Hayward AquaPlus Configuration Mess

[dbrew]

This is my 4th season of our pool. I used a different pool construction company to close in Nov and open last Fri, 5/8. Pool maintenance came Thurs put in some salt and said good to swim next day Fri, 5/15. I started heating the pool Fri morning starting at 55 degrees and it got up to 75 degrees by around 3pm. My kids wanted to skip and just get into the spa instead so I toggled over to spa mode using the AquaConnect app on my iphone. We noticed the spa didn't heat up quickly like usual and I realized it was still in spillover mode sucking the pool water into the spa. I also noticed on the AquaPlus panel if I switched between pool and spa the pump didn't stop and re-start as I noticed it did in previous years.

I called both companies and someone from the maintenance company had me switch the valve positions. Of course I also started to hit every button/setting on the AquaPlus control panel. At one point on the AquaConnect app there was no longer the Pool/Spa toggle and only Spa filter perhaps. The pool maintenance person said he was going to come back that night to take a look but did not. As I was sitting by the pool at night I heard this draining sound and realized the spa completely drained and only the jets had water coming out of them. I turned off the pool completely and turned the valves back to the original position so the pump wouldn't get damaged. When I did that water started flowing back into the spa from the pool.

He did come back today and turned the valves back to the position he told me to do. He also explained the equipment layout better and marked with a Sharpie. He said something is not configured properly and the Hayward system is not recognizing the spa at all. He will come back Monday and do a support call with Hayward to work through it.

Everything seems to be completely mis-configured. If I click on the button for my waterfall feature (labeled Aux1 on control panel but Spa Filter on AquaConnect app - this used to be Aux1 also) the panel switches from Pool to Spillover and then the heater light illuminates even though the heater was showing Auto on the AquaConnect app. The AquaConnect app now shows only Pool/Spillover as toggle options. Here are some various error messages displaying on the AquaConnect app:

Spa Temp error
Spa Filter - VSP Comm Error
Check System - Spa Sensor Open

I know very little about how to use my pool as the pool builder basically abandoned me at the end of the project to fend for myself. I've managed to do the basics for 3 seasons and expected to do the same again. I'm fairly certain all my button pushing caused my current predicament. However, it seems something was off with the spa before I interfered since it didn't switch out of spillover into just spa mode when we wanted to heat that on its own. The only change this season is that I used a different company to close in fall and open this spring. Do they change those valve positions during those processes?

Wow - apologies for the novel. I dislike being self-sufficient and I guess this mess will finally be the kick in the pants to learn how my pool works. Thanks!

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

The first step is to understand the existing pool equipment and valves. We can't advise you on anything until we understand that. One picture showing a jumble of pipes is not understandable.

You need to post a series of pictures so that we can follow each pipe from one end to the other. You need take pictures from different perspectives to be able to see pipes that overlap and disappear behind each other.

Do you have the AquaPlus manual? Have you read it?

https://www.hayward-pool.com/assets/documents/pools/pdf/manuals/AquaPlusPL-PLUSSeriesInstallatonManual.pdf

https://www.hayward-pool.com/assets/documents/pools/pdf/manuals/AquaPlusPL-PLUSSeriesOperationManual.pdf

It is easier explaining things if you ask about a specific thing in the manual that you don;t understand. If you want to be self sufficient then hit the books.

 

[dbrew]

Thank you Allen. I just took a bunch of photos of the pipes and I will send later. Builder did leave those manuals and I'll need to read the operation manual. I'm confused though because the display for the AquaPlus doesn't look like my main display keypad. Maybe it doesn't matter and the programming is the same? My main display keypad looks like a Pro Logic. The sticker to the right indicates Aqua Plus (see pic). On the door it says Pro Logic (see pic). The manuals left for me are Aqua Plus like the ones you attached.

https://hayward-pool-assets.com/assets/documents/pools/pdf/manuals/PLTPM-PL-PS-x&PL-PS-x-VInstallationOct08&Later.pdf

Ultimately my specific question is I want to use the spa - switch over to spa mode only and heat only the spa to use it. Thank you!

 

[ajw22]

Hayward changes things around and does not update their manuals. I can't explain all they do.

AquaPlus is effectively Prologic + Aquarite in one system. Hayward puts different looking faces on it over the years.

 

[dbrew]

Reading the manual was definitely helpful - go figure I think the settings look good. But I still have my original problem that I'm in spa mode but it is still doing spillover. I'm wondering if that has to do with one of the valve positions?

 

[ajw22]

You have valve actuators on your suction and return lines. They should both turn when you switch between POOL mode and SPA mode. I need to see your plumbing to understand what is misset.

Spa mode still doing spillover means the suction valve is still on pool suction when it should be on spa suction.

 

[dbrew]

Yes I'm pretty sure the actuator is not in the right position. The first pic is the valve positions when the pool was opened and this is the position in Spillover mode. When I switched to Spa mode only the valve closest to the filter turned to point directly at the filter. The other value didn't move and I'm assuming since it's in that middle position that is allowing the pool water into the spa creating the spillover.

I can manually move that valve. The pool maintenance person had me to that last night and I thought both pointed directly to the filter and that's when all the water completely drained from my spa while the jets were still running.

I'm not sure if those pipes are labeled properly. It looks like they were marked but it is wearing off. The pool guy today re-labeled some.

I took a bunch of pics. It's a tight space with a fence directly in front. If there's a different angle of the equipment you need to see I probably have it.

I've also been reading lots of old threads and it looks like this comes up a lot so apologies for asking again. I'm just not sure for my layout which pipes are suctions and returns.

Thanks!

 

[ajw22]

Look at the switch shown in Step 3 in...

How To Troubleshoot a Goldline/Hayward Pool Valve Actuator - INYOPools.com

This guide shows you how to resolve some of the issues that prevent GVA-24 Goldline/Hayward Pool Valve Actuator from performing correctly.

www.inyopools.com

see what position it is in. If it’s off move it to 1 or 2 and see if the valve turns. If the switch is in 1 or 2 move it to the other number.

The duck bill part of the handle saying OFF should be pointed to the POOL pipe when in SPA mode and pointed to the SPA DRAIN when in pool mode.

Report back what happens.

 

[dbrew]

Thank you so much Allen!

Here's what I found depending on the position of both actuator toggle switches:
Pic#1 - both toggle switches ON2 set to Spillover
Pic#2 - both toggle switches ON2 set to Pool
Pic#3 - both toggle switches ON2 set to Spa

I turned off the pool and turned both toggle switches to ON1

Pic#4 - both toggle switches on ON1 set to Spa
Pic#5 - both toggle switches on ON1 set to Spillover
Pic#6 - both toggle switches on ON1 set to Pool

I discovered the combo in pic#5 is what will drain the spa if the pump is on. When I first set #5 the pump did not go back on. I went over to the spa the water had receded and was no longer spilling over. When I turned the pump on manually and went back to the spa it was receding very quickly.

I did not do any scenarios where the actuators are set differently: either ON1/ON2 or ON2/ON1

 

[ajw22]

Pic #2 setting is correct for the switches and actuator.

Now you need to open up the actuator and reset the cam to totally close the spa return and stop the spillover in POOL mode.

You should mark that pipe SPA RETURN. The cam needs to be adjusted so that the handle is in line with the SPA RETURN.

How To Set and Sync the Cam on a Goldline/Hayward Pool Valve Actuator - INYOPools.com

This guide identifies the location of the cams and shows how to adjust and sync them.

www.inyopools.com

 

[mguzzy]

I'm just not sure for my layout which pipes are suctions and returns.

Wow. I don't think I have ever seen an equipment pad where the pumps are so tightly crammed together. That's going to be an interesting challenge come the day you have to service them. You have probably figured out that the water goes into the pumps on the horizontal pipes going into the baskets those are suction lines, and out on the vertical pipe going out the top of the pump.. that is the start of the return feed.

 

[dbrew]

Well I have learned a lot the last 2 days. I believe the cam position was set that way by design. Since my pool was installed it was either always in spillover mode or spa mode. On the Hayward display it would only toggle between 'Pool' or 'Spa' but 'Pool' always had that spillover effect. Using the Hayward AquaConnect app I also could only see 'Pool' or 'Spa'. Under configurations Spa Spillover was set to Disabled. So the spillover effect was created by the return valve being set to the 45 degree angle for Pool mode. That's what I had for the previous 3 pool seasons. When I changed a bunch of configurations I set Spa Spillover = Enabled so that's why I never got to spa only mode.

I have no idea during installation why Spa Spillover would not have been set to Enabled and then have the 3 different configurations to achieve Pool, Spa, or Spillover modes. Since I've been on TFP I saw posts where that much spillover is not great. I have the calcium deposits to prove it.

Now that I was in spa mode no spillover the only thing I needed was to heat the spa. The heater button was illuminated but no heat was coming out.

I went to the heater and it displayed Remote no demand even though the heater configuration Heater1 = Enabled. I changed it out of remote mode and it sparked, I heard the pilot light ignite, and it started heating! I guess something is amiss since it isn't firing in the remote state.

The kids are about to enjoy the spa and feeling good about all the troubleshooting to achieve it. After all this I think the only issue originally was the heater not operating in the remote state. I caused my other issues by toggling the actuators and changing some configurations. Thank you!

 

[ajw22]

Your pool was definitely setup by the builder for the spa spillover to be active in POOL mode.

Your remote should have different temperatures settings for pool temp and spa temp for the heater. Check that you have the SPA temp set up when you turn on the heater in SPA mode..