Easy touch control of an intelliflo

Jump to latest Follow Reply
If anyone is interested my Easy Touch control avoided the trash can. Yesterday I was finally able to program the unit. Pentair's software and or terminology is truly a nightmare. For instance they use the term circuit to describe a programmed function. So to take a page from the manual they say you can have ten circuits which to them means ten programmable functions spread across either four or eight relays. I am savvy with computers and electrical applications and these instructions would be impossible for the average person with a small amount of electrical know how.

All in all a very humbling experience.

I want to sincerely thank Eskimopie and Jason for their kind help
 
The circuit terminology was one thing. They speak long and loud about naming circuits and I was thinking they meant an electrical circuit. But in actuality they mean programs. For instance by my way of thinking my unit has 4 relays which are for four separate circuits controlled by 4 breakers. I was using one breaker for the pump (220 VAC) and one for the lights (115 VAC) so to me I was using 2 circuits. But according to them you can control ten circuits with one circuit or relay as it is normally called. Again a circuit by definition is a closed loop for running electrical componets. In other words hardware. A program is something that is software oriented. The end result was there is a failure on their part for clear identification.

So in the future if they want to be more clear they should say you have 4 or 8 separate circuits (depending on the hardware) that can be programmed for up to ten separate functions. You can also program the Intelliflo to run at different speeds via the program as well. There is also great confusion determining what they mean about aux 1-8 they call those circuits as well but it appears they are referring to generic positions for programming. Although I am not quite sure if they mean those are the relays.

You know now that I think about it, it may be better to have no electrical experience when reading this manual, but then you would fry yourself installing the 220 VAC main.

Alls well that ends well :-D

I do know it is job security for the PB.
 
I was also having trouble programming my pump and generally navigating the EasyTouch manual. After following the advice above and taking a real close look at the EasyTouch manual (AGAIN), I was finally able to get it configured and working. Here is precisely what I did:

Clear the old schedule:
1. In Schedules....Pool, I deleted the existing schedule for the POOL circuit. This seems to help avoid ET getting confused.

Setup the Feature Names:
2. Under Settings...Circuit Names, I configured Feature 1 as "High Speed," Feature 2 as "Low Speed" and Feature 3 as "Username-01" (which I'll change in Step 3).
3. Next, go to Settings...Custom Names and set "Username-01" to "Med Speed" (since this circuit name doesn't come out of the box like "High Speed" and "Low Speed")

Relate the Features to Pump Speeds:
4. Now go to Settings...Intelliflo...Pump #1....Speeds
5. Within speeds, set the speeds you want and relate them to the Features you just named above. For my immediate purposes, I set Low to 1250, Medium to 2400 and High to 3200.
The result of Steps 4 and 5 is that you now have created Features which will cause your pump to change speeds when selected while the pump is running.

Setup schedules for the Features:
6. Now go to Schedules, and scroll to the Features items. They will be renamed as you did in Steps 2 and 3, but in the order of Feature 1, Feature 2 and Feature 3 (no auto-alphabetization for their new names). Run through each and set the schedules you want. I set mine such that there was a 5 minute break between schedules.
7. My schedules are Low Speed (1:05am to 11am), Med Speed (11:05am to 8pm), High Speed (8:05pm to 1am). My pool is new, so i want to keep things running briskly a good deal of the time...for now.

Setup the schedule for the pump:
8. Since I want my pump to run 24x7 for the time being, I went to Schedules...Pool...and set the schedule for 12:00am to 12:00am. From what I can tell, it's important to set the pump schedule only after the Feature schedules have been set.
As is typical, shortly after I hit "menu" to save the pump schedule, the pump came on and was properly operating at the intended Feature speed for that time of day.

A couple of things to reiterate. Pentair's manual is poorly done. More specifically, their explanations and naming of functions leaves a lot to be desired. Think of Features as characteristics of Circuits. Once a Circuit is on, the Features are used to adjust it. As such, Features only work when the pump is already running. From what I can tell, enabling a Feature alone will not turn on the pump. Also keep in mind (because it drove me nuts), that even if you have a schedule set for your pump, if you manually turn it off and on during a schedule, it basically forgets about the schedule entirely until the next scheduled thing (on or off) happens. For example, if you have your pump schedule set to 24/7 (12:00am to 12:00am) and manually turn it off, then on while the schedule is running, it will basically turn into an egg timer setting, frustratingly turning off every 12 hours. The easy fix is to turn off the pump by pressing the F relay on the controller, then go to Schedules...Pool and select your 24/7 schedule. Once in that schedule, press Menu to resave, and the pump should come back on, now operating within the schedule as intended. Whew! Took me a lot of groping around to figure that out.

Hope this helps. I can't claim it's perfect, but it worked for me after a couple of days of struggling and research. And anyone who knows more, PLEASE feel free to update and correct the above.
 
This thread has been very helpful. I too struggle with my EasyTouch. The discussion of how to use Features to set different speeds was something I had never even considered.

I have one problem that I just cannot solve. For some reason, when I put the EasyTouch in Service mode, I cannot turn on the IntelliFlo pump. I hit the "Filter Pump" button, it turns red, but nothing happens. In Auto mode, doing that turns the pump on.

Anyone have any idea why this is happening? I have an EasyTouch 4 circuit two body of water (pool/spa) setup.

Thanks!
 
Nicksab, I have seen that behavior in Service mode, too. I believe it is a built in delay, but am not sure. You may want to park it there and give it 5 - 10 minutes to turn on.
 
Thanks fkong777. Yes, I spoke with a Pentair tech this morning (thanks TJ!) and he said the same thing.

I'm surprised the EasyTouch documentation is not more clear about this functionality. The manual suggests using ServiceMode and the Filter/Pump button as a way to force the pump to filter 24 hours a day. That is exactly what I was trying to do, not realizing it would only work with pumps that are on the filter relay.
 
I also got a bit of a monkey wrench thrown is as the Feature schedules I setup (detailed above) to control pump speed work perfectly well EXCEPT that the Features are not turned off at the end of their schedule. It's the oddest thing...each schedule properly turns the feature on, but none of them turn the feature off at the end of each schedule. The result with all three features on is that EasyTouch takes the highest speed setting and runs the pump at that endlessly, after all three schedules have been turned on. Looks like I may finally need to break down and call Pentair. This is getting silly.

If anyone has any advice or a trick up their sleeve to make Feature schedules turn off at the end (like every other schedule I have running) I sure would appreciate it!
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Yep Bob, I would just call Pentair.

By the way, I just downloaded the upgrade software file for the sole purpose of reviewing the README file that explains what they've changed. There are numerous bug fixes, so maybe this features thing is one of them? Which version are you running? I'm on 2.060, also using features to control speeds (with an intelliflo VF) and I don't think I have that problem.

I had another issue that was driving me crazy, and I see it was fixed in a newer version fo the software. The "Solar" button, when used for Aux Extra, does not work in Auto mode from the service panel...but DOES work if triggered from the iS4 remote (thankfully). I think Pentair needs to invest more time in quality checking of their software. Aux Extra is a feature that is heavily mentioned in the documentation, so you'd think they would do the most obvious test -- turn it on from the panel in Auto Mode -- before shipping it.

I wish Pentair would provide a way for the homeowner to do the software upgrades, given the number of bugs and upgrades. How about a USB port?
 
Thanks, @nicksab. My PB is getting a new board with v2.080. My current one is on 2.040. We've seen a couple of weird things beyond what I note above, so he just went for the new board. I agree, a USB prot would make good sense, and a little more time invested in the software (as well as maybe an "enter" or 'save" button...hitting "menu" to save is just odd) would be great. Overall, still a good package, but a few to many quirks.
 
I wanted to follow-up on this thread for closure. My PB and Pentair provided a new board (as a matter of fact, they upgraded me to an 8P for my trouble). Once upgraded and configurations re-entered, everything works perfectly and exactly as intended above. I can now ramp up or down my pump speed as expected to time it for water feature use, or to run the pump faster when the cost of electricity is lower.

The ONLY item not working after the new board with v2.080 installed, is the "All Lights On" function, which seems to ignore those non-Intellibrite circuits I have defined as lights (perimeter post lamps). Very minor.

I also noticed that v2.080 seems a bit faster, though that could just be the impression based upon a malfunctioning board with v2.040.

Thanks, all, for the info here at TFP that helped!
 
Help!
I followed these instructions exactlybut the speed control by using features does not seem to work for me. After completing the programming, my pump should be running at 1750 rpm based on the time of day, but the pump is running at 3000 RPM. The funny thing is none of the speeds that I set for High, Med, or Low was set to 3000 RPM. I cleared the programs and did it all a second time with the same results!

Anybody esle had this problem or have a suggestion for me? I am waiting to see if it at least turns of automatically at 8:00 pm tonight.
Thanks!



BobinBaltimore said:
I was also having trouble programming my pump and generally navigating the EasyTouch manual. After following the advice above and taking a real close look at the EasyTouch manual (AGAIN), I was finally able to get it configured and working. Here is precisely what I did:

Clear the old schedule:
1. In Schedules....Pool, I deleted the existing schedule for the POOL circuit. This seems to help avoid ET getting confused.

Setup the Feature Names:
2. Under Settings...Circuit Names, I configured Feature 1 as "High Speed," Feature 2 as "Low Speed" and Feature 3 as "Username-01" (which I'll change in Step 3).
3. Next, go to Settings...Custom Names and set "Username-01" to "Med Speed" (since this circuit name doesn't come out of the box like "High Speed" and "Low Speed")

Relate the Features to Pump Speeds:
4. Now go to Settings...Intelliflo...Pump #1....Speeds
5. Within speeds, set the speeds you want and relate them to the Features you just named above. For my immediate purposes, I set Low to 1250, Medium to 2400 and High to 3200.
The result of Steps 4 and 5 is that you now have created Features which will cause your pump to change speeds when selected while the pump is running.

Setup schedules for the Features:
6. Now go to Schedules, and scroll to the Features items. They will be renamed as you did in Steps 2 and 3, but in the order of Feature 1, Feature 2 and Feature 3 (no auto-alphabetization for their new names). Run through each and set the schedules you want. I set mine such that there was a 5 minute break between schedules.
7. My schedules are Low Speed (1:05am to 11am), Med Speed (11:05am to 8pm), High Speed (8:05pm to 1am). My pool is new, so i want to keep things running briskly a good deal of the time...for now.

Setup the schedule for the pump:
8. Since I want my pump to run 24x7 for the time being, I went to Schedules...Pool...and set the schedule for 12:00am to 12:00am. From what I can tell, it's important to set the pump schedule only after the Feature schedules have been set.
As is typical, shortly after I hit "menu" to save the pump schedule, the pump came on and was properly operating at the intended Feature speed for that time of day.

A couple of things to reiterate. Pentair's manual is poorly done. More specifically, their explanations and naming of functions leaves a lot to be desired. Think of Features as characteristics of Circuits. Once a Circuit is on, the Features are used to adjust it. As such, Features only work when the pump is already running. From what I can tell, enabling a Feature alone will not turn on the pump. Also keep in mind (because it drove me nuts), that even if you have a schedule set for your pump, if you manually turn it off and on during a schedule, it basically forgets about the schedule entirely until the next scheduled thing (on or off) happens. For example, if you have your pump schedule set to 24/7 (12:00am to 12:00am) and manually turn it off, then on while the schedule is running, it will basically turn into an egg timer setting, frustratingly turning off every 12 hours. The easy fix is to turn off the pump by pressing the F relay on the controller, then go to Schedules...Pool and select your 24/7 schedule. Once in that schedule, press Menu to resave, and the pump should come back on, now operating within the schedule as intended. Whew! Took me a lot of groping around to figure that out.

Hope this helps. I can't claim it's perfect, but it worked for me after a couple of days of struggling and research. And anyone who knows more, PLEASE feel free to update and correct the above.
Click to expand...
 
Jnp Tampa said:
Help!
I followed these instructions exactlybut the speed control by using features does not seem to work for me. After completing the programming, my pump should be running at 1750 rpm based on the time of day, but the pump is running at 3000 RPM. The funny thing is none of the speeds that I set for High, Med, or Low was set to 3000 RPM. I cleared the programs and did it all a second time with the same results!

Anybody esle had this problem or have a suggestion for me? I am waiting to see if it at least turns of automatically at 8:00 pm tonight.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have the same problem. I think it is related to the priming settings but I don't fully understand the pump yet!
 
BobinBaltimore said:
... keep in mind (because it drove me nuts), that even if you have a schedule set for your pump, if you manually turn it off and on during a schedule, it basically forgets about the schedule entirely until the next scheduled thing (on or off) happens. For example, if you have your pump schedule set to 24/7 (12:00am to 12:00am) and manually turn it off, then on while the schedule is running, it will basically turn into an egg timer setting, frustratingly turning off every 12 hours. The easy fix is to turn off the pump by pressing the F relay on the controller, then go to Schedules...Pool and select your 24/7 schedule. Once in that schedule, press Menu to resave, and the pump should come back on, now operating within the schedule as intended. Whew! Took me a lot of groping around to figure that out.
Click to expand...

This was exactly the info I needed. We were seeing the 12 hour egg timer behavior. Our main pump schedule was deleted Somehow so needed to be re created then started in the way described above.

Thanks for the thorough explanation!
 
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