I've defected to the dark side! New peristaltic pump

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In about a year of operation using a metering pump I have found that it takes a good bit of tweaking during the spring and fall as the water warms up and cools down, but is fairly constant once you get it set during the warm more active swim season.

Ike
 
Granted that I've only had mine about a month but I've only had to adjust the dial once since installing it. It's maintaining a rock solid 5.5 ppm FC. I do run the pump in three intervals per day and I'm sure that makes a difference.
Just for completeness here's the last full set of test results I ran:
pH = 7.6
FC = 5.5
CC = 0
TA = 80
CH = <10
CYA = 55 (between 50 & 60)
 
I agree that you probably need at least the 5 gpd and maybe even the 10 gpd.

Things being linear. My pool uses 2 qts a day of bleach so since your pool is about 3 times the size of mine you should use about 1½ gallons a day so if you run your pump 8 hours a day you'll need a pump volume that's 3 times bigger than 1½ or 4.5 gpd. So theoretically the 5 gpd will be big enough but I personally would buy one size larger just to have some leeway.
 
Bama Rambler said:
I agree that you probably need at least the 5 gpd and maybe even the 10 gpd.

Things being linear. My pool uses 2 qts a day of bleach so since your pool is about 3 times the size of mine you should use about 1½ gallons a day so if you run your pump 8 hours a day you'll need a pump volume that's 3 times bigger than 1½ or 4.5 gpd. So theoretically the 5 gpd will be big enough but I personally would buy one size larger just to have some leeway.
Click to expand...

That was my original thought too. Right now, I am in the process of finding a local reliable resource to supply 12% bleach in larger quantities at a better price than 6% grocery store bleach. If I can, then I can use 1/2 the amount and in so doing, I like the rate choices that the #5 model provides better than the #10 model (based on some spreadsheet calcs). I can also adjust my pump run time to fine tune it all as well. I fear I may not be able to dial down the #10 low enough if I have overestimated my chlorine need (though probably not, huh?). On the flip side, having the added capacity of the #10 may be handy when performing a shock treatment. Either way, thanks for the sanity check!
 
The good thing about the Stenners is that to make a pump change all you have to do is replace the pump tube with another size. So the 3 gpd pump can be changed to a 10 or 22 gpd just by changing the tube to the approiate size.
 
My pool is also an indoor pool, and about 36,000 gallons during the peak summer months my chlorine use is around 2 - 2.5 gallons of 6% bleach per week. My LMI pump has a max capacity of 5 GPD which is FAR more than I need when using 6% bleach. (the LMI pump allows setting stroke length as well as number of strokes per minutes from about .5 to 60 allowing for flow rates of .001 to .21 GPH) My typical summer bleach use with moderate bather load is around 1 quart per day with 6% bleach (my bleach tends to test out higher than 6 percent as it is bought very fresh and the factory is only about 150 miles away). This is maintaining an FC of about 3 and a CYA level of around 20 per the CYA/Chlorine chart.

Ike

edited
 

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Yeah, I'm indoor and I've been popping in and out. Sorry for the mix up.
Ike-- Glad to hear your CYA level is 20. Thats what I was going to try for my indoor and after looking at the CYA/Cl chart, but every time I tell someone I'm going to keep my pool at 20ppm CYA they look at me like I'm crazy.
 
BlueWave8 said:
but every time I tell someone I'm going to keep my pool at 20ppm CYA they look at me like I'm crazy.
Click to expand...
That is because the pool industry only says to use CYA to protect chlorine breakdown from sunlight so they say not to use it for indoor pools or (covered) spas. Of course, they are ignoring the fact that CYA significantly moderates chlorine's strength because if they were to fully acknowledge that then that would open up questions about whether higher CYA levels could lead to algae growth in pools, etc. The more than one billion dollars in annual chemicals sales of Trichlor tabs/pucks and all the algaecides, clarifiers and other specialty chemical products needed to keep a pool clear when the CYA levels rise would begin to collapse if too many people understood the chlorine/CYA relationship. Of course, the industry really shot themselves in the foot anyway since the problems people have with these pools is part of the reason many install saltwater chlorine generator systems.

Now, that said, indoor pools have their own challenges because without the UV in sunlight producing hydroxyl radicals from breakdown of chlorine, the oxidation of bather waste can be slow and difficult. So indoor pools usually need some form of supplemental oxidation with UV systems being an approach that most closely mimics the sunlight effect (though the spectrum is different). Do you have such a system or any other form of supplemental oxidation such as ozone or use of non-chlorine shock (MPS)?
 
chem geek, thank you for the well informed response. Currently, I do not not have a system in place for supplemental oxidation. My pool is still in the planning phase however, and I have been interested in incorporating a form of supplemental oxidation. I have been having a very hard time finding accurate information concerning ozone and UV systems. Please correct any of this if it is incorrect, but so far it seems that ozone gas might be a bit of a hassle and an expense to do correctly, and some of my research into UV light suggests that the lights only put out enough UV to be effective for a very short time before needing to be replaced. How does this information line up with your knowledge and experience?
 
I have been using MPS shock to combat CC issues for years, it works, but the dollars do add up. Last year I found a deal on a new old stock UV ozonator (uses UV light to generate ozone which gets sucked into the circulation pump) on ebay which I intend to try this season (I plan to try to hook it up in the next couple of weeks, lots of my projects are behind schedule as I fell and broke my back about 7 months ago and I am just now mobile enough to consider working on them).

Ike
 
Just a note - back to the Peristaltic Pump...

They are not maintenance free. I have one customer that bought an older used peristaltic pump late last year, and over the last couple of weeks the FC levels started dropping in his pool. While I initially attributed it to the warming weather (it was 90oF today), I went to adjust the pump for more "time"... and the tank had barely dropped it's level in the past week.

The tubing sets on these can go "flat" and basically stop working - the tubes will wear out in as little as six months and can be a bit of coin to replace ($40-50). His was flat and was barely pushing any fluid at-all during the "priming" cycle.

But also, there was some build-up (Calcium, I'm pretty sure) that had partially clogged the check-valve located where the tubing meets the PVC that I had to clear out of the valve - obviously causing some back-pressure on the pump/tubing... and may have contributed to the accelerated wear on the tubing set.

So, just a note that they also require maintenance and monitoring... (and you can (WILL!) get chlorine all over yourself in the process. I got home tonight, and the wife says, "You smell clean!" ;) ).
 
While I am certainly not downplaying the fact that any device will have some maintenance, for me, simple mechanical systems are preferred. I checked what replacement pump tubes for the Stenner pumps are and they are about $10 each. Short of me simply dumping it in manually, this is a pretty simple setup to me with little to go wrong AND is easy for me to diagnose in the event of a problem. In any case, thanks for the add'l feedback it is appreciated. While I've not yet pulled the trigger on this scenario, it is very appealing and seems like the best option I've encountered. Having said that, my ultimate preference (DREAM) would be to find 3" chlorine pucks w/o CYA.
 
ChiknNutz said:
[snip]... my ultimate preference (DREAM) would be to find 3" chlorine pucks w/o CYA.
Click to expand...

Call me first when you find them!

:goodjob:

[edited to add...] And, I like the peristaltic pumps, although have SWCG on about 1/2 the pools we service, and nothing on the others (I won't use the feeders if they are there... except _maybe_ when it's over 100 outside for a week or so, and then very sparingly).

Just letting those considering it know the one problem I've had with the single one on our routes as something to keep an eye on...

- Jeff
 

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