A system for on site monitoring and controlling the characteristics of a body of water by measuring the water characteristics in a first position and adjusting the water characteristics in a second position through either adding dispensable materials to the water or changing the energy of the water or both.
1. A recreational water circulation system for controlling water characteristics comprising:
a container for holding a body of recreational water;
a circulation line connected to said container;
a pump, said pump circulating water to and from the container through said circulation line;
a dispenser in fluid communication with the body of recreational water, said dispenser containing a dispensable material including an ion yielding material for changing a water characteristic of the body of recreational water;
a chlorine generator for releasing chlorine into the body of recreational water for changing the water characteristic of the body of recreational water;
a plurality of sensors located in either said circulation line or said container for on-the-go measuring the water characteristic of the body of water upstream of the chlorine generator wherein a volume of water flowing past the sensors remains constant while a volume of water flowing past the dispenser changes in response to a measurement from said sensors; and
a control station responsive to the measured water characteristic from said sensor with said control system directing more or less water through the dispenser while generating chlorine in the circulation line to thereby maintain the chlorine in the container within a suitable range by increasing or decreasing an amount of dispensable material while controlling the generation of chlorine in the water in the circulation line.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the dispensable material includes minerals and the water characteristic of the body of water is the level of chlorine in the body of water.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein the dispensable material includes silver chloride.
4. The system of claim 3 including at least two dispensers wherein at least one of the dispensers is flow area controllable.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein the circulation line includes a bypass pipe and a branch pipe with a housing therein for retaining at least two dispensers therein and a diverter valve for directing water through either the branch pipe or simultaneously through both the bypass pipe or the branch pipe before returning the water to the container.
6. The system of claim 3 including a diverter for directing water into either a bypass pipe or a branch pipe containing a dispenser housing.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensor is mounted in a monitoring unit that is mounted upstream of the dispenser.
8. The system of claim 1 including at least two sensors and a pump for directing water past said at least two sensors.
9. The system of claim 8 wherein one of the sensors is a salinity sensor.
10. The system of claim 8 wherein one of the sensors is a pH sensor.
11. The system of claim 8 wherein one of the sensors is a microorganism sensor.
12. The system of claim 8 wherein one of sensors is a temperature sensor.
13. A method of continually controlling a level of a safety or comfort characteristic of a body of water without intermittently interrupting the operation of the system comprising:
recirculating a portion of water in a container through a water circulation line;
measuring a water characteristic of a body of water;
generating a control signal in response to the measured water characteristic of the body of water; and
using the control signal to increase or decrease the voltage to a chlorine generator located in the circulation line and to increase or decrease the water flow through a dispensing unit in the water circulation line to thereby increase or decrease a rate of dispensing from the dispensing unit in order maintain the water characteristic in the container at a proper level.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the measuring of the water characteristic is done on-the-go and including a comparison of the water characteristic is done on-the-go.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein to change the characteristic of the water more or less water is flowed through a dispenser housing ranging from no flow to full flow.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein at least two characteristics of the water are measured as the water flows through a monitor.
17. The method of claim 14 wherein the measuring is done at one location and the changing of the characteristic of the water is done downstream of the one location.
18. The method of claim 14 including pumping water through both a bypass pipe and a branch pipe to enable water circulation to be maintained even though water flow through a dispenser housing in the branch pipe is changed.
19. The method of claim 14 wherein the water is directed through a swimming pool, spa or hot tub.
20. The method of claim 14 wherein the water is directed through a dispenser containing minerals.
21. A system for controlling water characteristics in an in home swimming pool or spa comprising:
a chlorine sensor for on-the-go measuring a level of chorine in a first portion of a body of water to obtain a measured chlorine level;
a flow area controllable dispenser containing an ion yielding material; and
a control station responsive to the measured chlorine level in the first portion of, the body of water, said control station changing a chlorine level in a second portion of the body of water in response to the measured chlorine level by varying a voltage to a chlorine generator in order to maintain a proper chlorine level for the body of water.
22. The system of claim 21 wherein the flow area controllable dispenser includes minerals.
23. The system of claim 22 wherein the dispenser includes silver chloride.
24. A control system for controlling water characteristics of a body of recreational water comprising:
a container for holding a body of recreational water;
a circulation line connected to said container;
a pump, said pump circulating water to and from the container through said circulation line;
a plurality of branch lines located in said circulation line for directing a portion of the water therethrough;
a sensor for measuring a water characteristic;
a control station for generating a signal in response to the water characteristic; and
a first dispenser housing located in one of said plurality of branch lines and a second dispenser housing located in another of said plurality of branch lines, said dispenser housings independently responsive to thereby change a dispensing rate of the dispenser housing in one of the plurality of branch lines and a bypass line.
25. The control station of claim 24 wherein the first dispenser is a chlorine generator and the signal is an analog voltage signal; and a plenum chamber for mixing the water from the plurality of branch lines before directing the water back into the body of recreational water.
26. The control station of claim 25 wherein the second dispenser is a mineral dispenser and the signal is a hydraulic signal that rotates a selector valve in the mineral dispenser to direct water.
27. The control station of claim 25 wherein at least two water characteristics are measured and the at least two water characteristics are simultaneously controlled by the control station.
28. The control station of claim 25 wherein the water characteristic sensors are mounted in the body of water.
29. The control station of claim 25 including a plenum chamber wherein the flow of water passes through the plenum chamber before returning to the container.