Pump and controls going haywire

[daveooph]

Was running my pump after a bckwash last night and all was well. Pressure on DE filter was back to starting range of 10psi. And pump was running fine with good water circulation. Woke up this morning and presume dropped way down on DE filter to like under 5psi. Pump also was running slow and sounded weird with basically no water circulation. I tried to turning the system off (it was in auto mode) and it was stuck on. Pump control on the panel didn't work. It wouldnt turn off. Auto mode should run only per programmed schedule at night. I tried moving out of auto to service and time out modes and that turned the pump off. But if I switch mode back to auto it kicks on....and again after priming it basically runs really low and with basically no built up pressure on the DE filter.

Any ideas?

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[Jimrahbe]

Dave,

Most of the time, I run my pump at about 1,000 RPM and my DE pressure is almost always about 2 or 3. My guess is that you must have your pump set to run at about 2,500 RPM to get a pressure of 10 lbs.

I suspect, but don't know for sure, that the communications between the pump and EasyTouch is ok as it turns off in the Service and timeout Modes.

I'd look at the Pump status menu and see what RPM the pump is being told to run (if any). And I'd double check the schedule menu to make sure it somehow did not get reprogrammed.

One thought.. I know it is was not really cold here this morning, but is it possible that your freeze protection came on??

Jim R.

 

[daveooph]

Dave,

Most of the time, I run my pump at about 1,000 RPM and my DE pressure is almost always about 2 or 3. My guess is that you must have your pump set to run at about 2,500 RPM to get a pressure of 10 lbs.

I suspect, but don't know for sure, that the communications between the pump and EasyTouch is ok as it turns off in the Service and timeout Modes.

I'd look at the Pump status menu and see what RPM the pump is being told to run (if any). And I'd double check the schedule menu to make sure it somehow did not get reprogrammed.

One thought.. I know it is was not really cold here this morning, but is it possible that your freeze protection came on??

Jim R.

Hmm great thinking on the freeze protection. I bet it wouldn't let you manually override this..... This morning it was operating on what appeared to be a low speed mode. Do you know if the button on the control board would be flashing red and not allow you to turn on or off if freeze protection came on?

I'll play with it more tonight. You're right on presusre. I normally run at about 2200 rpm for 4 hours a day and pressure is at about 10psi.

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[Jimrahbe]

I have no idea about the light, but the manual says that the freeze protection overrides any programming, so I assume if the program says to be off, it will turn it on anyway. I guess I could go out and put the air temp probe in a cup of ice cubes and see what happens, but I'm not that curious..

This will be my first winter with the Easytouch system, and as far as I know it has yet to go into freeze mode. Since I run the pump 24/7, but at a very low RPM most of time, I'm not sure it ever will. I do have one valve that is "freeze" protected, so it will be interesting to see if it moves when really cold.

Jim R.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Once the automation panel goes into FREEZE PROTECTION mode, you cannot turn off any pumps/circuits that have the Freeze parameter set to YES. This is designed to protect the equipment. Now typically, when you enter freeze protection mode, the panel activates the PUMP circuit. Perhaps your panel has a different circuit activated for freeze protect. Look in SETTINGS >> CIRCUIT FUNC. and check each circuit to see if the "Freeze" parameter is set to yes or no. In my setup, I set AUX7 to a low speed (1500rpm) and then the AUX7 Circuit Function has the "Freeze" parameter set to YES. I also have my waterfall circuit set that way too so both pumps push water. Although I have a single speed waterfall pump and wish I had a 2-speed on that so I could run it on low.

 

[daveooph]

So confirmed freeze protection kicked in. All is well.

Now how do I change the temperature that it activates? Can't find this in the manual.



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[JoyfulNoise]

So confirmed freeze protection kicked in. All is well.

Now how do I change the temperature that it activates? Can't find this in the manual.



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You can't. That would be too dangerous as it would allow people to potentially thwart the protection and damage equipment.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

 

[daveooph]

You can't. That would be too dangerous as it would allow people to potentially thwart the protection and damage equipment.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

Bummer ok well knowing it kicks in below 40f what's the minimum rpm I can run at and prevent freeze damage? I want to reduce cost knowing it will kick on more frequently.

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[JoyfulNoise]

Bummer ok well knowing it kicks in below 40f what's the minimum rpm I can run at and prevent freeze damage? I want to reduce cost knowing it will kick on more frequently.

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Freeze protection will kick in once the air temp sensor hits ~32F. It latches and stays running until the air temp sensor goes above 34F.

The minimum speed is set by your IntelliFlo horsepower and your plumbing's head loss. What is the minimum speed you can run your pump without it losing prime? That's for you to experiment and figure out. Any flowing water will resist freezing so you just need to find out what the lowest RPM setting is that you can use and still move water to and from your pool.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

 

[daveooph]

Freeze protection will kick in once the air temp sensor hits ~32F. It latches and stays running until the air temp sensor goes above 34F.

The minimum speed is set by your IntelliFlo horsepower and your plumbing's head loss. What is the minimum speed you can run your pump without it losing prime? That's for you to experiment and figure out. Any flowing water will resist freezing so you just need to find out what the lowest RPM setting is that you can use and still move water to and from your pool.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

Thanks that is helpful. I'll expirement.

Now I do have a weeping wall with 7 returns on the wall. If we were below freezing for an extended period wpuld I need to ensure that I had water flowing both through the normal pool returns as well as the weeping wall? This will play a major factor as to have all 7 weeping wall features flowing I know I need to be at around 1800 rpm.

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[JoyfulNoise]

It depends on how cold and for how long. Freeze protection is most important for above ground, exposed piping like the pipes at the equipment pad. Pipes buried underground or in concrete walls are much less likely to freeze. If the freeze is just an overnight transient event, then you can limit the freeze protection to just the pool. I get overnight freezes but the temps don't hit 32F until about 3am and then go back above freezing by 8am. So in my case I probably don't even need freeze protection because it's not cold long enough to matter.

I believe user mas985 (Mark) wrote up a very informative post about freezing pipes. I'd have to go search for the link but the conclusion is/was that it takes extreme conditions for pipes to burst from freezing.


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