenner pump 10 days ago in Austin (actually just North of Austin in Leander). I couldn't find a contractor or pool company to install a chlorine pump. They are all busy with new pool installs due to COVID or just didn't want to do it.

First some background: I have a 25k plaster pool with UV sanitation system. I use TF-100 test kit and use about 48oz of 12.5% liquid chlorine a day. My pool and my pool equipment is in full sun all day so that coupled with my UV system, my demand is probably higher than most. Also, I keep my CYA in the 30-40 range which I know is low.

I was reluctant to go with a chlorine pump as I was fearful of the impact of the heat/sun on breaking down the chorine. But my pool equipment sits right outside a wall to my garage. So, I took temperature measurements and found my garage usually stays below 85 degrees even in the heat of the summer. So, that offered me the solution shown below.

I found a "new old stock" Stenner 30 gallon tank/pump combo for $475 that came with a hose etc. The pump is a S3G45MJH2A1S (45HP, 1-10 gallon/day adjustable). I installed it in my garage and plugged the pump into a smart-home outlet that allows me to control the pump base off time, temperature, weather etc.. But, you don't really need anything other than a simple timer. The pump is set to max 10 gallons/day output so I only have to run it for 45 minutes to deliver the required 48oz. Having it on a timer allows me to run the pump after the sun goes down. My TF-100 test results show that after a full day of sun, my FC drops down to about 2.5ppm. Then the pump runs for 45 min, raises the FC to 5.0ppm, and then shuts off. I run the filtration/circulation pump (running during chlorine delivery) another 30 min or so to be sure the chlorine makes it into the pool.

I'm really please with the setup so far. I have less than $600 in total investment. I was getting quotes of $2500-$3000 when I was talking to the contractors (not even mentioning the garage/wall installation). But, in their defense, at the time I thought I needed to buy the pump made for my pool controller: Hayward OmniLogic. They make a solution called the Hayward "Liquid Feed System" which is pricey. But then, I found with my friends at TFP that the Stenner was a very elegant solution. So again, TFP saved me thousands. Hence why I'm a "gold" supporter.

I don't plan to put 30 gallons in the tank. My pool is not big enough. I plan to only keep 8-16 gallons in it depending on the time of year/chlorine demand and/or chlorine availability (12.5% I get from Leslie pool but they seem to keep running out of it so I buy 8-12 gallons at time). When fall and winter sets in, I know I'll need to reduce the amount of chlorine delivered by reducing the pump run time. Also, I need to replace the delivery hose with black hose. But the clear hose come with the tank so I'm using that for this year.

The whole installation took less than 3 hours from start to finish. Even with my two left hands!


Stenner pump/tank in garage plugged into smart-home outlet. Plastic tub in case of spills.


chlorine delivery tube entering wall.


Chlorine delivery tube coming out of wall next to pull equipment.

T installed on return line. The distance from the outside wall to the inlet is less than 6 ft. NOTE: While the tablet feeder still works, I don't use it due to it's lack of CYA control. If I were to every use it again, I would have to not use the cholorine pump (so I installed a shut off valve just after the check valve of the pump for safety/maintenance).

 

[RonsPlc]

@kffolts the only thing I can see theat you are going to be changing in the NEAR future is the tube leading out of the discharge.
That white tube does not stand up well in sunlight, and should be replaced with some of the black UV resistant tube within the year.