Hello everyone,
I'm a new pool owner and have what is probably an easy question. I have a Pentair sand filter, Pentair filter pump, Pentair chlorine generator, Pentair MasterTemp natural gas heater, and Polaris booster pump. The pump and Polaris pump each have its own timer, and the chlorine generator and Polaris pump are both connected to the main filter pump so they will only turn on when the main pump is on. However, the heater is turned on independently from the main pump and has no timer. This setup seems like a recipe for disaster, since the main pump's timer will inevitably turn the pump off while the heater is on and heating. This will cut the heater's water flow and potentially cause a heater melt down. This actually happened once when I was in the pool. It took me only a few seconds to realize the pump was off. When I realized this I took off running out of the pool and around the house to the pool equipment. When I arrived, I saw the heater displaying 123 degrees, then 124, then 125 as I frantically fumbled to tear off the pump timer tab so I could manually switch the pump back on to cool the heater. I assume this means that I will never be able to use the heater to keep the pool at a constant temperature unless I'm willing the run the main pump 24 hours a day, since there's no way to guarantee the heater won't randomly turn on while the pump is off (or about to go off). Without buying what I'm told is a $3000 Pentair control panel, is there any way I will ever be able to use the heater without manually turning it off before the pump timer trips? I guess I need a way to connect a timer to the heater to make sure it doesn't operate outside the pump's hours, but it requires a special 24 V timer. I'm not sure if a regular household timer will work.
Thank you,
-Jason
I'm a new pool owner and have what is probably an easy question. I have a Pentair sand filter, Pentair filter pump, Pentair chlorine generator, Pentair MasterTemp natural gas heater, and Polaris booster pump. The pump and Polaris pump each have its own timer, and the chlorine generator and Polaris pump are both connected to the main filter pump so they will only turn on when the main pump is on. However, the heater is turned on independently from the main pump and has no timer. This setup seems like a recipe for disaster, since the main pump's timer will inevitably turn the pump off while the heater is on and heating. This will cut the heater's water flow and potentially cause a heater melt down. This actually happened once when I was in the pool. It took me only a few seconds to realize the pump was off. When I realized this I took off running out of the pool and around the house to the pool equipment. When I arrived, I saw the heater displaying 123 degrees, then 124, then 125 as I frantically fumbled to tear off the pump timer tab so I could manually switch the pump back on to cool the heater. I assume this means that I will never be able to use the heater to keep the pool at a constant temperature unless I'm willing the run the main pump 24 hours a day, since there's no way to guarantee the heater won't randomly turn on while the pump is off (or about to go off). Without buying what I'm told is a $3000 Pentair control panel, is there any way I will ever be able to use the heater without manually turning it off before the pump timer trips? I guess I need a way to connect a timer to the heater to make sure it doesn't operate outside the pump's hours, but it requires a special 24 V timer. I'm not sure if a regular household timer will work.
Thank you,
-Jason