Just upgraded from single speed to Intelliflo--help please!

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SeismicGuy

0
Jul 5, 2014
10
Encino, CA
Hello

Original pool at my home was installed in 1985 and the original pump lasted 23 years with only minor occasional servicing. It gave up in 2008 at which time I went with a single speed Pentair SuperFlo. To my chagrin that one bit the dust a few weeks ago (after only 6 years!) and the guys that installed that one convinced me to get the IntelliFlo 011018 since there was a $500 rebate from Los Angeles DWP.

I had hoped to be present when they installed the pump to see how it worked and to learn about setting it but that did not happen. I had been running my old single speed pump from about 10am to 4pm every day and I figured the technique was different for the variable speed pump. Sure enough the first thing I noticed (apart from the much quiter running) was that the running schedule was rather odd (at least to me based on my old single-speed experience). It runs for a time at night and then a few times during the day. My understanding from a neighbor who has one of these is that you want to have the schedule somewhat linked to the electricity rates (i.e., cheaper at night). I wanted to review the program that the pool guys put in and I called them but they said don't worry about it.

Still as an engineer I like to know how to set these types of things myself and/or override for special conditions like using the spa, cleaning, etc. Now I am no dummy but the Pentair manual is unusually cryptic and I cannot figure out a way to view/review/edit the existing program. Is there something I am missing here?

Thanks,

Doug
Los Angeles, CA
 
Welcome to TFP!

The first thing is to figure out if your setup is using the timer in the pump, or if you have an external automation system of some kind. Either way, stepping through the timer settings isn't that difficult, though the way you go about it is different.
 
No such item on my menu that enables showing the schedule. On virtually EVERY electronic device I have owned that enables entering programs (e.g., lawn sprinkler timers, home thermostats) it has been very obvious how to review and step through programs--not so with the Pentair.
 
http://www.pentairpool.com/pdfs/IntelliFloVSpeedOM.pdf

I have a Hayward VS and at first I was confused when just reading the manual. I went out to the pump pulled out a stool to sit on and pressed thru the menus with the manual in hand. At first I just set one of the programs to start a few minutes in the future and shut off in a few minutes so I could tell I had done it properly. Your speed setting are on page 14 in your manual. Page 8 has a visual flow chart of the menus.

You can do this, you just need to spend some time learning. Usually I jump ahead in a process as they can be intuitive. This process demanded I just follow each step by step.
 
Guys--the issue is not setting a program. I have the same manual and read through page 14 umpteen times. But following those instructions looks like I am in an "enter program" mode and I do NOT want to override anything that is already there. All I want to do is REVIEW what has been programmed already and here is where I am at a loss.

Does this make sense? Want to step through an EXISTING program to review and not change.

Doug
 
Hi SeismicGuy,
you make perfect sense in wanting to review the program. I have a Intelliflo too. There isn't a way to review it that I am aware of. The only way is to go through the programming sequence to see what each speed is set at and what start and stop times for them. I agree, the whole thing is rather non-intuitive. Its madening at times.
 
But it looks like going through the programming sequence will overwrite whatever was already there and it is what is already there that I wish to find out. I guess I can ask the pool guys who installed the pump exactly what they programmed but, by far, the Intelliflo system seems like the most archaic user UN-friendly interface I have seen in recent times.

Doug
 

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SeismicGuy said:
But it looks like going through the programming sequence will overwrite whatever was already there and it is what is already there that I wish to find out. I guess I can ask the pool guys who installed the pump exactly what they programmed but, by far, the Intelliflo system seems like the most archaic user UN-friendly interface I have seen in recent times.

Doug
Click to expand...
Why do you think it will change the settings just by scrolling thru them. Step 9 and 10 say otherwise.9 says it displays the current setting and 10 says you can change the setting. If you don't press the Select button you won't change anything

9. Press the Down arrow button. Set speed will be displayed.
10. Press the Select button to change the speed. The first digit will highlight (ones digit).
 
Wildcat said:
Why do you think it will change the settings just by scrolling thru them. Step 9 and 10 say otherwise.9 says it displays the current setting and 10 says you can change the setting. If you don't press the Select button you won't change anything

9. Press the Down arrow button. Set speed will be displayed.
10. Press the Select button to change the speed. The first digit will highlight (ones digit).
Click to expand...


Because the very first step is to SELECT the speed you want to set. I do not want to SELECT a speed that will overwrite whatever has been set previously. Am I misinterpreting this?

Doug
 
Selecting a speed just takes you to the sub-menu for that speed, it doesn't set anything. It takes several presses to actually change anything. In particular you need to press select again after the start or end time is on the screen before it allows changes. This not something you are likely to do by accident.

I agree, the way they have it setup is both confusing and tedious to use. But it does protect against accidental changes quite throughly.
 
Jason--Are the speeds associated with 1-8 preset specific speeds on the unit (e.g., 750, 850, 1250, 1700 rpm) or might they be custom speeds accomplished by hitting the up/down arrows? I hate to be a pest but can you write out they type of step-by-step procedure that SHOULD have been in the manual to begin with? What I am trying to find out is what speeds are programmed for what times.

Thanks,

Doug
 
SeismicGuy said:
Jason--Are the speeds associated with 1-8 preset specific speeds on the unit (e.g., 750, 850, 1250, 1700 rpm) or might they be custom speeds accomplished by hitting the up/down arrows? I hate to be a pest but can you write out they type of step-by-step procedure that SHOULD have been in the manual to begin with? What I am trying to find out is what speeds are programmed for what times.

Thanks,

Doug
Click to expand...

On my Hayward VS you can preset speeds 1-4. Those are used for a manual cycle. Your Pentair may be different.
When I go to program my different cycles I get to select a speed in 10 or 25 RPM increments ( just don't remember exactly) but it has nothing to do with the preset speeds. You will know as soon as you start to scroll thru the options. If you are in cycle 1 and select speed it should show you the current speed it is set for and then as Jason suggested you then use the other keys to move that speed up or down. Same for start and stop time. Then at some point, whether you changed anything or not, you will hit save.

IMHO you are too worried about this. As soon as you try it you will see that while it may not be the most user friendly system it is easy. Not the way you or I would set up a program but there must be a reason both Pentair and Hayward have essentially the same system.

As I earlier suggested, get a stool, take the manual and sit by the pump and play with the controls following the manual steps religiously. Read carefully and go for it. As you go interactive it will all make sense. At least it did for me. Reading the manual alone made no sense and pushing buttons randomly made no sense. Reading and doing at the same time made it all very clear.


Good luck
 
Well I'll give it another go. I was spooked at the first steps when it looked like the system was asking me to change the program so I stopped at that point. In fact the steps in the manual make it sound like that was exactly what I was doing (Step 3 is "use up or down arrows and press SELECT for the speed you wish to set and schedule" which makes it sound like I am entering a new program and according to the manual hitting ENTER will save the new speed. Anyway I have asked the installers if they can just write out the programming that they entered just in case I screw things up.

On a somewhat related topic I was wondering how the other devices such as pool heater, pool vac work when using a variable speed pump--particularly during the low rpm times. I assume that the pool vac will actually run only at the faster speeds and just sit there the rest of the time? Similarly will the pool heater work correctly under the slower speed settings?
 
SeismicGuy said:
Well I'll give it another go. I was spooked at the first steps when it looked like the system was asking me to change the program so I stopped at that point. In fact the steps in the manual make it sound like that was exactly what I was doing (Step 3 is "use up or down arrows and press SELECT for the speed you wish to set and schedule" which makes it sound like I am entering a new program and according to the manual hitting ENTER will save the new speed. Anyway I have asked the installers if they can just write out the programming that they entered just in case I screw things up.

On a somewhat related topic I was wondering how the other devices such as pool heater, pool vac work when using a variable speed pump--particularly during the low rpm times. I assume that the pool vac will actually run only at the faster speeds and just sit there the rest of the time? Similarly will the pool heater work correctly under the slower speed settings?
Click to expand...

I am 99% sure it will show you the speed it is currently set at. The wording is strange to you but most people go into the settings to change a speed as they know what it is set at. Since you don't it seems strange to you. If you want the security of the installers telling you what they set it at, that's fine. My bet is that they don't know! Unless they have a standard that they use for all situations (which is wrong too).

I do not have a heater or a robotic vac. I would assume the heater would work at lower speeds. I am so naïve on heaters I thought they worked by circulating water on their own, not requiring the pump, but I guess they do.

I have manual vac and it has been suggested to run it at higher speeds. I am not sure if there is a minimum speed for a robo vac.

I have a popup cleaner system and while the pop ups work at slow speed they don't generate much water flow or jets so I don't think they are effective.
In case you haven't thought about it a skimmer isn't effective at slow speeds either. So with a VS I run part of the day at high rpm (the amount depends on the time of the year). So why run at slow speed? Cost savings and I understand that filtration is actually more effective at slow speeds
 
Each of the eight slots can be assigned any speed you want. Pentair sets it up with some reasonable defaults, but there is no need to follow their system. Their labeling is not really appropriate, they call them "speeds" but really they are "timers", with the first four doubling as button presets.

You want to do some experimenting to figure out the ideal speeds to use for your pool. You want to figure out the lowest speed (but not lower than 1,000 RPM) that allows the skimmer(s), heater, and SWG (if any) to work. Then a presumably higher speed that gets the cleaner to work. Typically you then program an hour or two to run the cleaner at a medium speed, and spread the rest of the run time our in short chunks around the clock at the lower speed. You may also need a fairly high speed for backwashing and/or manual vacuuming that is assigned to a button and not run on a schedule.
 
Well just got off the phone with someone at Pentair and it cleared things up a bit. The first thing he admitted was that the manual and the operation of the pump itself were rather "greek" and non-intuitive. But he did confirm that entering the menu and selecting a speed and then a schedule would only show the on/off for that speed and NOT change it unless I made changes and hit ENTER. So the mechanism for checking scheduling is a bit backwards to other devices where time schedules are set. By that I mean I am used to devices where you step through the schedule times and it shows what has been set (e.g., a programmable house thermostat). In the Pentair it is opposite--you enter the speed and it shows the running times that have been set for that speed--a subtle but important difference.

I guess I will have to play around with my pool heater to see at which speeds it will operate properly.
 
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