Jandy Freeze Protect - can you disable?

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Have you tried disconnecting the air temperature sensor until you get a new one?
 
Yup, disconnect from 7&8.

Not sure how the Aqualink will complain about it but it should keep working.
 
Oceansol said:
Yes, I filter at night because we have TOU tiers here and after 6am it gets expensive. But it was running freeze protect after 6am and before midnight.

So it I have the pump running (I lower the speed) and FP wants to protect, it won't up the speed? Maybe I should set my standard speed to lower speed (~1750rpm) and then run it faster for solar or spa.... that way if FP comes on when I'm not filtering it will at least run a low speed. Thoughts?
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Yes, that's the beauty of VS and automation. Set RPM to run low for general filtering and skimming, and then let the AquaLink ramp up the RPMs only when they are needed. Some here run their pumps at 1200RPM, for a few dollars a month. The minimum RPM is determined pretty much by aesthetics, and your SWG. An SWG will have a minimum flow rate requirement. Mine is about 1500 RPM, yours will be based on your SWG and the surrounding plumbing. But it'll let you know if the flow rate is too low. Then beyond the minimum SWG RPM requirement, it's just a matter of your idea of a clean pool. If the skimmer is skimming and the water is clear while using the SWG minimum RPM, then you're good-to-do. If you feel the water could be clearer, or the skimmer isn't getting all the leaves, then you up your RPM by 100 and give that a try. Repeat as necessary. Eventually you'll find your ideal "filter only" speed. Then the AquaLink can ramp up for solar and spa on demand, instead of all the time.

Energy use is exponential. So even shaving 10% off your normal filter speed will save you much more than 10% in energy costs.

My Pentair system has a minimum freeze protection speed that I can't seem to override. Both my controller and my pump. So you might not be able to go lower than that. Mine is 900 RPM. But that's likely lower than you'll need for filtering anyway, so that might be a non-issue.

If your freeze protection RPM is somewhere in a similar range, your actual energy costs for the odd times it's running after 6am might be pretty minimal. I'm not suggesting you give up your quest to defeat FP, but it might not make much of a difference in your electric bill either way.
 
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Dirk said:
Yes, that's the beauty of VS and automation. Set RPM to run low for general filtering and skimming, and then let the AquaLink ramp up the RPMs only when they are needed. Some here run their pumps at 1200RPM, for a few dollars a month. The minimum RPM is determined pretty much by aesthetics, and your SWG. An SWG will have a minimum flow rate requirement. Mine is about 1500 RPM, yours will be based on you SWG and plumbing. But it'll let you know if the flow rate is too low. Then beyond the minimum SWG RPM requirement, it's just a matter of your idea of a clean pool. If the skimmer is skimming and the water is clear while using the SWG minimum RPM, then you're good-to-do. If you feel the water could be clearer, or the skimmer isn't getting all the leaves, then you up your RPM by 100 and give that a try. Eventually you'll find your ideal "filter only" speed. Then the AquaLink can ramp up for solar and spa on demand, instead of all the time.

Energy use is exponential. So even shaving 10% off your normal filter speed will save you much more than 10% in energy cost.

My Pentair system was a minimum freeze protection speed that I can't seem to override. Both my controller and my pump. So you might not be able to go lower than that. Mine is 900 RPM. But that's likely lower than you'll need for filtering anyway, so that might be a non-issue.
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OK, so I need to reprogram the default speed to low (whatever that is) and then up speed for spa, cleaning, and solar. I have solar water heating and I believe that I need high speed to fully fill the solar system, but I don't even use it this time of year.
 
Like filtering, your solar heater will have its own optimum flow rate for best performance-to-cost ratio. Mine is 2200 RPM. So my controller runs the pool at 1500 RPM most of the time, because that's what my SWG wants and that keeps my pool clean enough. When solar gets called for, the controller turns the solar valve and pushes the pump to 2200 RPM. Then vice versa when ideal water temp is reached, or a cloud rolls over.

I determined the 2200 for solar with a combination of solar panel spec (from the owner manual) and a FlowVis flow meter I have installed. My panels want 40 gallons per minute of flow. My flow meter tells me that 40 GPM takes 2200 RPM from my VS pump. There are other ways to optimize solar panel flow rate, but none as accurate. Perhaps that's for a separate thread. But 2000-2500 is a good starting range for solar. Like the SWG and filtering optimum flow rates, (and RPMs), there are a lot of variables.
 
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Oceansol said:
but I don't even use it this time of year.
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Right, so when your AquaLink is doing its job (once it's programmed correctly), it'll select the best RPM for the current conditions, be that freeze protection, or solar heat, or spa use or time-of-day tier concerns or seasons of the year. Pool automation is a luxury, but it can make a dent in paying for itself by using it to control energy costs as much as possible. And a lot is possible.

Like I was hinting at, the cost of freeze protection running after 6am is nothing compared to what can be saved with other adjustments to your Aqualink.

And after reading about the damage freezing pipes is costing our Texas brothers, personally, I would leave freeze protection alone and feel good that its there, and will be there when really needed. (Are you going to remember to turn it back on?) It may be why you're having trouble turning it off, maybe Jandy doesn't want you to?

You can have a new sensor here in days, let's work on your other settings instead... If you don't mind me sayin'...
 
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Dirk said:
Like filtering, your solar heater will have its own optimum flow rate for best performance-to-cost ratio. Mine is 2200 RPM. So my controller runs the pool at 1500 RPM most of the time, because that's what my SWG wants and that keeps my pool clean enough. When solar gets called for, the controller turns the solar valve and pushes the pump to 2200 RPM. Then vice versa when ideal water temp is reached, or a cloud rolls over.

I determined the 2200 for solar with a combination of solar panel spec (from the owner manual) and a FlowVis flow meter I have installed. My panels want 40 gallons per minute of flow. My flow meter tells me that 40 GPM takes 2200 RPM from my VS pump. There are other ways to optimize solar panel flow rate, but none as accurate. Perhaps that's for a separate thread. But 2000-2500 is a good starting range for solar. Like the SWG and filtering optimum flow rates, (and RPMs), there are a lot of variables.
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Thanks Dirk!
 

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OK, take this for what it's worth based on my clear display of lack of Jandy knowledge this morning. I, too, have three temp sensors: air, water and solar for my Pentair controller. They're all the same exact model. Interchangeable. If you temporarily wire your solar temp sensor to the terminals for your air temp sensor, not only will that fool your Aqualink into thinking it still has air temp available, it'll be roof-top air temp, which might solve your freeze protection runs during the morning. You said you don't need solar right now, so that might get you through until you get a new air temp sensor.

Again, I can't say if your temp sensors are all the same, but hair-brained schemes are my specialty... 🤪

That said, I'm still advising you leave freeze protection alone and just fix the air sensor when you get to it.
 
If you can find a 10k ohm resistor, you can use that in place of the temperature sensor.

That way the air temperature sensor will read 77 degrees and it will prevent the freeze protection from coming on.

Or, you can connect the water temperature sensor to the air temperature sensor terminals and that should work.
 
JamesW said:
If you can find a 10k ohm resistor, you can use that in place of the temperature sensor.

That way the air temperature sensor will read 77 degrees and it will prevent the freeze protection from coming on.

Or, you can connect the water temperature sensor to the air temperature sensor terminals and that should work.
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Thanks James. That first one is way above my skill set, but the second one might work!
 
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What is the reading from the air temperature sensor now?

Are you sure that the reading wasn't disabled?

7.5 Air Temperature Menu.

Use the Air Temperature menu to turn the air temperature display on or off.

7.5.1 To disable Air Temperature display menu Highlight MENU/HELP and press SELECT, highlight SYSTEM SETUP and press SELECT, highlight AIR TEMP and press SELECT.

Use the UP/DOWN arrow keys to highlight desired setting and press SELECT.
 
JamesW said:
What is the reading from the air temperature sensor now?

Are you sure that the reading wasn't disabled?

7.5 Air Temperature Menu.

Use the Air Temperature menu to turn the air temperature display on or off.

7.5.1 To disable Air Temperature display menu Highlight MENU/HELP and press SELECT, highlight SYSTEM SETUP and press SELECT, highlight AIR TEMP and press SELECT.

Use the UP/DOWN arrow keys to highlight desired setting and press SELECT.
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Ha! I must have disabled "air temp display" when trying to disable FP. I just fixed it and it reads 45F now, but it's really 61F
 

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You just need a 10k NTC waterproof temperature sensor probe.

You can probably find one locally if you need one quick.

www.homedepot.com

Sensaphone 10K Weatherproof Temperature Sensor 0102 - The Home Depot

Able to withstand harsh environments, the 10K Weatherproof Temperature Sensor connects to select Sensaphone monitoring systems. This sealed sensor is recommended for wet and/or dirty environments for warmer temperature range monitoring. If the sensed temperature goes beyond the programmed...
www.homedepot.com

XINGYHENG 10Pcs NTC 10K Thermistor Sensors Digital Temperature Probe for Air Conditioner (100cm): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

XINGYHENG 10Pcs NTC 10K Thermistor Sensors Digital Temperature Probe for Air Conditioner (100cm): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
www.amazon.com

Here are some cheap ones that would probably work for the air temperature.

They won't work for water temperature because there's no way to mount them to pipe.
 

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