Need IntelliCenter info

[rjb1211]

After the pool company installed the new system I have not been able to run it the way I want.

In the Pumps menu I have 3 choices - pool, low, and high. Those are set with pool being between low and high.

In the schedule menu I have those same three options to choose. Pool was set for the bulk of daylight hours and low was set for overnight. High was set to run for a couple of hours in the morning.

The problem with this setup is that the IntelliChlor doesn’t work unless pool is on so it doesn’t generate chlorine overnight. When pool is on the high setting will run the pump higher, but low doesn’t work as the higher pump setting prevails.

If the IntelliCenter allows it I could make pool the lowest pump setting and schedule it to run 24 hours. I would then make the low setting my daytime speed and leave the high setting alone.

That should accomplish what I want but is it the right way to do it? Is something wired wrong or is there a setting that I am missing?

 

[Jimrahbe]

rjb,

The problem is not the system, the problem is you not understanding how your current automation works.

Someone who does not have a clue set your system as Pool low and high..

It seems we have discussed this same set-up before??? Do you have another thread about same subject??

In any case I'd be glad to get you pointed in the right direction, but I need to step out for an hour or so..

I'll be back..

Jim R.

 

[rjb1211]

Thanks Jim. I only figured this out today so we have not discussed it before.

Edit: I was asking general questions about automation and upgrading my equipment back in the fall. Perhaps that is what you are remembering.

Rick

 

[Jimrahbe]

rjb,

I must have been thinking of someone else...

Pentair automation is based on "Circuits".. The system comes with a fixed set of Circuits that you customize to make your system work the way you want. Some Circuits have relays and some do not.

Aux Circuits have relays and are mainly used to control external items that run off of 120 or 240 volts. Like a single speed pump or a blower motor etc..

Feature Circuits do not have relays, but other than that they operate just like Aux Circuits. They are normally used to control the movement of Valves and to control Pump speeds.

Each Circuit, no matter what kind, can have a pump speed assigned to it. When the Circuit is turned on, the pump will be told to run that speed.. but that depends on what other Circuits are on.

This is because when the pump sees two or more speeds at the same time it will always run the fastest one.

As an example... If the Pool Circuit is set to run at say 1200 RPM and it is only Circuit on, then the pump will run at 1200 RPM. But, if another Circuit is on and it has a pump speed of 1500, the pump will run at 1500. If you turn off the faster Circuit, the pump will return to running the Pool speed of 1200.

The SWCG will only run if the system is in the Pool mode or the Spa mode. This means that you should schedule the Pool Circuit to be on the entire amount of time you want the SWCG to run in a day..

Each Circuit has a System name and a user name. Aux 1, Pool, and Feature 1, etc. are all system names. But, it would be hard to remember, so the system allows you to name each Circuit any name you wish.. You could call a Circuit "Jim" and it would work, but would not make much sense.. Obviously, you should name circuits after what they do. So, if Aux2 is connect to turn on your spa blower, then you would name it "Blower". The Circuit Name, is just a name, it does not make the circuit do anything special. Just because you call a Circuit Blower, does not mean it will turn on the blower, unless it is wired to do so.

Long story short, you are not restricted to just three speeds...

I suggest that you set you Pool Circuit speed to the lowest speed you ever want to run.. Then just use several Feature Circuits to increase the pump speeds when you need them..

Here is a page out of my EasyTouch System, just for reference. Your set up page looks different, but does the same thing.

Heater Speed.PNG

• Jimrahbe
• Jan 3, 2019

Here is another EasyTouch screen that makes the relationship between Circuit - Circuit Name - Circuit Function pretty clear.

Set up page 2a.JPG

• Jimrahbe
• Jun 11, 2020

Please let me know if that made sense.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[rjb1211]

Thank you, Jim. That does make sense and basically is the solution I had come up with but probably didn’t express myself well.

One thing that I didn’t know about was renaming the features. I should change what is currently pump speed low to something like day. Do you know how to get to that in the IntelliCenter?

 

[ajw22]

How do you control your IntelliCenter?

Are you setup to use the IntelliCenter2 website which is the IntelliCenter equivalent to what Jim is showing you for the EasyTouch?

 

[rjb1211]

How do you control your IntelliCenter?

Are you setup to use the IntelliCenter2 website which is the IntelliCenter equivalent to what Jim is showing you for the EasyTouch?

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Yes, I can get to that website. I did find the system configuration screen and I will play around with it tomorrow.

Thanks.

 

[rjb1211]

I was able to set the schedule for the feature circuits and the pool is going to run the way I want. It took me a while to figure out how to pick a name for the circuit of my choosing. There were drop downs with names that I thought I needed to choose. I stumbled on just editing the typing.

All is good (for now.) Thank you for the help.

Rick

 

[Jimrahbe]

I stumbled on just editing the typing.

Rick,

Nice stumble...

A lot of people miss the fact that you can use any Circuit Name you wish, and don't need to use the canned drop down list..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[rjb1211]

Rick,

Nice stumble...

A lot of people miss the fact that you can use any Circuit Name you wish, and don't need to use the canned drop down list..

Thanks,

Jim R.

Well, I owe it to you. If you hadn’t told me it could be done I wouldn’t have been as persistent in figuring out how.

Rick

 

[rjb1211]

I found another issue.

At 5:00 this morning I noticed that all of the lights controlled by the IntelliCenter were on. I tried turning them off with the phone app, but while they turned off they came right back on.

It had gotten cold (34d) overnight and I noticed that the freeze protection was enabled. Using the website I figured out that the light circuits had freeze protection marked. Unchecking the box fixed that problem.

Based on the information I was been given before I had set Pool on a schedule of 9am to 9am at my lowest speed. This morning the temp started rising at daylight and the freeze protection came off around 7:30. Unfortunately when it did it turned Pool off even though the schedule was set for it to run continuously. To ensure I understood what was going on I did not turn it on manually. Sure enough at 9am it came back on.

This isn't the end of the world as it will probably never happen again. This year it was opened earlier than normal for the equipment installation. The only downside was that the salt cell was turned of for a short period. I do like to know, however, that I have things set up correctly.

Is there something else that is set wrong? I could take freeze protection off completely since the pump is running 24/7, or I could just remember to turn Pool back on if it gets cold overnight again.

Your help is appreciated.

Rick

 

[ajw22]

You did not do anything wrong. Freeze protection has lots of quirks like that.

 

[Jimrahbe]

rjb,

All of my pools run 24/7, and none of them have freeze protection turned on.. It is just not needed if the pump is already running.

I assume you have no spa...

I agree with Allen.. Nothing wrong with your automation.

Thanks,

Jim R.