Stenner liquid chlorine pump - How to choose and install

[Dirk]

I like that a Stenner solution can work in the colder months. I have to manually add chlorine for a few months in the winter when my SWG won't fire.

Your +1 for a non-SWG pool, that you can filter and drink the pool water, is not particularly accurate. There are other things besides salt in any pool that make it a poor choice for a survival water source. But even so, all pools are saltwater pools, which you kinda corroborate, right, with all the problems you were having with salt in a non-SWG pool? If you can't filter an SWG pool because of its salt, then you can't filter a non-SWG pool either.

Don't mean to sound cantankerous, I just wouldn't want someone to pass on an SWG because they thought without one they'd have 20000 gals of emergency drinking water in their backyard.

You use the pool for bathing and washing and for poisoning your neighbors so you can later go over and steal their food without getting shot...

 

[runboy]

stenner check valve died and let pool water backflow into bleach barrel and poured out the top getting bleach water everywhere corroding copper tubing.

I had a slow check valve fail, so all that happened was that my solution got diluted and it took me a while to figure out why I wasn’t getting enough chlorine in my pool. Now I change it every year as a precaution together with the pump tube.

 

[wireform]

I just don't get this whole stenner pump thing. As automated as it sounds there's still that "need to get me more chlorine" thing going forever. With SWCG the outlay is there and isn't more money if it's calculated out over the life of the cell. To me the SWCG is much easier and in the end salt is salt which ever way you go.

 

[Dirk]

I just don't get this whole stenner pump thing. As automated as it sounds there's still that "need to get me more chlorine" thing going forever. With SWCG the outlay is there and isn't more money if it's calculated out over the life of the cell. To me the SWCG is much easier and in the end salt is salt which ever way you go.

The Stenner system has the startup costs of an SWG and the chlorine costs of non-SWG, though it doesn't need to be periodically replaced like an SWG. It can go year-round, unlike an SWG (unless you live in a warmer climate). They both alleviate daily dosing, neither alleviates regular testing. Plus this potentially glaring difference: Stenner dosing is subject to the same freshness issues that exists for all liquid chlorine users, both at time of purchase and during on-site storage, where SWGs provide the absolute freshest chlorine available, as it's made fresh just seconds before it goes into your pool!

No brainer for me. But others, I'm sure, have their own reasons for Stenners. (What did I leave out?)

 

[Teald024]

I got my Stenner pump second hand and it was half the cost of new. I bought a 15 gallon barrel, some pvc and a timer. I spent less than $200 on the install I did myself.
I agree the downside is still having to lug chlorine jugs around, but I did that monthly at most, something I was willing to live with.
The upside was that I could dose my pool in an hour and if I needed extra chlorine that day I could just run an extra few minutes as needed. With the Stenner, it is easy to make small adjustments on chlorine dosing. The Stenner also doesn’t care what the water temp is and no need to monitor salt levels.

 

[Dirk]

Ah, good point. You can't quickly add chlorine and move your FC with an SWG...

 

[anotherpyr]

The Stenner system has the startup costs of an SWG and the chlorine costs of non-SWG, though it doesn't need to be periodically replaced like an SWG. It can go year-round, unlike an SWG (unless you live in a warmer climate). They both alleviate daily dosing, neither alleviates regular testing. Plus this potentially glaring difference: Stenner dosing is subject to the same freshness issues that exists for all liquid chlorine users, both at time of purchase and during on-site storage, where SWGs provide the absolute freshest chlorine available, as it's made fresh just seconds before it goes into your pool!

No brainer for me. But others, I'm sure, have their own reasons for Stenners. (What did I leave out?)

I would think the stenner is cheaper on startup. At least for an inground pool as the econ t can be picked up for under $300, while an SWG system seems to start around $900.

 

[Stenner Tech Support]

Very helpful and timely info. as I am starting my install.

Hi,
If at anytime you need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us

Thank you for your support. We hope this will help.

 

[Chasarms]

My pool documentation explicitly states that the use of a SWCG voids the warranty, which made the Stenner a no-brainer for me.

 

[Dirk]

I would think the stenner is cheaper on startup. At least for an inground pool as the econ t can be picked up for under $300, while an SWG system seems to start around $900.

Yes, I should have phrased that differently. More like: Stenner startup costs are in addition to the cost of liquid chlorine, where SWG costs supplant the cost of liquid chlorine. They each have their pros and cons, for sure, but the deal breaker for me is that a Stenner, except for its daily dosing convenience, carries all the major downsides of liquid chlorine use: buying, lugging, storing, pouring and degrading. The cost was the least of it for me, because I'm working with a large reserve of cash each year: the money I save every month from firing the pool service and taking care of the pool myself with TFP!

 

[Steve_in_C]

I think that anyone who can handle the salt in their pool and has a way to safely discharge salt water would be better off with a SWG. The Stenner is the best option for those of us who can't use salt for one reason or the other. Cost is not the reason. Hauling chlorine bleach is the real downside of the Stenner. Salt is the real downside of the SWG. If you can handle the salt, go with the SWG. I just have a pool with metal sides with a warranty voided by salt. I also don't have anywhere to discharge the salt. I have a friend with a SWG and he has a large dead area in his yard from salt discharge. I guess it depends on your situation / rainfall. I have to drain down my pool 40" over a years time. That''s a lot of salt water to discharge and a lot of salt to purchase.

 

[wireform]

I think that anyone who can handle the salt in their pool and has a way to safely discharge salt water would be better off with a SWG. The Stenner is the best option for those of us who can't use salt for one reason or the other. Cost is not the reason. Hauling chlorine bleach is the real downside of the Stenner. Salt is the real downside of the SWG. If you can handle the salt, go with the SWG. I just have a pool with metal sides with a warranty voided by salt. I also don't have anywhere to discharge the salt. I have a friend with a SWG and he has a large dead area in his yard from salt discharge. I guess it depends on your situation / rainfall. I have to drain down my pool 40" over a years time. That''s a lot of salt water to discharge and a lot of salt to purchase.

Steve,
What you're saying about SWCG/chlorine is really all the same. A chlorine pool just means you're adding chlorine and not the salt method but in reality there's going to be salt in the water regardless of how you chlorinate. If you have water which is several years old and always use LC you may have a very high salinity level that way too. Your comment about the metal side of your pool may not be different if you used SWCG.

 

[Dirk]

Steve,
What you're saying about SWCG/chlorine is really all the same. A chlorine pool just means you're adding chlorine and not the salt method but in reality there's going to be salt in the water regardless of how you chlorinate. If you have water which is several years old and always use LC you may have a very high salinity level that way too. Your comment about the metal side of your pool may not be different if you used SWCG.

Beat me to it. If you have a pool that accumulates salt (due to the salt in the fill water, or the local rainfall situation, user-load, whatever), I believe the discharge issues will be the same between an SWG pool and non-SWG pool. I'm pretty sure they'll accumulate the same, and perhaps the SWG will actually accumulate less. Huh? See if I got this right (or close)... The salt required for the SWG is a constant. The salt that's left behind by humans, or by muriatic acid, or comes in with the fill water, are the variables that will cause the accumulation. Those variables exist regardless of the source of the chlorine. So the excess salt will have to be discharged at some point with either type of pool. And the recommended FC level for an SWG pool is lower than for a non-SWG, which might make a difference in accumulation. But more importantly, the SWG reuses the salt byproduct of the chlorine, the non-SWG just accumulates the salt.

So that leaves the corrosion issue. All pools sanitized with chlorine are saltwater pools, unless you discharge the salt pretty regularly (which I guess you have to do for your pool). If your pool's materials require that, than, yes, the Stenner system is the better choice, especially if a warranty is involved. But I believe builders and manufacturers downplay SWG pools for reasons that don't always hold up to the science of how chlorine pools work.

I've never dealt with a metal pool, but I know my concrete deck looks much worse near my lawns (from freshwater overspray) than by my pool (from saltwater splashing). Water is just as much the culprit as salt.

Anywho... pool discharge needs to be done appropriately. Your garden is not the place for pool water, for sure, regardless of SWG or non-SWG. And your local municipality usually governs where it should go. The street/gutters can lead to freshwater sources. The sewer can be a problem, too, for the treatment plant downstream. My city doesn't allow either. It has to go out to a leech field that impacts the surrounding environment as little as possible. Let's face it, between their water consumption and their waste, pools are not all that great for the environment... Hey, don't shoot the messenger...

 

[Yosh]

This is how I installed my injection point. No modifications made to existing tab feeder. We haven’t used tabs since pool was handed over from pool company. Been using liquid only.

 

[Stenner Tech Support]

This is how I installed my injection point. No modifications made to existing tab feeder. We haven’t used tabs since pool was handed over from pool company. Been using liquid only.

Very nice setup!

 

[sbcpool]

The sewer can be a problem, too, for the treatment plant downstream. My city doesn't allow either. It has to go out to a leech field that impacts the surrounding environment as little as possible. Let's face it, between their water consumption and their waste, pools are not all that great for the environment... Hey, don't shoot the messenger...

It's not a problem for treatment plants, it's a problem for selling wastewater for irrigation. It's the same reason municipalities ban water softeners. They want to use their sewer water for irrigation and salt makes that impossible. Hopefully those municipalities aren't dumb enough to use it on crops. Nobody wants doses of Prozac with their tomatoes.

 

[Dirk]

Thanks for clarifying. I was surprised when they told me I couldn't put it in the sewer, but instead should use the open field behind my house. Which has a beautiful oak forest adjacent. I hope my pool gunk doesn't work it's way over to those trees! This planet would be so much nicer without all those pesky humans milling around!

 

[sbcpool]

Thanks for clarifying. I was surprised when they told me I couldn't put it in the sewer, but instead should use the open field behind my house. Which has a beautiful oak forest adjacent. I hope my pool gunk doesn't work it's way over to those trees! This planet would be so much nicer without all those pesky humans milling around!

They care about selling their sewer water, not protecting the oak trees.

 

[sbcpool]

I have a question for everyone: Is buying 6% bleach more economical in your area than diluting 12.5%? I can buy 12.5% for $3.75 a gallon, or ~$1.87 for 6.25%. It's a tiny premium for lugging half as much IMHO. Seems easier to fill the tank 50% 12.5% and 50% water. You could even add a pinch of lye for more stabilization if desired.

 

[DanF]

Curious as to why you would want to dilute 12.5% bleach. Only reason I am aware of is that lower concentration bleach keeps its strength longer?