Background: 10K gallon Gunite freshwater pool. All Pentair equipment. I use regular bleach from Costco as my chlorine source.
I decided to build an auto bleach dispenser similar to the Stenner systems. I purchased or found the following items:
1. new 24-VDC peristaltic pump from Ebay for $10 (DC 12V/24V DIY Dosing Pump Peristaltic Dosing Head for Aquarium Lab Analytic | eBay)
2. 3 mm id, 5 mm od teflon tubing from Ebay for about $14 (1mm ~ 20mm White PTFE Teflon Tubing Pipe Size Length Selectable Lot | eBay)
3. small plastic hose nipple to 1/4" NPT adapter
4. opaque plastic barrel with a tight lid (from the trash)
5. sprinkler wire from Lowes to run power to the pump
I drilled a hole into the side of the barrel (near the top) to thread the teflon tubing from the bottom of the barrel to the pump inlet. I did not drill the hole in the barrel lid to make it easier to add bleach later to the barrel. I connected the teflon tubing from the pump outlet to the top hole in my Pentair auto chlorinator (the chlorinator for using trichlor pucks) via the plastic hose adapter. I powered the pump by using one of the unused relays in my Pentair sub-panel. The relays are normally closed and use 24 VDC to open. They can be programmed easily. I protected the peristaltic pump from the weather by making a shroud from a plastic jar.
The pump is slow with this set up. It takes about 30 minutes to add approximately 1.5 quarts of bleach, the amount I need daily for my pool in the summer. I programmed the pool pump to shut off while the peristaltic pump is dosing. I wasn't sure whether the dosing pump could overcome the pressure in the pool plumbing with the pool pump on.
I hope my experience helps someone else contemplating trying this. Time will tell how durable the $10 peristaltic pump is over the long run.
I decided to build an auto bleach dispenser similar to the Stenner systems. I purchased or found the following items:
1. new 24-VDC peristaltic pump from Ebay for $10 (DC 12V/24V DIY Dosing Pump Peristaltic Dosing Head for Aquarium Lab Analytic | eBay)
2. 3 mm id, 5 mm od teflon tubing from Ebay for about $14 (1mm ~ 20mm White PTFE Teflon Tubing Pipe Size Length Selectable Lot | eBay)
3. small plastic hose nipple to 1/4" NPT adapter
4. opaque plastic barrel with a tight lid (from the trash)
5. sprinkler wire from Lowes to run power to the pump
I drilled a hole into the side of the barrel (near the top) to thread the teflon tubing from the bottom of the barrel to the pump inlet. I did not drill the hole in the barrel lid to make it easier to add bleach later to the barrel. I connected the teflon tubing from the pump outlet to the top hole in my Pentair auto chlorinator (the chlorinator for using trichlor pucks) via the plastic hose adapter. I powered the pump by using one of the unused relays in my Pentair sub-panel. The relays are normally closed and use 24 VDC to open. They can be programmed easily. I protected the peristaltic pump from the weather by making a shroud from a plastic jar.
The pump is slow with this set up. It takes about 30 minutes to add approximately 1.5 quarts of bleach, the amount I need daily for my pool in the summer. I programmed the pool pump to shut off while the peristaltic pump is dosing. I wasn't sure whether the dosing pump could overcome the pressure in the pool plumbing with the pool pump on.
I hope my experience helps someone else contemplating trying this. Time will tell how durable the $10 peristaltic pump is over the long run.
