I've joined the Liquidator Ranks, Wish me luck!

[Bama Rambler]

I bought a "new-in-box" 8 gallon Liquidator. Got it Monday the 24th, Installed it Monday the 24th. It's just as easy an install as the posts here lead you to believe.

When I first installed it, I could get a flow of 4-1/2 (4-1/2 what, I don't know??)

I set it to a little over 1 and ran the pump my normal run times (Two (4) hour sessions per day) It IS holding the FC at 6 so all is well. Me being the kind that can't leave well enough alone, decided to see what would happen if I left the control valve wide open. Well guess what??? Now I can only get the flow to a little over 2. Yeah, I understand that if 1 is good enough then more than 2 is not needed, but, :blah: you get the picture.

I'm blaming it on the fact that I cleaned the skimmer sock. That cut down the pump suction head and therefore reduced the flow out of the Liquidator. I may throw a second skimmer sock in there this afternoon to test my theory.

I don't like the check valves either. When I first got it I tried to blow through them and there is quite a bit of resistance before breakaway. It's almost as bad on vacuum. Because I have an above ground pool I can't eliminate it, so I'm considering increasing the tubing size following Rabbits thread.

As the title says, Wish me luck.

 

[Butterfly]

Good luck, Bama


Oops, I mean, Good luck, Bama :lol:

 

[Water_man]

Welcome to the LQ club! Here are a couple of comments and tips.
The original check valves are not made of good quality. Even if they work well at the beginning they may stop working properly later on, and you wouldn’t have a clue. Get US Plastics’ check valves.
This year I’m using 12% bleach instead of 6% last year, and it cuts my trips to the store by two. Someone claimed here that users reports indicate that this may be good for preventing the “white stuff”.
I’m not sure how valid this claim is, but this year I also have 50 ppm borates and I have no WS. Also, having both a LQ and borates may enable you to maintain FC below “chart level”. I use “minimum” level instead of “target” for my FC, and sometimes I can go a full day with 0.5 - 1 ppm less than "minimum" and haven’t had any problem the entire season. Never had to shock. Remember that each LQ system may have its own “character” and issues and most of the problems, if not all, can be solved by trial and error and cashing in on the experience gained here by many. Finally, I'm saying "Good Liquidating" instead of "Good Luck"

 

[Bama Rambler]

Thanks much. It's working good so far except for the dreaded check valve sticking. I've already had to tap it once and it's only been running a week. I'll be ordering the whole 3/8" upgrade today.

I'm running mine at 1 ppm above minimum recommended level for my CYA (5ppm FC) and have no problems maintaining it. I lose about 1 to 1.5 ppm FC per day. I run my pump in the evening and that bumps it up a bit. Then I run my pump again in the morning so that bumps it up a bit more to account for the loss due to it being in full sun all day.

So far I'm using 6% bleach but may switch to 12% once I have everything ironed out.

Thanks for the "Happy Liquidating" Back at cha!

 

[Water_man]

I lose about 1 to 1.5 ppm FC per day.

I wonder how you calculate FC loss with ongoing supply of fresh FC from the LQ. Suppose your pool's FC level before the LQ had started working was 6 ppm, and a flow rate of "1" or any other fixed value maintains your FC at 6 precisely and steadily. What's your FC loss? It's not zero, because you keep feeding your pool with bleach. IMO, in order to calculate the loss one needs to know the FC level at the LQ water near the floats (the level there changes as the amount of bleach at the bottom changes) and the LQ output flow rate. It's not an easy and simple task.
In my case, about once or twice a week, my FC drops by about 1, so I add manually directly to the pool. I attribute it to lowering of the amount of bleach at the LQ, because the FC level at the top is inversely proportional to the distance between the top and the border between the two layers (a basic diffusion law.) Also, some days may be sunnier than others, etc. I compensate for lowering the amount of liquid chlorine in the LQ by either adding liquid chlorine to the LQ or by increasing the flow a bit.

 

[Bama Rambler]

It's easy for me. I have my pump set to run from 3:00am till 7:00am and then again from 3:00 pm till 7:00pm, so I take a sample after the pump shuts off at 7:00am and test it, then take a sample just before the pump kicks back on at 3:00pm and test it then subtract the evening test from the morning test . Yeah, I know it's not a whole day but it's close enough for me. And before I got the liquidator it was even easier to test.

 

[PaulR]

It's easy for me. I have my pump set to run from 3:00am till 7:00am and then again from 3:00 pm till 7:00pm, so I take a sample after the pump shuts off at 7:00am and test it, then take a sample just before the pump kicks back on at 3:00pm and test it then subtract the evening test from the morning test . Yeah, I know it's not a whole day but it's close enough for me. And before I got the liquidator it was even easier to test.

Testing when the pool has been sitting still for a long time, you can see localized variations in the concentration, so it's not necessarily representative. Probably close enough for home-brew though.
--paulr

 

[Water_man]

Your measurements before and after are elementary, so maybe we're talking about two different issues.
Suppose your pool's FC reading at the beginning of the day is the same as your reading at the end of the day (6 ppm in your case) and the LQ was running when the pump was running. Would your FC loss at that day be zero? I consider it as nonzero because the pump kept feeding bleach into the pool from the LQ in order to maintain that 6 ppm steady. Where did all that added bleach go if it weren't consumed by either light or species that FC combined with? Therefore, your true FC daily loss is not
the difference between the morning reading and the evening reading. The difference in your readings can be termed as the "LQ adjustment loss" but not true FC loss. The latter would always be greater than the former.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Testing when the pool has been sitting still for a long time, you can see localized variations in the concentration, so it's not necessarily representative. Probably close enough for home-brew though.

I've seen this too. If the pump is off for a while the reading is different in different places but it's still pretty close. Close enough for me anyway.

Suppose your pool's FC reading at the beginning of the day is the same as your reading at the end of the day (6 ppm in your case) and the LQ was running when the pump was running. Would your FC loss at that day be zero?

You're right it wouldn't be zero. You'd have to know how much the liquidator was injecting to figure how much you were losing.

In my case the difference really is how much FC the sun eats because the pump is off and therefore the liquidator is not contributing chlorine to the pool, and there are no bathers in the pool during the middle of the day.

I did several daylight test before I got the LQ and they showed about the same daytime loss. I've also done several overnight drop tests so I know there's nothing but bathers and sun eating my FC.

I just ordered the 3/8" upgrade from US Plastic. Now to get that equipment building finished this weekend.