Liquidator leak problem

[Water_man]

I connetced the 3/8" tubing adapter to my 1 1/2" PVC line and no matter how much I tightened the hose clamp, there's a leak between the black washer and the PVC pipe. The pump's suction line was easier to connect - I simply connected to the pump's drain plug outlet on the suction side.
Any ideas how to stop the leak?

 

[revstriker]

Maybe some kind of rubber gasket you could pick up at the Home Store? Someone had posted earlier about using some kind of "teflon paste".

I had a inline chlorinator which I was no longer using since I switched to BBB, so I was able to hook up my input line there with an adapter. Saved me from having to drill a hole. I know this doesn't help you, but someone else might be able to benefit from this setup.

 

[duraleigh]

Loosen the hose clamp and make sure the adapter penetrates the pipe at a perfect 90 degree angle, then retighten. It's a weak link in the system, IMO, and mine leaked there, too. I just kept repostioning it and on the third time, it was fine,

Make sure there are no burrs on the pvc pipe. you might even try a little pipe dope at the connection but, in my case, it was simply a matter of positioning it correctly into the hole.

 

[Water_man]

Loosen the hose clamp and make sure the adapter penetrates the pipe at a perfect 90 degree angle, then retighten. It's a weak link in the system, IMO, and mine leaked there, too. I just kept repostioning it and on the third time, it was fine,

Make sure there are no burrs on the pvc pipe. you might even try a little pipe dope at the connection but, in my case, it was simply a matter of positioning it correctly into the hole.

Repositioning didn't cut it. Moreover, After you tighten and release the clamp it stops tightening to the max any more. It's an irreversible process. I finally wrapped a Teflon tape around the 3/8" hole and reinserted the fitting. This seemed to work, but I still have a small leak because the clamps stopped working, as mentioned above.

Dave, please send me one or two more clamps with the tightening screw.

I think before people install their new Liquidator they should be aware of the following issues:

1. You don't need the check valves - throw them away as long as your LQ is above the pump. If you really need them get other check valves which don't obstruct the flow in the flow direction.

2. Wrap a Teflon tape on the pipe after you drill the 3/8" hole. Make sure the tape doesn't cover the opening by puncturing it with a sharp object. If you just insert the black fitting the teflon tape will stretch around it and the hole will be sealed.

3.Use the pump's drain plug opening on the suction side for a 1/4" barb tubing connector. This way you'll deal with only one "saddle fitting" instead of two.

4. Unscrew both tubing connectors of the flow meter and wrap the thread with Teflon Tape. Most likely they will leak otherwise.

All in all the concept is great and the system does its job, however, they could have done a better job on the hardware.

 

[JCJR]

I have a comment about the check valves. I also removed them from my Liquidator. I did not notice an issue until I also added a PoolSkim (device attached to a return). I started noticing a lot of air in my return line. I thought it was my solar but after carefully investigating my Liquidator was losing prime and letting air in the return side when the pump was off. I added one of the check valves on the "in" side (pressure side) and this stopped the bubbles in my return. All the air was knocking my poolskim apart and blowing all the dirt it caught from the previous day out back into the pool. I am going to add the other check valve as well due to loosing prime, but that is for another time. So, if you decide to not use the check valves, do not throw them away and keep them just in case.

 

[Water_man]

This is interesting. I was losing prime when I installed and started operating and removing the check valves helped. I suspect there's no QC on these CVs. Watch your flow rate. Did you try to blow air through the CV in the flow direction?
Was there a noticeable resistance?

I saw reports here that people couldn't get more than 3 on the flow meter with the CVs installed. This sounds like Hyundai cars in their good ole' days. Some worked some didn't.

 

[revstriker]

This is interesting. I was losing prime when I installed and started operating and removing the check valves helped. I suspect there's no QC on these CVs. Watch your flow rate. Did you try to blow air through the CV in the flow direction?
Was there a noticeable resistance?

I saw reports here that people couldn't get more than 3 on the flow meter with the CVs installed. This sounds like Hyundai cars in their good ole' days. Some worked some didn't.

I initially installed mine without the check valves. Although I wasn't losing prime, I did notice that the water from the LQ would drain back through the input tubes. I decided to install one of the check valves to stop this. By the way, on both check valves, I was unable to blow through them in the direction of the arrow. I fully expected the check valve not to work when installed, but it is working just fine. I still have not installed one, nor to I have a need for one, on the pump (vacuum)side.