Least expensive means of controlling Intellichlor?

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sbcpool

Well-known member
Mar 10, 2015
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Upland, CA
As we all know, you can only adjust the Intellichlor's output by 20 percentage points at a time using the controls on the cell. This is proving to be difficult. I am not willing to spend thousands more just to gain finer control of the cell, so I have been exploring my options.

I'm wondering what's the least expensive way of gaining control over the IC60 cell. So far it seems like to me the cheapest option is to buy an IntelliPH and chuck the tank/pump and just use the controller to control the IC60. I say chuck the IntelliPH because it's a "dumb" system and just injects acid every hour regardless of your actual pH.
 
sbcpool said:
As we all know, you can only adjust the Intellichlor's output by 20 percentage points at a time using the controls on the cell. This is proving to be difficult. I am not willing to spend thousands more just to gain finer control of the cell, so I have been exploring my options.

I'm wondering what's the least expensive way of gaining control over the IC60 cell. So far it seems like to me the cheapest option is to buy an IntelliPH and chuck the tank/pump and just use the controller to control the IC60. I say chuck the IntelliPH because it's a "dumb" system and just injects acid every hour regardless of your actual pH.
Click to expand...

Seems kind of wasteful to "chuck" the acid dosing tank. You might as well use it if you're going to buy it. Believe me, the "smart" ones that are controlled by a feedback loop are no great thing either. Very easy for probes to fail or calibration to be way off and more work to keep them functioning. Honestly, a "dumb" system that simply injects acid at a prescribed level would be more than sufficient. It's far easier to test pH regularly and adjust the dosing regimen than sit around troubleshooting wonky probes ...

That said, the controller on the IPH would work for you. But be warned, there is a known issue with IpH's and IC60's. The IC60 draws a lot more power than the IC40 or 20 and it burns out the internal connector on the IpH board. There is a workaround for that issue that @Dirk can explain ... and he's a fan-boy of acid dosing systems as well ....
 
You should take a look at the nodejs-poolController project and it's probably the cheapest option.

github.com

Chlorinator

An application to control pool equipment from various manufacturers. - tagyoureit/nodejs-poolController
github.com github.com
 
ajw22 said:
Consider the Pentair IntelliConnect.
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Good call Alan. IIRC the IntelliChlor settings are in 5% increments. FWIW Polytec Pools has the IntelliConnect for $430.

intelliconnect-png.424231
 

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guinness said:
Per the documentation the sensor is only required if using a heater.
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I will have a heater eventually, but it's a promising option. I sure hate all the wires and boxes on the wall of my house next to the pad. The sun is going to destroy them in short order. Not to mention it just looks tacky.

As far as "talking" to the IntelliChlor via serial, are the settings sticky? I anticipate only needing to make a change rarely. If the settings are sticky I may just try manually communicating with raw bytes through a serial cable.
 
guinness said:
Per the documentation the sensor is only required if using a heater.
Click to expand...
See this message about the temperature sensor being required with the IntelliChlor…

Need a little bit of "Pumps", "SWCG" and "Everything Else" help!

I'm in desperate need of replacing my single speed pump on my very basic, 40 year old, concrete block pool. We have no intention of adding anything to this pool, as we'll be moving on from this house sometime in the next 10-12 years and just had the liner/walls redone. Signature below, but...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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It seems like all I would have to do to interact with the IntelliChlor is attach a serial cable and issue 0x0F02500000620F03 to query the status. If I get a 0x0F0200010000130F03 back I know I'm cooking with fire. Then to set the output to 55% (for example) I send 0x0F02501137AA0F03 and look for 0x0F02001248006C0F03.

Is that all there is to it?
 
sbcpool said:
It seems like all I would have to do to interact with the IntelliChlor is attach a serial cable and issue 0x0F02500000620F03 to query the status. If I get a 0x0F0200010000130F03 back I know I'm cooking with fire. Then to set the output to 55% (for example) I send 0x0F02501137AA0F03 and look for 0x0F02001248006C0F03.

Is that all there is to it?
Click to expand...

Intelliflow pump RS485 protocol

I have read threads in this forum that deal with the communication of the Pentair Intelliflo pump. Did anybody ever figure out how to do it and can tell me the baudrate, parity, stop bits and the protocol? I gathered from dbean's work it is a binary protocol with a checksum. My Intelliflow (it...
cocoontech.com cocoontech.com
 
@ajw22 Well spotted. That would be good information to put in the manual - especially since the Pentair reps are already aware of that.

@sbcpool You can probably get a Elfin EW11 and wire that to the RS-485 connector in the IntelliChlor power center and put antenna outside.

Configure it to listen on port 8899 that would then forward the serial port (9600/8/1/none, flow control disabled). Then issue your commands.
 
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guinness said:
@ajw22 Well spotted. That would be good information to put in the manual - especially since the Pentair reps are already aware of that.
Click to expand...

It is in our Wiki article.

Seems like the lower cost products get less effort in the manuals.
 
Sounds like you're on another path than the IntellipH, so I'll spare you the details. Let me know if you want to know more. Lots of solutions offered, but just to add one more:

For most SWG pools, the driving factor of pump runtime is the runtime needed for chlorine production. Unless you have some other reason driving yours, the absolute cheapest solution is none at all. Use the IC's 20% increments to get close, then just vary your SWG's runtime to fine tune. If I'm remembering correctly, the IC's production cycle is every five minutes. So just vary your SWG's timer in 5 minute increments to dial in the perfect chlorine dispensing. Done. Say 20% is too little chlorine, but 40% is too much. Set the IC at 40 and dial down the runtime a bit (or vice versa: go 20% and up the runtime, but the former is cheaper, electricity-wise).

If there's some reason you need to run your pump longer, than just vary the RPMs via the pump's scheduling. All ICs will have a threshold flow rate under which they'll stop producing. First, you determine that flow rate by experimenting with pump RPMs: up and down until you figure out where the IC will and won't produce chlorine reliably. (Set the IC to 100% for this test.) Let's say you find that your IC will produce at 1500RPM, but not at 1400. So you set your IC runtime by programming your pump to run at 1600 (or more) for X hours a day. (You add 100 or so to accommodate for leaves in the skimmer or a dirty filter, which might impede flow and drop too low for the IC). So say, at 40% output you determine that you need to run your pump at 1600RPM for 8 hours and 15 minutes. To run the pump longer without producing chlorine, just program it to run at 1400 RPM for whatever extra hours you need.

I think the IntelliFlo has eight schedules (maybe it's four without automation, I forget), but you could even get a couple IC runs per day, by scheduling two 1600+RPM runs and two 1400RPM runs. You get the idea.

Lots of ways to skin this cat without spending anything.
 
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Rancho Cost-a-Lotta said:
Have you considered using a simple Wifi switch/timer? Instead of fine-tuning output percentage, you could control runtimes through an app.
Click to expand...

I'll second this one, if you're looking for remote control at the absolute cheapest. For $15-20 you can get any number of outdoor WiFi timers (I use the Kasa line -- I like that their 2-outlet version has separate controls for each, so the other can be used for pool cleaners/landscape lights/etc). Wire the IC power supply for 120V and plug it in.

I test inside the house, often at night, far enough from the pool that it's really convenient to just adjust the time on my phone rather than go back out. We don't use our pool a ton, so often the cover is on all day, occasionally not, so I have to adjust runtime by a few hours relatively often.
 
I can't control the run times very accurately since I have no automation. The only thing controlling the SWG is an old Intermatic mechanical timer. The best I can get is about ±15 minutes. That's how I've been doing it currently. I was hoping to make it a little less of a pain that setting the dogs on the timer, figuring out when they really trigger and then setting the IntelliFlo timer with a little buffer to account for clock drift.

My pad is not only out in the open, but where the rain runs off the roof. It is also between the house and the path, so anything sticking out blocks the pathway (the pad is already in the way to some extent). Anything there has to be weather tight. I don't know how I could install a 120V outlet and timers so that they don't protrude into the path where they're liable to get knocked by kids and so that it's weather tight.

I really, really wish I could relocate my pad but local code requires that it's at least 5 feet from the property line. There is nowhere else to put it that's not just in the middle of the yard on the opposite side of the pool. It would require tearing up half the deck to reroute plumbing and add about 50 more feet between the pump and the pool. I've given some thought to "illegally" locating my pad, but it may create problems if/when I sell the house.
 
As mentioned, the IntelliConnect is a great option that will add control of the pump. If you're really looking for a "cheap" option, check out this post:

Low Budget DIY Automation

When we built the pool, I decided against full automation for a variety of reasons including cost, the proprietary nature of available devices, and the fear an expensive system would quickly become obsolete and unsupported. I've seen a few forums members using Raspberry PI and Arduino...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

If you have a decent Wifi signal at the pad, you might even be able to remove the timer mechanism from your Intermatic box and replace with the Sonoff module. Otherwise, replace the existing SWG timer box with a [plastic/composite] weatherproof box.

Here is a standalone timer a few members have used with good results:

 
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