Pentair IntellipH?

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tucsontico said:
Never replaced the motor but I did have an issue with the pump head corroding. The pump head would last one season, at best. The replacement cost was about $35-40. However, Pentair has since (post Aug 2014) come out with a better pump head with replaceable peristaltic tubing (looks like a Stenner). I got my local Pentair guy to order that newer IntellipH version for me and trade it out for below his cost. The newer pump head is much more robust and better sealed against the MA fumes/liquid. Only been running for 6 months, but it looks almost new!
:cool:
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old thread, new question.

I am am concerned about where to put the acid tank. I have my heater on one end, pumps on the other. Filter in the middle (that is my planned layout, still plumbing).


I dont want the acid tank at either end, so planning next to the filter.

Any issues noted with fumes fumes hitting other equipment? Concerns?

I jnow the bottles don’t seal in fumes, how well does the tank?

Thanks
 
Nice looking set up there, I'm looking at an acid dosing system at present but hadn't seen the Pentair ones. What are the prices like for the intellipH units ?

If you're worried about fumes and corrosion then you could just run diluted acid in the tank at a higher flow rate. Even at a one in two dilution the fuming would be massively reduced. There's a slight trade off with increased wear on the pump head and tubing but the tubing is a regular maintenance item anyway and the extra wear on the pump head shouldn't be that significant.
 
The IntellipH is still going strong. Love it! What I don't love is the price of the pump head tubing. I run at undiluted full strength acid, but I'm having to change the tubing about 3-4x/year. Up to this point, I have just bought the Pentair OEM tubing from an online vendor at ~$38 per pair. That seems silly expensive for tubing and plastic. Has anyone found a generic Stenner tubing that fits the pump head?
 
Ocgasman said:
The IntellipH is still going strong. Love it! What I don't love is the price of the pump head tubing. I run at undiluted full strength acid, but I'm having to change the tubing about 3-4x/year. Up to this point, I have just bought the Pentair OEM tubing from an online vendor at ~$38 per pair. That seems silly expensive for tubing and plastic. Has anyone found a generic Stenner tubing that fits the pump head?
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Why replacing it so often? I'm still on the original tubing...
 
bdavis466 said:
Why replacing it so often? I'm still on the original tubing...
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Hmm, my tubing seems to degrade quickly. I change it when the pump heads start making a crazy loud squeaking noise. Noise goes away when I change the tubing and clean the head. The tubing looks pretty bad by that time and definitely in need of a change. Wonder if I have a microscopic leak someplace.
 
Is the tubing exposed to the sun and elements? If I’m not mistaken, all of Brian’s equipment is inside an enclosed pool room/shed.
 

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Probably heat and the elements causing advanced breakdown of the rubber tubing. Maybe check with Stenner directly to see if they sell tubing at a cheaper price rather than buying OEM tubes from Pentair.
 
Ocgasman said:
Hmm, my tubing seems to degrade quickly. I change it when the pump heads start making a crazy loud squeaking noise. Noise goes away when I change the tubing and clean the head. The tubing looks pretty bad by that time and definitely in need of a change. Wonder if I have a microscopic leak someplace.
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$38 bucks does sound a bit pricey for a few inches of tubing. Or do they send you a longer length to cut to size ? Typically a roll of viton or tygon tubing will set you back one to two hundred bucks for a 50 foot roll. That would be in an I.D of around 1/8".

I would suggest that if it's chemical degradation, then, just dilute the acid. Concentrated acid requires reasonably high grade materials. Diluted down one part of acid to two parts of water really opens up the life expectancy for lower grade tubing. If you have to use concentrated as the pump is maxed out for flow, then better tubing is an option and you would probably want "Tygon Chemical" or "Viton". These have better acid resistance and are less likely to allow diffusion of acid vapour through the tubing. These are more expensive than standard rubbers like Norprene and usually used in industrial systems. You're probably looking at having to buy a 50 ft roll which is likely to set you back a couple of hundred bucks unless you can trade beer with the local industrial pump suppliers service tech. In terms of price per foot, buying a roll you would still be in front but as the stuff will last a fair bit longer than your current tubing it will take a long time to get through it and it doesn't last forever either so you may have some waste. Lab suppliers like Cole Parmer would have brands like Masterflex which is what we use in our lab and pilot plant work. There are probably cheaper alternatives so I would treat that as a worst case price. You would need to know the ID and OD of the tubing you are currently using to order.

Assuming that your pump head isn't badly pitted and wearing out the tubing, and that the pump can cope with the extra volume (I'd be surprised if it couldn't), diluting the acid 1:1 or 1:2 with water is likely to give the best bang for buck. You may even be able to buy 10% acid instead of 30+% to avoid doing the dilution yourself although diluting yourself is probably going to be cheaper.
 
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