Stenner Pump 1/4" Feeder and Dispensing Line Failure

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panamax53

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Dec 10, 2015
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Doral, FL
With great suggestions from this site I installed a Stenner system to dose acid 9 months ago.
Daily dosage averages 6 oz.
I came home from vacation in late September and saw my pH was high. Close investigation revealed what looked like a partial knife cut on the feeder line one inch from the tank. I used the excess slack and reconnected the line only to find it cracked two days later in the same place. The clear plastic tubing appeared to be fine. The inner walls looked good. I decided to go purchase new line from the pool company and replaced the feeder line. The next day I went out and found that the injection line failed about an inch from the stenner pump. Pool water was backflowing and spraying. I shut the system down and replaced the injection line tube.

I wonder how much acid mixture poured out? I use a 50/50 mixture in a 15 gal container. The timer had stopped when I found the failure. I assume the significant pool water back spray rinsed all the acid away. BTW, the owner at the pool company said I should not have more than a 1part acid to 2 parts water mix.

How much longer will black tubing last? Do you have a specific recommendation for a very durable 1/4" hose? My equipment is totally exposed to the sun. I would like to set up a shade cover behind the pool wall eventually. I wonder how long before the surgical tubing fails. I use a small M1 size surgical tube and run the pump on average 45 minutes a day.

Your thoughts and suggestions?
Thanks,
Max
 
General consensus on the roller tube inside the pump is 1 year. I suspect the feed tube on the suction side will last much longer and is less important to replace regularly because if it breaks you lose prime and don't end up with a spill. The pressure side should also last longer than the roller tube but tubing is cheap so why chance it, I plan on replacing it at the same time as the roller tube. Santoprene has good resistance to acid if it is going to be in the sun UV black is a better choice than the clear. When you purchase new roller tubes it is a good idea to get new ferrules and if you have the high pressure model new duck bills. It seems that eBay has the best prices, I was even able to find roller tubes with ferrules and duck bills included at a slightly cheaper price than purchasing each separately.

I have been running with straight 31% MA and have not had a failure but I did notice the roller tube is discolored I plan on switching to 1:1 when I change the tube in a few months. Also considering a vent tube away from the equipment pad as I have noticed a bit of rust on a few metal parts that I had to paint to protect
 
US Plastics out of Lima Ohio has the necessary tubing in economical rolls. usplastics.com LLDPE tubing OD 1/4" ID .017" Black UV resistant 100 ft roll item # 58032. Price $7.16 plus $11 shipping.
 
for venting MA my plan is to use an S shaped airlock like I use to brew beer sealed into the top of the storage tank. It will allow the tank to be completely sealed with a water trap similar to a P trap in a household sink, it will allow for both suction and venting. I will then run a tube out the top of the airlock to the outside of my equipment enclosure that is away from the house and more in the open air of the yard.

If you are bulk storing bleach under your house and the space has some venting like most crawl spaces do I would think you have little to worry about chlorine gas is heavier than air and should escape out the vents long before it tries to come through the floor. Breezes and convection should keep the space safe even if a whole gallon were to spill all at once I doubt you would have a problem. Think of it this way we keep gallons of bleach in laundry rooms occasionally spill some and I have never heard of a problem besides ruined clothing.

If you are still concerned perhaps you can put the bleach in a container like a rubber made, job box, or you could even create a small enclosure with wood plastic or other material. If the enclosure is air tight you could put a small supply vent near the top you could even use pipe from the outside for the supply air. For the vent out of the enclosure run some sewer pipe or dryer vent pipe near the bottom to the outside. If you want to kick it up to the next level add a computer fan to the lower pipe pulling air from the enclosure.

Total over kill but it's a fun though experiment and if it provides you peace of mind go for it.
 
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