New IntelliPH won't rotate

[Turbo1Ton]

I ordered replacement tubes and a roller assembly last week. I'm sitting at about a year and a half. I installed mine in Oct of 2020. I don't know if I'll change the tube this season or wait until next. Wanted them on hand in case the old one ruptured.

--Jeff

 

[Flying Tivo]

A nice little trick i use, add some poolLube(silicon based)to the rubber hose, rollers and blue cap on the inside. This makes the rollers slip very nicely and last longer. Im on the third year with the same rubber hose.

 

[tomas21]

A nice little trick i use, add some poolLube(silicon based)to the rubber hose, rollers and blue cap on the inside. This makes the rollers slip very nicely and last longer. Im on the third year with the same rubber hose.

Do you have a type of pool Lube silicon base you like.. will be a backup depending how Pentair assessment goes

 

[ajw22]

Do you have a type of pool Lube silicon base you like.. will be a backup depending how Pentair assessment goes

Pool Lube - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Dirk]

That lube on the tube trick doesn't sound right to me. I don't have anything to back that up, but I don't think it's the way to go, otherwise it would be manufactured that way. If anything, depending on your environment, it'll be a dirt magnet, which could end up backfiring. But unlike @tomas21, I've never tried it, so it's just an instinct. Mainly based on the physics of it. The tube isn't sliding through the rollers. The rollers are rolling over the tube. That's not really a friction point that needs lubrication. That'd be like slathering grease on the outside of a bicycle tire! The roller on its axel (or bearings?) is the friction point, so that might be something to check/lube.

 

[Flying Tivo]

@Dirk You are correct on environment, mine is in a closed room with very little to no dirt. Going strong for 3 years now. So no adverse effects on my particular setup. Its also true about contact points on the rollers and there has to be little friction which is alleviated with the silicone. I will post as soon as my hose breaks as to have a baseline. But for now its working no issues. Probably helps with the rubber not drying so fast.

 

[Dirk]

I just read they stretch out to the point of becoming less effective. Nothing about drying out. They're made of some sort of synthetic rubber. Stenner uses Santoprene in some of their pumps. I believe the newer Pentair IntellipH pumps are Stenner pumps. That's all just from a quickie Google. Nothing definitive. Would lubing them help with the stretching? I couldn't say...

I think the trick is to replace them regularly, before they stretch, or dry, or break, or leak, or whatever. If they leak on the wheels, then you might have to replace them too, and I just saw the kit for that priced at $100! Better to change out the tubes once in a while, for sure. Which I didn't get to yesterday, so, ya know, I'm all talk!

 

[Flying Tivo]

Im 95% sure its traditional Rubber and not TPE. The ideal would be Silicon based Tubbing.

 

[Dirk]

This was the extent of my "research." The bit about Santoprene is near the bottom.

Stenner Classic Series Pump Tubes: Models 45/85 Series, SVP, S Series

Buy Stenner pump tubes replacement part and accessory kits for water treatment and filtration purpose online only at Cannon Water or call us at 916-315-2691 for enquiry.

cannonwater.com

Here's more on Santoprene:

Santoprene Offers the Performance Industries Demand | KEP

Santoprene remains a top choice for electrical, household appliance, healthcare markets and more, offers the following benefits and can be used for an incredible array of applications. KEP has been using Santoprene to make durable, temperature resistant tubing and polymers for nearly 60 years.

www.kentelastomer.com

When I think "rubber" I'm thinking a natural substance. But according to this, it's a more encompassing term, used for both natural and synthetic. Even silicon seems to be in the family:

Rubber | Tropical Plants, Petroleum, & Natural Gas | Britannica

Rubber, elastic substance obtained from the exudations of certain tropical plants (natural rubber) or derived from petroleum and natural gas (synthetic rubber). Because of its elasticity, resilience, and toughness, rubber is the basic constituent of the tires used in automotive vehicles...

www.britannica.com

Santoprene is a synthetic rubber.
Saint-Tropez is a coastal town on the French Riviera.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

From my research, the tubes seem to be Santoprene. Thanks, Dirk, for posting the link to the Santoprene information.

Makes sense about them stretching, I didn't consider that as a potential reason to change prior to failure. I suppose I may change mine ahead of this season then.

The wheels and a pack of 2 tubes was ~$50 on stennerparts.com. Hopefully they show up soon. While we won't be warming up much this week, I believe next week begins our ascent into consistently warmer temps.

--Jeff

 

[Dirk]

A leak wouldn't be a disaster on my pad, but I'm hoping to avoid one anyway. They're not cheap (hey, it's Pentair), but cheap enough to do once a year.

 

[Dirk]

Update! Uh, four years is definitely too long to change out the IntellipH pump tube! I finally got around to it yesterday. First, I don't know why I've been sitting on this project. It's way easy and takes about 3 minutes. Derr. Now I know. But check out my old one. Stuck flat. Brown and corroded. I'm not sure why it was working at all. Also, it's housing had a lot of crud. I brushed it all with a slurry of baking soda and water, and then rinsed it with Windex with Ammonia, and then finally with water. I was thinking a little "antacid treatment" to clean up, but probably could have just done water. I removed the wheel'o'wheels and scrubbed and rinsed that too. Everything was not "like new" when done, but it looked pretty good. Installing the new tube was a snap. One thing I did wrong: as I mentioned earlier, my pump cover is not clear. I tested the pump with the cover off, to watch it "squeeze." That didn't work. The cover keeps the tube in place. As soon as the motor started, the tube popped off. Anyway, it's all back together now and works fine. No binding so far.

I definitely won't go that long again. I'll shoot for once a year, and just do it when I clean my filter (also once a year). Now I want to check out the injector, and replace it, or at least its duck bill part. More on that later.

Past due:



Not maintaining this more often is probably going to cost me the wheel. This is the "before" photo. It looks better now, but I have definitely neglected it.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Thanks for updating us Dirk!

So looks like the main concern is the tube deforming and causing issues dispensing, not necessarily with a tube rupture.

I'm sitting at just over a year. Installed Oct 2020, so it went dormant with the colder water temps along with the IC40. I ran it all last season. And it went dormant again in Oct. So I expect mine won't look that bad. I received my 2 pack of tubes and wheel assembly yesterday. I bought the wheel assembly as a backup since I was paying $8 for flat rate shipping anyway. Didn't think about ordering a new injector.

I may change mine today. The weather is supposed to be low 60's and sunny. Much better than the 20's and snow we had Friday morning.

--Jeff

 

[Dirk]

Thanks for updating us Dirk!

So looks like the main concern is the tube deforming and causing issues dispensing, not necessarily with a tube rupture.

I'm sitting at just over a year. Installed Oct 2020, so it went dormant with the colder water temps along with the IC40. I ran it all last season. And it went dormant again in Oct. So I expect mine won't look that bad. I received my 2 pack of tubes and wheel assembly yesterday. I bought the wheel assembly as a backup since I was paying $8 for flat rate shipping anyway. Didn't think about ordering a new injector.

I may change mine today. The weather is supposed to be low 60's and sunny. Much better than the 20's and snow we had Friday morning.

--Jeff

Mine goes "dormant" in the winter too. I'm thinking it doesn't matter. There's acid in the tube, and it's smooshed like that, 24/7. It might get stretched, flattened and/or corroded like that whether the motor turns or not. If one of the symptoms is that brown color, that at least will signal us when it's time to replace.

FYI: Well, it used to go dormant. I'm working on a DIY circuit that keeps the IpH running all year long, even when it gets too cold for the IC. Mine's been pumping all winter this year, but the circuit has an issue. Once I get it figured out, I'll post how I did it...

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Changed my pump tube today...

Here you can see the pump tube after about 18 months. Definitely some deformation. The roller assembly was clean. No dirt or debris that I could see. The rollers all moved freely.

Will definitely do this yearly now. Especially after seeing Dirks tube after 4 years.

Also, here is the video of the new pump tube. Sounds like it is under more of a load now.

--Jeff

 

[Dirk]

I'm going to be monitoring pH closely for a while. I think with the tube flattened like mine was, that it's not going to hold as much acid, and so not pump as much acid. I think this would affect the dispensed amount (which would alter the resulting pH).

 

[Dirk]

One of the tips I use to extend the life of my IpH and its components is to dilute the acid. I use 1 gallon of 31% MA to 1 gallon of water. I've tried various ways to mix the two, most of which end up getting it on me, or my deck. So now I pour one gallon of MA into the IpH hopper, then one gallon of water. This is contrary to the ol' often-advised acid-into-water method, but when there is already acid in the tank, I'm going to be pouring water into acid one way or another. I digress. To mix the two in the tank, I attach a mixing rod onto a drill and spin it up good. Problem was, the grid on the hopper doesn't accommodate any sort of decent mixer, so I fabricated one.

I used a fiberglass shaft I found at Lowes, in their sign department. They have a reflective tape portion. These are used for marking driveways and such. I cut the shaft to length, just longer than the hopper is tall. Then I used a hacksaw and a Dremel to make a notch in one end. I cut a piece of plexiglass to approx 1" by 4" and then held it over a candle long enough to be able to twist it into a screw shape. I then epoxied the blade into the slot in the shaft. Voila!

I actually haven't tried this one yet (I just finished it this morning). This was v2. The first version used a piece of sample formica that I found at Lowes, which worked great, until it snapped off. Not sure if that was acid related. This thicker piece of plexiglass will hopefully last longer. Now, I just assumed this piece of plastic laying around in my garage was plexiglass, and that it will be acid-resistant. If not, there'll be a v3 someday!

 

[Turbo1Ton]

I dilute my acid as well. Same as you, 1 gal water to 1 gal 31% MA. I just pour them in. At this point, the biggest concern I have is splashing and so far I haven't had a problem. I usually do the water first then the acid. I just assume that the mixing from pouring them in is enough to create a homogenous mixture. It may not be but I haven't really noticed anything to indicate the contrary.

--Jeff

 

[Dirk]

Yah, I mix them because I couldn't tell if the two liquids were mixing on their own. I once tried pouring the two together at the same time, mixing "mid air" (same way I make my Arnold Palmers!), but that was probably least safe of everything I tried. They're not like oil and vinegar, but my concern is that the two liquids are different enough that without agitation they might layer in some way. When they say "31%," what's the other 69%? Is it water? If so, then maybe they would mix just fine on their own. Maybe we need @JoyfulNoise to advise. Except every time he reads about my acid handling antics, he yells at me!!

 

[Flying Tivo]

I also dilute, but close the container and shake the container until mixed. No way to spill it.