Thanks again to all for the great information provided on this site. I made the decision to install a Stenner pump to handle my chlorine for the pool, all the info I needed was here in different threads. I’ll try to pull it together in one place, or as much as I needed to get installed and rolling
I made the decision to go Stenner and liquid over a SWG due to the initial cost, from there others say the costs may be about equal to SWG’s over time. Everyone’s mileage may vary, but I’ve just read too many threads about the upkeep of the SWG’s and their lifespan, plus many varying stories about damage to stone and deck from salt. In a few years I may change my mind and go salt, but for now – it’s a Stenner and liquid. As a side note our PB didn’t want to do salt (they said they would it if we really wanted but from their experience the upkeep and repair wasn’t worth it). I know, however, that the PB’s don’t always know best and I wouldn’t use my PB to build another one anyway.
I chose a fixed speed pump because I’ve got a good timer setup with the Pentair ET8.. The variable speed pumps also require more maintenance so I wanted to stay away from that. I chose the 45MPHP10 - 10 GPD. It gives me the ability to pump the chlorine I need in about 30 minutes. The best price I could find was at Lockewell.com in Orlando. I bought it online and shipping was quick. It’s mounted outside so I bought the rain hood for it too.
I found a good 15 gallon barrel on Craigslist for $20. The seller had tons of them, so I bought 2 just to have a backup at that price. I spent about 30 bucks for wire, conduit, 220 plug, and a weather box. Total investment about $300 plus my time. I’m somewhat handy and used the good documentation from others here at TFP, so I took on the wiring and adding to the ET8 myself. I used a free relay and redid a couple of other relays so that they would only run if the pool pump was on. If the pump isn’t on, it won’t pump chlorine. I wanted to make it easy to take the pump down if necessary so I wired a 220 receptacle to the relay/ET8 and then plugged the pump in to that. I didn’t cut the plug off to wire it directly into the panel. This gives me the flexibility if I need to take the pump down or replace the pumping tube.
I got the wiring completed and measured where I wanted the tank and where I would inject to the plumbing. I then took an opportunity to test my pumps true output using water. I did a couple of tests and I measured about 1.2 ounces per minute. The pump documentation says it will pump at .89 oz. per minute, so I’m getting a little more than Stenner says I would.
I had studied where I wanted to inject into the pool plumbing. I can get a little OCD with stuff like this and was afraid of doing something that might not work or I’d mess up some plumbing and be without a pump for a day or two. My first preference was to tap the pipe – so I bought the recommended drill bit and tap (23/32” ½ drill bit and ½ inch 14 pipe thread tap.) I ordered those off of Amazon. When I ordered I also bought my backup plan, a 2 inch PVC T with the ½ fpt. The T was my backup if I messed up the tap in the PVC and needed to cut it out, I would put the T in its place. I bought a one foot piece of 2” PVC and tested tapping a couple of holes. Drilling and tapping in my “test pipe” was very easy and as reported the pipe is plenty thick to hold the injector. At the end of the day I had something else I wanted to investigate and it worked. I took the drain plug out of my Nature 2 device (the Nature 2 uses a metals cartridge and holds tri-chlor pucks for chlorination, I don’t use the Nature 2 cartridge any more) – I found it has ¼ inch threads on the drain plug. I took the o-ring off the plug, put it on the ¼ threads of the stenner injector and it was a perfect fit. I really liked this as I didn’t have to drill or touch the plumbing in any other way. I’ve read this is potentially a hazard should anyone ever use the Nature 2 for pucks again as you shouldn’t mix 2 sources of chlorine at the same injection place. I have no plans to put pucks in and if I need to for some reason I’ll turn the stenner pump off. If I ever sell the house I can always drill the pipe and add the chlorine at my original choice just after the Nature 2 so I don’t leave anything dangerous behind.
I added a few gallons of chlorine to my tank, set up two timers injecting half the chlorine about noon and the other half in the evening. I also added an egg timer and a button to my ET control so that if I ever have a party or a storm or need extra chlorine – I hit the button and I get 15 minutes of chlorine at the touch of a button.
I’ve been running about 2 weeks and couldn’t be happier. I test the water each day and so far I’ve been almost perfect on the FC. if the chlorine starts to creep up or down I’ll just adjust my timers by a minute or two to keep the chlorine at the desired level. The ET8 panel makes using this super easy.
I made the decision to go Stenner and liquid over a SWG due to the initial cost, from there others say the costs may be about equal to SWG’s over time. Everyone’s mileage may vary, but I’ve just read too many threads about the upkeep of the SWG’s and their lifespan, plus many varying stories about damage to stone and deck from salt. In a few years I may change my mind and go salt, but for now – it’s a Stenner and liquid. As a side note our PB didn’t want to do salt (they said they would it if we really wanted but from their experience the upkeep and repair wasn’t worth it). I know, however, that the PB’s don’t always know best and I wouldn’t use my PB to build another one anyway.
I chose a fixed speed pump because I’ve got a good timer setup with the Pentair ET8.. The variable speed pumps also require more maintenance so I wanted to stay away from that. I chose the 45MPHP10 - 10 GPD. It gives me the ability to pump the chlorine I need in about 30 minutes. The best price I could find was at Lockewell.com in Orlando. I bought it online and shipping was quick. It’s mounted outside so I bought the rain hood for it too.
I found a good 15 gallon barrel on Craigslist for $20. The seller had tons of them, so I bought 2 just to have a backup at that price. I spent about 30 bucks for wire, conduit, 220 plug, and a weather box. Total investment about $300 plus my time. I’m somewhat handy and used the good documentation from others here at TFP, so I took on the wiring and adding to the ET8 myself. I used a free relay and redid a couple of other relays so that they would only run if the pool pump was on. If the pump isn’t on, it won’t pump chlorine. I wanted to make it easy to take the pump down if necessary so I wired a 220 receptacle to the relay/ET8 and then plugged the pump in to that. I didn’t cut the plug off to wire it directly into the panel. This gives me the flexibility if I need to take the pump down or replace the pumping tube.
I got the wiring completed and measured where I wanted the tank and where I would inject to the plumbing. I then took an opportunity to test my pumps true output using water. I did a couple of tests and I measured about 1.2 ounces per minute. The pump documentation says it will pump at .89 oz. per minute, so I’m getting a little more than Stenner says I would.
I had studied where I wanted to inject into the pool plumbing. I can get a little OCD with stuff like this and was afraid of doing something that might not work or I’d mess up some plumbing and be without a pump for a day or two. My first preference was to tap the pipe – so I bought the recommended drill bit and tap (23/32” ½ drill bit and ½ inch 14 pipe thread tap.) I ordered those off of Amazon. When I ordered I also bought my backup plan, a 2 inch PVC T with the ½ fpt. The T was my backup if I messed up the tap in the PVC and needed to cut it out, I would put the T in its place. I bought a one foot piece of 2” PVC and tested tapping a couple of holes. Drilling and tapping in my “test pipe” was very easy and as reported the pipe is plenty thick to hold the injector. At the end of the day I had something else I wanted to investigate and it worked. I took the drain plug out of my Nature 2 device (the Nature 2 uses a metals cartridge and holds tri-chlor pucks for chlorination, I don’t use the Nature 2 cartridge any more) – I found it has ¼ inch threads on the drain plug. I took the o-ring off the plug, put it on the ¼ threads of the stenner injector and it was a perfect fit. I really liked this as I didn’t have to drill or touch the plumbing in any other way. I’ve read this is potentially a hazard should anyone ever use the Nature 2 for pucks again as you shouldn’t mix 2 sources of chlorine at the same injection place. I have no plans to put pucks in and if I need to for some reason I’ll turn the stenner pump off. If I ever sell the house I can always drill the pipe and add the chlorine at my original choice just after the Nature 2 so I don’t leave anything dangerous behind.
I added a few gallons of chlorine to my tank, set up two timers injecting half the chlorine about noon and the other half in the evening. I also added an egg timer and a button to my ET control so that if I ever have a party or a storm or need extra chlorine – I hit the button and I get 15 minutes of chlorine at the touch of a button.
I’ve been running about 2 weeks and couldn’t be happier. I test the water each day and so far I’ve been almost perfect on the FC. if the chlorine starts to creep up or down I’ll just adjust my timers by a minute or two to keep the chlorine at the desired level. The ET8 panel makes using this super easy.
