Stenner pump for chlorine. Help with sizing and install ideas

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Pollock

0
May 6, 2018
73
Bloomington IN
I have an 11000 gallon pool and want to have the liquid chlorine addition automated. Can you guys help me on what to do? Not sure about pump sizing and where do you tie it into the system. I currently have a 3 inch puck chlorinator that has a thread hole plugged off. I could add the stenner there no problem if that would work and have 110v recepticle real close. Just would need a timer system. I noticed some of the stenner pumps come with a built in timer. The econ T does atleast.

Other possible issue. I shut off my pump by flipping the breaker in my basement. That same breaker will kill power to the place I would plug in the stenner. So I can only assume it would mess up the built in timer. Unless it has memory. Might have to rethink my pump shut down procedure. And put in a real pool pump timer.
 
I use the Stenner 85MJL1 (tube 1). That gives me 0.3-5 gallons per day. Mine is a variable, but if I could do it again, I'd do the fixed head Stenner. When you dial the variable feed down, it makes a loud click over and over. So I just keep mine dialed all the way up. I use an electronic timer that you can set to the minute. Using 6% bleach for my size pool, 60 minutes of run time gives me 1ppm. I can just go up or down on the run time to control the amount of bleach added. I don't ever have to run the pump more than 3 hours per day. Tie into the system after your pump, filter, heater, etc., right before the water returns to the pool. My outlet is wired off of the pump run outlet. So, my Stenner pump will only run if the pool pump is running. Based on the stability of bleach, I choose to always us the 6% cleaning bleach for $1.77/gallon at WalMart. Stronger concentrations are less stable. The timer should be one with a backup battery so that it would keep the setttings when the power is off to the timer.

Annual maintenance: replace the duckbill (check valve) and pump tube in the Stenner pump. Thats it..

When keeping records, I record ppm chlorine added. In this manner, I can know from year to year how much daily chlorine is being added for a given date. % bleach or other factors may affect my calibration of the Stenner pump and therefore the run times. I only check chlorine and pH once a week. I can adjust my Stenner run time up or down as necessary. There is no need to have the chlorine exactly at the goal. Just don't ever let it go below the minimum for your CYA and maximum which is your shock level.
 
The Econ T does have a battery backup for the clock. It can even be programmed without being plugged in.

With an 11,000 gallon pool your normal usage should be about a quart of bleach a day, so a 3gpd unit should be plenty of capacity to keep the pool chlorinated. Some people go with a bigger capacity pump and just run it less time. It's up to you.

We have a 13,000 gallon pool and a 3gpd stenner pump and it runs in three 45 minute intervals throughout the day. I adjust the run time occasionally to maintain the FC to match the CYA. I usually run about 50-60 ppm CYA.

I also agree with Steve about using the fixed head pump, if you don't go with the Econ. The pump I have was an adjustable head and I changed it to a fixed head after a few years and just use a timer to run it.

If the Econ had been available when I first bought ours, I would have gone with it.
 
Here's what I ended up doing. The "system" is in my basement. My only regret is that I didn't do it earlier.

New Stenner pump/Plumbing

Timer:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006LYHG42/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Tank:

ULINE - Shipping Boxes, Shipping Supplies, Packaging Materials, Packing Supplies

Pump:

45MPHP10 - Buy Stenner pumps chemical feeders - $230.00

In terms of tying it in to the plumbing - I used this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009F3JSLK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Some people just drill a hole on an elbow in their existing plumping and tap threads into it but since I was having my plumbing redone I just went w a new PVC piece that already had a threaded opening. An elbow is the best place to do the drilling if you go that route because the PVC tubing is thicker there.

Hope this helps.
 
With a fixed pump, if you have an EasyTouch, JandyRS, etc. you could wire it into the control panel and use the systems scheduling features. If you are setup for the app, you basically could control the feed time(Scheduling), or even set it up as a Feature that you could turn on anytime via the app.

- - - Updated - - -

dschribs said:
Tank:
ULINE - Shipping Boxes, Shipping Supplies, Packaging Materials, Packing Supplies
Click to expand...

Does this tank have coloring in it, or enough coloring, to shade the chlorine from UV?
 
Parabolic said:
With a fixed pump, if you have an EasyTouch, JandyRS, etc. you could wire it into the control panel and use the systems scheduling features. If you are setup for the app, you basically could control the feed time(Scheduling), or even set it up as a Feature that you could turn on anytime via the app.

- - - Updated - - -



Does this tank have coloring in it, or enough coloring, to shade the chlorine from UV?
Click to expand...

I have the tank in the basement so that's not an issue for me. It's certainly not crystal clear like a water bottle but you can see the level of the liquid inside.

This would probably be a better choice if you are putting the tank outside:

ULINE - Shipping Boxes, Shipping Supplies, Packaging Materials, Packing Supplies
 
Different schools of thought with run times for the Stenner, but I believe that using a larger capacity model and running it for a short period of time reduces wear and is less annoying.

I use a 17gpd configuration and it delivers a little less than two ounces a minute. Depending on he time of year it runs between 3 and 15 minutes a day
 

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Something to note when buying a Stenner tank...the end of the intake tube in the tank must be a few inches from the bottom of the tank. This means that you’ll have about 3or 4 gallons of chlorine in the tank that is not usable as it will be below the level of the intake. As such, think of a 15 gallon tank as a 11 gallon tank.
 
I just installed a Stenner and am using the 5 gallon carboys which the pool store sells liquid chlorine in as the reservoir. Just drilled a hole for tubing through the lid. When the jug is empty, I just swap out the old jug for the new. Saves the trouble of having to transfer a lot of liquid from tank to tank.

For the timer, I was looking to do something basic but was aware of the need to coordinate the Stenner and pool pump. I had an extra Intermatic timer and wired it as the post below shows to coordinate everything. This is for a 240V setup where Stenner, pool pump, and timers are all 240V. Using a battery backup as was described with the Econ T
also might be a good option...but I am always wary of batteries failing and would rather know my timer isn’t relying on them.

https://www.troublefreepool.com/thr...highlight=Stenner timer&p=1383049#post1383049
 
Pollock said:
How big of a tank is really needed. Thinking the 15 gallon will be more than enough. This will be outside in view so was looking at the tanks that go with the stenner pumps and a rain roof.
Click to expand...

With an 11,000 gallon pool, if you use 10% liquid chlorine and let's assume your FC loss per day is 2.5ppm. You'll 35oz of liquid chlorine per day which is only about 8 gallons per month. To make sure you're using fresh liquid chlorine, I'd recommend only buying a month's worth at a time so I would say the 7.5 gallon stenner tank is most appropriate for your pool.
 
Is there a problem with battery backup? Worst case the pump doesn't function, right? If the power goes out, none of your pool equipment will function, so in that case I would think you wouldn't want the Stenner dosing a non-functioning pool. :scratch:
 
Batteries constantly need changing and rechargables never last that long. I was able to power both clock timers without relying on batteries at all.

If the AC power goes out, none of the pumps work whether the clocks run on batteries or AC.

In response to the question about the ECON T battery - I don’t have an answer. But i think it will help to know how much youll have to rely on the battery. I only run my pool pump about 5 hrs a day, so the remaining 19 hrs the clock would be draining battery. If you run your pump the majority of the day, battery will probably last a lot longer
 
The Econ T has a built in timer so it is always drawing current even when not pumping. Thus, batteries are only a potential concern in the event the power goes out and the battery is dead. In that case you would lose your programming. The only way around this is a mechanical timer, but even then the time would have to be reset.

From the product manual...
BACKUP BATTERYThe pump uses a single CR 1220 3V lithium battery that maintains the internal time. It willnot power the display, nor run the pump, if the AC power is lost. The battery should bechanged annually.
 
spoonman said:
Something to note when buying a Stenner tank...the end of the intake tube in the tank must be a few inches from the bottom of the tank. This means that you’ll have about 3or 4 gallons of chlorine in the tank that is not usable as it will be below the level of the intake. As such, think of a 15 gallon tank as a 11 gallon tank.
Click to expand...

Without seeing it in person. That doesnt make sense to me why the tube needs to be short or off the bottom. Cant I make the tube what ever lenght I want..
 

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