In love with my new Pentair IntelliPH automatic acid doser

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slickrock22

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Mar 25, 2017
127
Austin, TX
I have received so much great advice on this forum that I thought I would share my experience with my IntelliPH.

Last year I manually added muriatic acid every week to keep my PH within range. I always disliked having to store the acid on the side of the house (so the metal in my garage didn't rust) and then having to measure the exact amount of acid to add, always holding my breath as not to inhale. I knew there had to be a better way. After consulting TFP I knew some type of automated acid doser was the way.

I purchased a IntellPH over the winter, but didn't install until until about 1 month ago. OMG, I am in love. I no longer have to do anything (except spend countless hours removing leaves from my pool). The pools stays at a PH of 7.4-7.5 always. I cannot believe how great it is. This addition finally made it a trouble free pool to manage. I share this post for anyone on the fence about automatic acid dosing. Worth every penny in my book!
 
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Are you using direct MA or diluted? Is recommended to dilute 1:1 so less fumes and corrosion on your equipment. Also try to find some shade as heat will break down MA.
Nice setup!
 
Can you give a rough estimate of the cost of your unit, whether you installed it yourself and where you bought it? It looks simple enough to do it yourself but the electronics might be a bear if I know Pentair.
 
I added the same tank and pump to my Jandy system - I got the Pentair Tank/Pump for $320 from Sunplay (using a coupon I think I got $25 off as well). I also needed a $10 Power Transformer to get the right voltage for the pump.

For hooking everything up I needed some various wires and a couple of concrete bolts to anchor the tank down to my pad. Finally, I purchased a 1/2" NPT tap and used a drill bit to add the injection port to my plumbing. All those parts and screws were under $25.00.

There is a great thread showing how to wire it to a Pentair Power Center linked below - I used that post for my inspiration and just did the same thing with my Jandy Power Center...
Get IntelliPH working without InteliChlor?
 
Sorry for the slow reply. I am using a 1:1 ratio of acid/water per the installation instructions. The reason I didn't have earlier when I replaced all of my equipment is that I was being cheap. I found it on Amazon Warehouse (as New - Open box). Got the entire kit shipped to the house for $199. The top was broken. Sunplay had the top for $49.99. Called Amazon to let them know and boom, it was now $149 from Amazon. Ordered the top from Sunplay and was in business. I also considered the partial DIY like SanataCruzPool. I just wanted all the tech to work together and only turn on when the SWG was running. Knowing what i know now, I would easily pay full retail. Pool has stayed in balance after I reversed engineered the approx about of acid I needed to add weekly per history along with the diluted % of acid per the ItelliPH dosing table.
 

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Great thread. I second the decision to use pH Automation, especially for those with acid thirsty pools. I have a Stenner version and have taken daily pool maintenance and reduced that to 1-2x week depending on the season.

I had originally purchased the Stenner system for Chlorine Automation but found that it was difficult to maintain a steady level due to changing weather, heat degradation of chlorine, bather load, etc. I decided to repurpose the system for acid and have found that it works incredibly well. I canhold a small pH range for weeks/months at a time.

PS: I am using a 16% Acid solution. Not sure if OP is diluting 32 or 16%.
 
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I am using the 14.5% MA I can source locally - it is my cheapest option, and I like that I can pour that stuff straight into the tank with no diluting needed. So far early in the life of this injection system I am injecting acid 3 times a week for 1 minute which adds around 15oz of acid. So far this has kept my PH right around 7.6-7.7. We do have fairly high TA fill water so I struggle to keep the TA under 70-80, and so I target a PH of 7.6, but it seems more stable at around 7.7.
 
Interesting info Santacruz. I just assumed everyone dispensed acid daily, but a lot probably depends on the pump rate. I have s 5gpd pump which works well to pump acid nightly. I pump 30 minutes to get 13oz each night. Unfortunately my run times are a bit long for 13oz, but the plus side is a bit more flexibility on being able to dispense daily (if that can be considered a benefit).

I too am using undiluted acid (~16%). At first I tried buying the 32% ( what I used to use when pouring manually)and diluting by half. I found this to be obscenely dangerous and a poor way to save a nickel. If the acid didn’t have to be premixed before adding to the tank I wouldn’t mind, but pre-mixing before adding is asking for trouble.
 
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