Any way to automate generic VSP for HA?

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imrj99

imrj99

Member
Apr 11, 2021
6
Miami, FL
Pool Size
12000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
CircuPool RJ-30 Plus
I have a generic brand 2hp VSP, I use home assistant extensively and would like to find out any hacks for integrating this pump with HA
I haven't found much searching around , as everything seems for brand pumps (pentair, etc).....
Is there any interface on this board to manage the pump speed via RS485 or similar? and protocols?
 

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imrj99 said:
Is there any interface on this board to manage the pump speed via RS485 or similar? and protocols?
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I don't know this pump, but it's absolutely in character for low-priced units to offer no way of integrating with automation. With a quick look at specs and the manual, it looks like this is one. Literature for a pump that does integrate would brag about it.

It's also unfortunately way out of character for any pool equipment to support open standards like HA. Just about everything is proprietary.
 
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Unfortunately, the short answer is no, these pumps do not integrate with any automation systems. It holds the time when it is powered down, so shutting the power down and reapplying power will not control it either (some pumps start at Step 1 when power is reapplied). We are not aware of any protocols or interfaces on the board to control it externally.
 
Yea I agree it's probably not doable.... I didn't show that the touch button panel connects to that white JST connector on the board....
I have a good oscilloscope, maybe I can capture signals and emulate the touch functions with an Esp32 and some esphome coding?
If that doesn't work, are there boards that can replace this one and take over motor control?
I mean an thinking here that these boards aren't doing a heck of a lot, other than just using PWM signal for controlling motor RPM?
 
imrj99 said:
If that doesn't work, are there boards that can replace this one and take over motor control?
I mean an thinking here that these boards aren't doing a heck of a lot, other than just using PWM signal for controlling motor RPM?
Click to expand...
It would be nice, but see above. It's all proprietary with zero design effort to meet any standard. So step 0 is reverse engineering everything. With that result in hand you might luck out and determine that some off-the-shelf board (almost certainly not meant for pools) can be pressed into service. (I have never seen a product intended for that, and I've looked pretty hard.) Now the pool is an absolute one-off. If you ever want to sell the house, and the buyer knows their stuff, it will be a negative (unless you unwind the modification of course). If it's a no-name board that flakes out while you're on vacation (not that this can't happen with OEM stuff, but...), then you come back to a green pool.

If you do want to try this, my guess is the best approach overall is to emulate the keypad (with CD4066B bilateral switches or similar) and build a custom driver that does the right button pushing. Arduino would be a natural platform. If your pump is out in the weather, don't forget to verify temperature ranges.
 
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So would this thing do? It looks almost identical hookup like to my pump, in fact mine is very likely a knockoff of the brand pump here
www.circupool.com

CircuPool® SmartFlo Interface Kit-SF-INTERFACE

www.circupool.com www.circupool.com

I also found this thread where someone hooked up control relays right up to the motor speed controller

My new Black&Decker VSP and DIY pool controller

Earlier this year I bought a Black & Decker 3HP VSP on poolpartstogo.com and have just finished its integration with the pool. The pump is quiet and energy efficient. Here are some numbers: 2400 RPM (priming only) - 2.85A, 683W 2000 RMP (cleaning and/or intensive skimming) - 1.74A, 420W...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

1000012934.png
 
The board will work only if you can establish that the pump's motor is in fact a SmartFlo motor. I'm 98% sure it's not. Why? It's proprietary PureLine as we have been discussing. PureLine and SmartFlo are different proprietors. It's just a different world from HA where things are designed to be cobbled together. These systems are designed to prevent cobbling.

The B&D pump is designed to provide speed control via multiple relays. This is - as we've discussed - bragged about in the B&D manual. Your manual has no such bragging and consequently the pump has no such feature.

One other thing you might do is call tech support for your pump. If there is some little-known back door for automated control, they'll be the ones to know about it. But @InyoRich 's comment probably rules that out.
 
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Yes, unfortunately, we are not aware of any way to get that particular motor working with any automation system. You *might* be able to get it to work with the CircuPool interface, but different manufacturing lots of motors usually have different characteristics, and we believe the PureLine motors do not have that capability.
 
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imrj99 said:
So would this thing do? It looks almost identical hookup like to my pump, in fact mine is very likely a knockoff of the brand pump here
Click to expand...

While the pump and motor may look almost identical they often have different firmware with different capabilities.
 
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imrj99 said:
I have a generic brand 2hp VSP, I use home assistant extensively and would like to find out any hacks for integrating this pump with HA
I haven't found much searching around , as everything seems for brand pumps (pentair, etc).....
Click to expand...
Is this thread helpful - see below

Sharing my low cost, DIY pool automation

My pool area tends to get flooded when it rains heavily and too many times I was out there at night with a flash light switching on my mechanical pool timer (getting shocked several times) and opening those valves to pump out the pool. As I already was using Home Assistant for several things I...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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