Easytouch 8 programming: Turning on the blower when in Spa mode

[gdo]

Per this post #18 , I will be adding a blower to my air intake pipe.

Now I'd like to set it up such that when I turn on the spa, the blower turns on automatically.
I think this involves picking an unused relay in my ET8 to wire the power to the blower, but then I'm wondering how to trigger the closing of the relay to get the blower started when in spa mode.

If I understand the manual correctly, I need to go under Settings -> Circuit Func -> Circuit/Func, and find the SPA circuit name, then somehow add my relay function to the existing SPA function? Is that possible? It looks like you can only pick one function, not a combination of them?

Any thoughts on how I can accomplish that?

Thanks in advance!

 

[HermanTX]

Be careful - read the manual - most blowers are set up to only run for 30 mins or so then they shut off. You want a dedicated relay to turn this on and off as required. On my Jandy automation there is a group setting that allows multiple things to happen with one press of a button, but you still want a dedicated control for the blower as it will turn off after a set period of time for safety reasons.

Others can inform you how to set it up on a Pentair system.

 

[mknauss]

Look at your Easytouch User Guide.
You will need to set up the Blower on one of Aux relays, then create a circuit function for that. You can then set an egg timer on it so any time it is turned on, it runs for however long you want unless you turn it off prior to the end of the egg timer.

 

[gdo]

Look at your Easytouch User Guide.
You will need to set up the Blower on one of Aux relays, then create a circuit function for that. You can then set an egg timer on it so any time it is turned on, it runs for however long you want unless you turn it off prior to the end of the egg timer.

Thanks @mknauss - it sounds like this creates an independent circuit that I can turn on temporarily via the egg timer.

Is there a way to "tie it" to the Spa circuit, such that the blower turns on when I turn on the Spa, and it turns off when I turn off the Spa? I couldn't see any info on that in the manual. Not sure it's possible.

 

[Jimrahbe]

GDO,

I agree with Herman, but if you just want to run it anyway, there is a Spa relay connector on the main card. Just unplug an unused relay coil wire from the main card AUX connector and plug it into the spa relay connector. Anytime you are in the spa mode, the relay will close, no programming required.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[DrewLG]

Per this post #18 , I will be adding a blower to my air intake pipe.

Now I'd like to set it up such that when I turn on the spa, the blower turns on automatically.

But don't you just need it to turn on for a few seconds at spa startup, to blow the water out of your air line? The easiest way to accomplish that is with a manual activation/deactivation.

And even if you sometimes want to leave it on longer to get more intense bubbling action, you won't always want to put up with the noise. So again, a manually activated blower is probably best.

 

[gdo]

Be careful - read the manual - most blowers are set up to only run for 30 mins or so then they shut off.

Good point @HermanTX , I guess that's to prevent overheating? I can't find any mention of time limit in the manual (I'm attaching it to this post in case you'd like to peruse it).

I agree with Herman, but if you just want to run it anyway, there is a Spa relay connector on the main card. Just unplug an unused relay coil wire from the main card AUX connector and plug it into the spa relay connector. Anytime you are in the spa mode, the relay will close, no programming required.

A hardware solution! Love it! Thanks @Jimrahbe !

My other plan was to use my Home Automation platform (which imports the Pentair EzT states as smart-home entities) to listen for the activation of the Spa circuit as a trigger, and turn on the blower accordingly through a smart switch. The setup would be as @mknauss described, but the linkage would be done outside of the Pentair world.

But don't you just need it to turn on for a few seconds at spa startup, to blow the water out of your air line?

That could work yes! I didn't think that was an option. Would the unpowered blower not impede the "free flow" of air pulled from the venturi tees? Or is there still a reasonable path for the air to flow even when the blower is off?

 

[mknauss]

If you are satisfied by the air flow without a blower, you may find with it is a bit too much. The blower will still allow the natural pull of air through the inlet. So if you like the level of air without the blower, then a quick on then off (using a short egg timer) may suffice.

 

[gdo]

If you are satisfied by the air flow without a blower, you may find with it is a bit too much. The blower will still allow the natural pull of air through the inlet. So if you like the level of air without the blower, then a quick on then off (using a short egg timer) may suffice.

So I did receive the blower today and I tried it. Works perfectly: within a few seconds, the air line is flushed and bubbles start appearing. Very quick! I'm happy about that.

It came with a check valve too. While the diagram shows it installed at the Hartford Loop, I ended up putting it right below the blower (since there is no HL by my spa). I'm not sure it's really useful as the highest level of water is a couple of feet below the blower anyways. Seems like a reasonable guardrail though - not sure it really hurts to have it there?

Now, to your point: when the blower is on, the spa is quite "energetic" and while I don't mind that, I'm wondering if it can damage the air pipe somehow. It's the lowest power available (it's 1 HP rated, but I measured with a powermeter and it seemed to only pull about 450 Watts). Should I be worried about it?

To your second point: if I turn off the blower, the air can still be pulled through, even through the check valve that is installed right below it, it's just not as strong as with the blower on, obviously.

I think I will end up hooking it up as a separate circuit as you suggested, and use my home automation system to turn it on when the spa is turned on, but only for a short time. That way I can also play with the separate setting while I'm in the spa to feel the difference between blower & no blower.

 

[ajw22]

You can put a 3 way diverter and muffler to adjust how energetic the blower is in the spa.

Spa Air Blower - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[mknauss]

I'm wondering if it can damage the air pipe somehow.

It will not.