New pool/spa and changing from manual to a Pentair control system - which?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
S

stimpsonjcat

0
Bronze Supporter
Feb 23, 2016
96
Dawsonville, GA
OK, currently have a small exercise pool (3k gal) and a spa (about 500 gal).

Plumbing is manual right now.

Single filter and single heater (150k).

Both in ground and indoor (room not complete yet)

I am asking the contractor to switch to a Pentair (pump and heater both Pentair) easytouch system so that we can control what we are heating and how hot to make it from inside the pool room.

What is the simplest Easytouch to get that will cover this scenario? We have 3 valves now, but I'd like to be able to control a fourth. I also am planning a homebrewed solar heater but I may plumb it completely separate and use a PLC to control it's pumps/valves.

Mostly I just want the indoor panel that the wife can be trained on to operate the pool and spa. I have no SWG, and am planning to add chemicals manually. I like the idea of the freeze prevention feature.

I have been poking around on-line for a while and find it difficult to price out a system to only do heater control, valve control, and freeze protection.

Many thanks!
 
I recommend the EasyTouch 4 with ScreenLogic for the wife. It has the ability to control four valves... kind of..

Two of the four valves are dedicated to switching between the pool function and the spa function. The Intake valve decides if the water coming into your pump is coming from the pool or spa. And the Return valve decides if the water coming out of your filter returns to your pool or spa. If your pool/spa is set up with these valves, which I assume it is, then that will use up two of the available four valves

That leaves two remaining valves, A and B. Valve A can be used for Solar or can be programmed by the user. Valve B can also be programmed by the user.

I recommend ScreenLogic because it will make the initial programming of the EasyTouch so much easier than using the panel itself. Also, from an operator's point of view, your wife in this case, it is very very simple to understand and use. If you are not familiar with ScreenLogic, it is an interface to your PC, so all you need to do is click on an icon to control things. Cost less than $400 at Sunplay.

Good luck with your project.

Jim R.
 
Jim's reccomendation is spot on. I use the ET8 to control pool, spa, blower for spa, light for pool, light for spa, spillway, and Stenner pump. You might want to move up to the ET8 if you want more control in the future for features you might add.

Jim how is the Screen Logic working for you? Any issues? I do not have one yet but installed one for my sister 2 years ago. I mainly would use it to turn on spa when away and want it ready when I get home. Do you find yourself using that feature much?
 
rph,

Mine has a serious problem turning on the Spa.. of course that might have to do with the fact that I don't have a Spa... :p

I love my ScreenLogic.. I have not had any issues. Keep in mind that mine is direct wired from the EasyTouch to the Protocol adapter next to my router, so I'm not using the wireless transmitter/receiver that came with it. It is by no means a necessity, but if it died today, I'd go buy another one.

I like how it allows you to program with ease. I like the ability to control my SWG %, and pump speeds, without having to go out to the pad and shade your eyes from the sun while you go through the menu options.

I like being able to turn on the pool light from inside - here is what I had to do to turn on the pool light before ScreenLogic.. My EasyTouch is located about 20 feet from my back door around a corner. Because it's dark out there I need to have the pad light on to see what I'm doing and not bump into something on the way out. But wait, the pad light is controlled by the EasyTouch, so I had to take a flashlight with me, open the door and push the pad light button and then the pool light button. Sigh!!

Now, I just click the pool light icon and on comes the light. And, if I want to go out to the equipment pad at night, I can just click the pad light icon.

I do have the app on my phone and it seems to work ok, but since I have little use for that feature, I have not used it much since I first got the system.

In my opinion, Pentair should just give ScreenLogic away with the purchase of the EasyTouch as it would increase user satisfaction by 1,000%.

Jim R.
 
+1 on ScreenLogic. i use the wireless version (saved me from drilling a hole in my wall) and I am in love with it. I use my Android tablet for most things, and use the PC for more complicated things like setting schedules and altering VS pump speeds. If you have an Easy Touch, the Screenlogic is almost required IMHO.
 
Thank you everyone!

I will go look at the valve arrangement, but that sounds right to me.

All I really need to be able to do is turn on the heater to the pool at one temperature OR turn on the heater to the spa at a different temperature.

Ideally it would switch the feed to the spa/pool and the return from the spa/pool to the heater, but I have a spillway from spa to pool and I might need to set up a scenario where the system, via a level switch, can detect that the pool is getting too deep and will overflow at the strainer and switch to steal water from the pool and pump back to the spa. Not sure if the EasyTouch controllers can do that or not.
 
The Easytouch PSL-4 might be a less expensive way to go. You can order with Screen Logic 2 bundled together. If you go the wi-fi route you might want to run a Four wire cable in conduit to the equipment pad for whatever system you chose. This might eliminate problems down the road
 
Pentair replied (perhaps unsurprisingly) that I should get the 5200540 and add bits as necessary.

I am VERY interested in the spillover feature, as that sounds like it fits my arrangement exactly!

I will definitely run cable if it is an option...it's only 15 feet from the equipment to the pool room.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
My PB wants like $2k to add a controller, and does not want to admit that the contract equipment price already includes enough cash since we changed the design to a single heater (he had two 400k heaters in the price). He is really starting to tick me off.

Anyway, back on track I think I am going to do the automation myself. My company sells automation equipment, and the IO list is tiny.

BUT, I have some questions about the plumbing. So there is a drain in the spa and a drain in the pool, both go to a 3-way valve. The we have the same thing on the supply side after the heater, supply to spa and supply to pool, with another 3-way valve. But then there are two other valves and the pipes to them are labeled 'skimmer' for the pool and 'spillover' for the spa. The skimmer makes sense, this comes from the skimmer, and is plumbed ot the pool side of the pool return on the main pool drain. So this just stays open and allows some water to get sucked thru the skimmer, right? There's no legit reason to automate this? Does this get 'tuned' for some relative flow rate vs the main drain?

And I have no idea what the 'spillover' valve does...any help there? The spa has (2) drains in the bottom, is this maybe one of those?

The electrician hooked up the heater and pump to a dual timer panel today, so I can at least finally run the main pump. So I will play with the valves and see if I can puzzle it out.
 
Here is the basic concept in a somewhat easy to understand diagram..

img013b.jpg

In the pool mode, water is sucked from your pool from the Skimmer and/or Main drain, through the Intake valve and into the pump, then pushed through the filter, through the heater and then through the Return valve and back into the return eyeballs in your pool.

In the Spa mode, water is sucked from the Spa drain through the Intake valve and into the pump, then pushed through the filter, through the heater and then through the Return valve and back in the return jets in your Spa.

In the Spill-Over mode, water is sucked from your pool from the Skimmer and/or Main drain, through the intake valve and into the pump, then pushed through the filter, through the heater and then through the Return valve and this time it goes into the Spa. With water going into the Spa, but not draining from the Spa, it obviously fills up and spills over back into the pool.

Follow the diagram and see how this relates to the valves for your Pool/Spa. Let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Here is the basic concept in a somewhat easy to understand diagram..

...snippage...

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jim, that's close to what I had sketched up.

I came home tonight and messed with the various options and could not get a combo that resulted in the spa pumping back into itself. I finally noticed the check valve for filling the spa wasn't in the line labelled as such, so the PB had labelled the pipe wrong.

Man that hurt my head for a good 30 minutes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply