Automatic Liquid Bleach Dispenser

[cwstnsko]

Does anyone have any experience with or know anything about this dispenser

http://www.ezpool.com

The owners / installation manual can be found here.

http://www.ezpool.com/liquidator/Liq...e%20Manual.pdf

I haven't been able to find anyone selling it online, so I'm not sure what it might cost.

[cwstnsko]

I did find it online at one place, the small version is about $135 at that source.

I'm thinking of ordering one for a friends pool. We just brought him down from 1100+ CH and 150+ CYA by doing a 90%+ water change. I've got him sold on BBB. He can't afford a SWG at the moment and we have good, fresh 12.5% chlorine available locally for under $2.50/gallon.

On of my concerns would be how quickly the bleach would breakdown at 115 degrees this summer

[CarlD]

I had the competitor, the LiquiMate and it was a worthless piece of junk. It barely worked, and not enough to justify it.

[tmmort]

Here's a do-it-yourself computer based pool chlorinator controlled by a linux system.

[CarlD]

I'm enjoying reading this! You've explained the chemistry more simply than most. I'm a little stuck in the programming section--I don't know C with its own peculiar references, or if this is Unix script, and my Unix is 10 years ago--so I recognize "grep" but don't remember much about the command .

I also thought moving the electronics out of the pump bunker was wise.

But I am surprised at your choice of bucket. I would have thought that a blue chlorine carboy, with a modified top and the output line running through it to the bottom of the carboy (sort of like the LiquiMate scheme) would be FAR safer and remove one source of catastrophic failure.

Another easy safety item would be to have the injection be tee'd past a ball valve devoted solely to it. The system could easily isolate out the injection with one turn. That, and a spill catcher could reduce risk enormously.

Since you choose to dilute the solution to reduce all sorts of issues, why not just start with laundry bleach? There you are getting 5.25% to 6% solution which doesn't break down as fast and is far, FAR safer to handle. True 12.5%, as you and PoolDoc have noted, is far more dangerous...

Meanwhile I am enjoying this. I can't WAIT to see if you now have a secure Internet connection so you can check your pool while travelling! For me, some of the issues--like adjusting pH once or twice a week are non-issues--a lot of technology to reduce a little bit of work. But while travelling, the whole situation changes.

But I'll have to read more later--I do need to get to work this morning.

[cwstnsko]

The automated pool control is very cool.

The LiquiMate looks trivially simple. A suction side draw, a control valve and a bucket of bleach. Somehow it doesn't surprise me that it wouldn't be a reliable way of delivering a consistent amount of chlorine.

The Liquidator looks to be a bit more complex, two lines, pressure differential draw. Check valve, flow meter, Float valves to regulate water levels and a slightly different approach involving water and liquid chlorine in the same container but not mixed (if that is possible, I'll have to try an experiment.) The difference in sphistication may result in a more reliable delivery.

I just need to decide if it's worth $150 to find out.

I have blown more money on less noble causes

[dep78737]

You can get an Aquarite SWG for under $700 on ebay. May have a pretty resaonable payback at $150 for the pump plus the cost of bleach, especially if you DIY the installation.

[tmmort]

I'm enjoying reading this! You've explained the chemistry more simply than most.
...

Sorry, didn't mean to give the impression it was my site. Just googled "linux+pool+control" and came up with it. Perhaps we can invite the author over here - he also has some interesting comments about CYA in pools.

[Amir]

CWSTNSKO,
Where did you find it online? It seems like an elegant simple solution worth a $150 try and easy to remove and install. I live in Mayland and our pool is not in a very sunny area so my cl does not dissipate as fast. I would like to see if I can use this with a very low CYA (max 20 ppm) - a compromise between the Linux controled and higher cya needs of manual bleach control.
Amir

[duraleigh]

The "liquidator" intrigued me as well so I called both the manufacturer and a dealer.

The manufacturer said it worked perfectly and you only had to clean it somewhere between 6 months and five years.

The dealer gave me a much better balanced scenario. In essence, there's no free lunch. You get to trade off adding bleach every day for cleaning the unit thoroughly around once a month....depends somewhat on the hardness of your water.

Second drawback....once you set up the unit to meter out the Cl evenly, you must constantly adjust it because the Cl is diluted continuously as the pool water is passed over it. That may not be a big deal, but for me, that's a deal breaker.

The website is hasapool.com and there is a dealer list to the right on their home page. I still think it's a nice idea but, when I add up the additional work it presents me, I'll just stay with Clorox.