The New Pentair SuperFlo VS or VST??

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Alright, so. The M12 (12mm) "aviation plug" was too small.

So I ordered this "GX16" - 16mm "aviation plug":

Amazon.com: DIYhz GX16 8 Pins Panel Metal Mount Circular Metal Aviation Connector Adapter Socket Male Female Plug (10 Pcs) : Electronics

Amazon.com: DIYhz GX16 8 Pins Panel Metal Mount Circular Metal Aviation Connector Adapter Socket Male Female Plug (10 Pcs) : Electronics
www.amazon.com
It's unfortunately too big! =|

DREMEL TO THE RESCUE!!
I was able to take a dremel to it & I've got it "fitting" well enough, at least well-enough for a test run. But I need to figure out the pin-out... =(

Does anyone have a technical/wiring diagram, or know what the pin-outs are? Really, I only need to know which pins are ultimately connected to the "GREEN" and "YELLOW" wires on the official RS-485 kit (P/N 356324Z - which is unavailable anywhere).

I've searched high & low, so far I cannot find any information on the pin-outs. Even just knowing which pins are *not* the "GREEN"/"YELLOW" should tell me enough to be able to figure out which is green & which is yellow. But I can't find that information anywhere.

If you have the *non* RS-485 connector (P/N 353129Z) -- could you look at the part that plugs into the pump, and examine the plug closely to see if two of the "pin connectors" (on the side you plug-in to the pump [female side]) have no metal on them?

Alternatively, if anyone has a continuity tester and has this version of the cord, could you test the pins and figure out which two pins don't have corresponding wires on the other end (basically process of elimination to determine which two pins are yellow/green).

Worst case... I may have to buy the "353129Z" (non RS-485) connector just to figure out which two pins it is. If someone already has it and can help figure out which pins though, I'd *really* appreciate it!!
 
Just to clarify, here's the colors. If you have the 353129Z then you have 6 conductors but the physical connector that plugs into the pump will have 8 'holes' in it. I need to figure out which of those 8 holes does *not* have a wire on the other end of your cord.

Screen Shot 2021-07-15 at 12.50.25 PM.png
Basically, if anyone that has the [non-RS485] connector part can figure out which pins correspond to each of the following colors (left column), and then tell me which 2 pins are 'left over' (ie they *dont* have a wire at the other end) -- then I'd know which two are for the RS-485 interface, and I should be able to figure out (or at least have a 50/50 at getting it right, and voltage is the same, so should be safe) which is the A vs B for the RS-485 interface.
 
Lol, I'm an idiot. I forgot that I had ordered the automation cable -- wife checked the mail today and it's here. Interestingly, this is what I purchased via eBay: Pentair SuperFlo Digital Input Kit (25 Ft.) 788379864088 | eBay

The package however, which is in an OEM Pentair bag, very clearly states that the cord is P/N 356324Z (!!) -- despite the item description clearly stating 'P/N 356324Z'. It even includes a new "sticker" to put on your system that shows the color-coding, including which two are RS-485.

I'm about to open it up & do some testing now. Will report back! =D
 
I can now confirm, the cable that I ordered -- despite getting the "wrong" P/N vs what the listing described -- is definitely P/N 356324Z. It has 8 conductors, both on the plug and 8 actual wires on the other side too. Even includes a sticker with the color-code "legend" showing RS-485 / all 8 conductors!!

https://imgur.com/a/XAZDvKn

Will go test it shortly. Wish me luck!!
 
Alright, despite being a computer programmer, I'm struggling a bit to do the programming on the iAqualink interface. Either that or I may be doing it right & the pump simply does not support RS-485 -- I'm hoping it's my issue though, and not the pump. =|

How do I correctly add an additional VS pump to iAqualink? I'm on the web UI:
  1. Menu -> System Setup -> VSP Setup ->
  2. I'm now on the "VSP Pump" setup interface. There are 4 pumps that can be configured. I've tried all 4, each configured as "Intelliflo VS". After doing so, I don't get a "on/off" button for them on the Home view, but I can set their speeds. I've tried setting the speeds for each, but on the 'Status' screen it shows "Intelliflo VS X (Offline)" -- screenshots below.
Right now, the SuperFlo VS is connected to my Aux4 relay ("Laminar Jets") which I've got ON (to ensure the SuperFlo is getting power). The SuperFlo VS is in "EXT Control" mode, and Speed 1 on it has been configured for a 24-hour duration @ 0RPMs.

https://imgur.com/a/sPtjsYI

Am I doing something blatantly wrong on the 'config' side? Any ideas?

Also, how does the 'mapping' work? I have this pump connected to my Aqualink board's second RS485 terminal, it's the *only* thing plugged into that terminal. The first terminal already has 2 devices connected to it.

How does the 'mapping' work? I'm guessing that the second RS485 terminal would be device "#3" and "#4", likely based on which address you select on the SuperFlo (0/1 [or 1/2]), but I'm not positive. My SuperFlo is setup for the default address (I think 0, but might be 1).

Any thoughts from the iAqualink gurus? I'm really hoping this isn't a dead end. =|
 
You may have moved beyond your earlier request today, but here is the information you requested about the 353129Z cable. All 8 connections on the cable are metallic. I did a continuity test on all 8 connections. Here are the wire connections to the plug as you are looking down on the cable plug. From the notched edge going clockwise.

Center - Black
1- red
2- empty
3- empty
4- green
5- yellow
6- orange
7- brownIMG_20210715_171809807.jpg
 

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Dan, where did you acquire the informative table with wire colors you posted today? That would indicate that you have the right cable for full SuperFlo automation. My non-RS485 353129z cable is clearly not going to work with pin slots 2 and 3 being unused. Perhaps we can swap cables if you determine that your pump does not support RS485 automation. :) Again, I'm just in the waterproofing stage of my pool construction. won't know what my pump capability is for a month or so.
 
I got the cable via the ebay link I posted earlier -- the P/N listed on the ebay auction is the *non* RS-485 cable but the cable that the seller sent me was clearly the RS-485 version (which *no one* has in stock anywhere that I could find).

Basically I got lucky; may be worth taking the risk honestly, I couldn't find the RS-485 cable anywhere and I called numerous dealers & warehouses.

That said -- so far, I'm stuck on the 'programming' aspect. Either that or my pump truly does not support RS-485. I'm hoping it's a programming/config issue, though will need some guidance from someone knowledgeable w/ the iAqualink to be certain.

If my pump turns out to not support the RS-485 then I'd ship ya the cable for whatever I paid for it. Though I hope it works & that I get to keep it, hah. ;)
 
I have an older AquaLink system. I also have an IntelliFlo pump. I had to go to "menu" then to "system setup" then scroll up to "variable speed pump". Once there you can select Pump type (for up to 4 pumps). Select Pump 1. Then select pump model. Mine only showed ePump, IntelliFlo VS, IntelliFlo VF and VSP AC. Once you select the pump then you have to select the "application" for it. After all that, then you can go to program to set times. etc.
Hope this helps.
 
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I can't speak to whether your pump supports RS-485. But I can tell you my experience using multiple Pentair VSF pumps on my Jandy controller.

The main filter pump (tagged "Filtration") works fine when connected with power on all the time and just using the RS-485 to turn it on/off and control speed. What I do (counter to what Jandy recommends) is leave the 240v hot to the pump all the time (rather than through the relay) and let the Jandy turn it on/off and control speed via RS-485.

I'm not sure that it needs to be "Pump 1" in that Jandy VSP setup screen, but from my playing around it does have to be tagged "Filtration" as opposed to "Aux."

For whatever silly reason, pumps that are tagged as "Aux" and set as Intelliflo will not be commanded "off" by the Jandy controller over RS-485. At least I can't figure out how to do it. All you can do is drop the speed to the minimum, which is 600 RPM or something. So to get it to actually turn off you have to pull power from the pump, which is easy enough to do using the relays in the RS-8, but the irritating thing (at least to me) is that when you power the pump on again it will go to a default relatively slow speed. So slow that you can't even feel the spa jets. Because it's shut off by yanking power, it doesn't remember its last speed and won't return to that speed.

That's a bit of a minor complaint, I know, and maybe I could figure away around it using a "One Touch" setup
 

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So my main (#1) pump is a Pentair Intelliflo -- it works flawlessly, it's always-powered, and it communicates solely via RS-485. The 2nd (water feature [laminars]) pump is the SuperFlo, and is the one I'm trying to get control of via RS-485. It's starting to seem like my SuperFlo VS pump may simply not support it, though. =(
 
Dan,

As a test, I would electrically connect the SuperFlo VS as the main pump.. If your system will recognize the IntelliFlo, I would assume it should also recognize the SuperFlo if it has RS-485..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
As a test, I would electrically connect the SuperFlo VS as the main pump.. If your system will recognize the IntelliFlo, I would assume it should also recognize the SuperFlo if it has RS-485..
Click to expand...
There's a comment in the manual in the RS-485 section that says some controllers that work with the Intelliflo won't work with the SuperFlo. Possibly the protocol is different.
 
I tried everything & I was unfortunately not able to get the RS485 connection working with this specific auxiliary (water feature) pump.

Pentair tech support was likewise quite adamant that the pump does not support the RS485 protocol when I called them (several times, one of which was a longer call & they grabbed a more senior-level person, who concurred); I guess they may be correct... Either that or I missed something really obvious. I certainly tried, though. =(

I probably didn't put the full amount of time into it that I could have -- the one thing I didn't try, and which was (smartly) mentioned above, was swapping this [water-feature] pump for my main pump on the board temporarily, to see if it'd then "see" it as a full-featured RS485 pump. That said, I really believe that I tried every correct configuration from the software side, and from the hardware/connection side I really don't see how I could have "gone wrong", as connecting secondary [RS-485] pumps appears to really be no different than connecting the #1/main pump.

I guess I wouldn't completely write it off -- if someone has more time than me, it may be worth trying further -- but, TBH, I put a handful of hours into it and saw absolutely zero sign that any communication was happening. AFAICT, the "speed per relay" is the only way to go, which is a bummer but alas... and being honest, it's not like I was going to be doing Bellagio-fountain style "macros" via the iAqualink's programming UI anyway (it'd be *doable* in theory, Dang tedious to configure, lol).

Anyways, my take is that this pump probably either:
A) Truly doesn't support RS485, or [and equally likely IMO]:​
B) Does support it BUT has a jumper set [or soldered connector, firmware setting, etc] such that it's effectively disabled / factory "nerfed" (ie I'd guess it probably has the same control board just with some kind of 'setting' to explicitly prevent the 'higher end' functionality for sales/marketing reasons - potentially even a ECU/programming setting). Note: This is a total wild guess, but my experience in tech tells me they likely didn't spec distinct boards, heh.​

Sorry for the letdown, apologies I couldn't provide better outlook or a more useful way forward.

If anyone finds differently, please do let me know -- beers will be on me!!! =D
 
Just in case anybody stumbles on this looking for the SuperFlo comm cable details since it's sold out literally everywhere (April 2022) except one guy on eBay admittedly gouging for $200 each.

I couldn't find a compatible connector off the shelf but after looking at the back of the existing connector to check, it's just terminated from the loose wires coming out of the controller module anyway. So I bought a standard GX16 connector kit like ADanto640 and will just cut off the proprietary/mystery Pentair port and reterminate the wires onto the GX16 port (which fits the same hole in the cover). My time soldering this together may not have been worth the ~$40-50ish for the Pentair solution if it was available but it's certainly worth $200 for a simple cable.
 
GT172I said:
Just in case anybody stumbles on this looking for the SuperFlo comm cable details since it's sold out literally everywhere (April 2022) except one guy on eBay admittedly gouging for $200 each.

I couldn't find a compatible connector off the shelf but after looking at the back of the existing connector to check, it's just terminated from the loose wires coming out of the controller module anyway. So I bought a standard GX16 connector kit like ADanto640 and will just cut off the proprietary/mystery Pentair port and reterminate the wires onto the GX16 port (which fits the same hole in the cover). My time soldering this together may not have been worth the ~$40-50ish for the Pentair solution if it was available but it's certainly worth $200 for a simple cable.
Click to expand...
This off-the-shelf cable from Switchcraft has the correct form factor. The wire colors don't match but it's simple enough to figure out the pinout. If I get a chance I'll post a pinout diagram.
Switchcraft CAEN3C8F07990
 
pelagicturtle said:
Wiring Table for the Switchcraft CAEN3C8F07990 is attached.
Click to expand...

pelagicturtle said:
This off-the-shelf cable from Switchcraft has the correct form factor. The wire colors don't match but it's simple enough to figure out the pinout. If I get a chance I'll post a pinout diagram.
Switchcraft CAEN3C8F0799
Click to expand...

Rancho Cost-a-Lotta said:
This will be very helpful for a few folks. I'll try to track them down. Thank you for posting!
Click to expand...
The Pentair brand cable is out of stock just about everywhere. I bought the Switchcraft one recently to automate my Supermax VS pump.
 

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