New Pool, Easy Touch questions

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J

jda03806

Member
Apr 16, 2024
11
Austin, TX
Hi there, I recently purchased a new home that has a pool. It was a new house ad for some reason the pool builder put in an EasyTouch panel that I'm just now learning seems pretty old/obsolete. I've got it connected up to my internet and am able to do some very basic controls using the "Pentair ScreenLogic" app on my iPhone. It's pretty clunky and I'm still trying to keep straight what Aux 1-4 actually do in my new pool. I have several questions that are probably answered elsewhere and so I apologize if I've just not been to find them, but here goes:

1. Is the main pool pump usually controlled form here? My understainding now is that my Aux 1 is for my pool robot, Aux 2 is spa jets, Aux 3 is spa blower. Is the main pool pump usually an AUX circuit? How do I control it's schedule?
2. Is there some way to name my "features" something more useful?
3. Measuring the the temperature seems really awkward. It doesn't seem to update on it's own, only when I turn the heater on. There's a chart for temperature history, but it just always shows everything at 55 degrees.
4. When I tap on Pool or Spa, the screen is confusing. What does the button at the top do (it says Pool or Spa)? When I tap on it it turns green.
5. There's another app called IntelliCenter2 that looks so much better, but I'm guessing that is not compatible with my system, correct?
6. I've heard of SLConfig but haven't really tried it yet. Should I be trying that instead or in addition to this app?

I'm trying to get my builder to help me but he's been really slow to respond so I'm trying to figure this all out on my own.
 
jda,

For a simple pool, the EasyTouch will do everything you need. Is the new IntelliCenter better, yes it is, but not so much that I'd replace an existing EasyTouch.

I can answer most of your questions, but you will need to show me several pics of your pool, your complete equipment pad, a pic of the front panel of EasyTouch, and a pic of the inside of the EasyTouch showing the breakers and the relays. The more pics the better. :mrgreen:

I would set ScreenLogic up on an old PC, where ScreenLogic works 10 x better.. and programming takes about 5 minutes.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Awesome. I'm still in the process of moving into this house so don't have my PC setup there. I'm curious why you say to set it up on "an old PC". Will a new PC not work? I'll grab a bunch of photos this afternoon when I'm over there and shoot them your way. When you say inside the easy touch, is this good enough, or do I need to open it up further?
 

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Lol, I am indeed mostly Apple. I do have an old PC though and once I get that all fired up I'll figure out how to do that. Or maybe just use my kid's laptop.

I now have another, slightly more urgent question that maybe you can help me with. When I arrived the pool filter pump wasn't on. The light was on above the "F", but the pump wasn't running. That's not good is it? I looked at the filter pump and took a video of it which I don't think I can post here due to size. But the "Connect" was flashing yellow to off and the ON/STOP was red. I pushed ON/Stop and it went to yellow, but still couldn't get the pump to run.

Back to the original question now. Here are the photos:

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jda,

The reason I asked for all the pics, is that I wanted to make sure what you have..

It appears that you have an IntelliFlo3.. (A great pump) But.. I suspect it is not connected to the EasyTouch via an RS-485 cable.. And, even if it is connected, several things have to happens before the pump will run under the control of the EasyTouch.

This pump has several ways to control it.. You want it controlled by the EasyTouch, but it can also be controlled by an app. If you just want to get water going quickly, just push the "Quick Clean button"..

It does not appear to me that the system has been programmed at all, so tell me more.. Why did the pool builder not program it? What is your plan now? We don't want to do any programming, if the pool builder is coming back to do it..

Other things I noticed..

Your Aux 1 and Aux 2 buttons (relays) are powering your Blower and Booster pump. You NEVER want the booster pump to run if the main pump is not running.. At this point, do not push the "F" button ON unless the main pump is running.. Aux 3 is for your lights.

Your pump is getting constant AC power, which is the way it should be.

You do not have a Saltwater Chlorine Generator (SWCG), which you will regret.. :mrgreen:

You have a great cartridge filter..

You have a booster pump for a pressure side cleaner..

You have a very neat and clean installation.

Nice looking pool..

Tell me what is going on about the programming.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Thanks for the info so far. And thank you for the compliments on the pool, I agree the installation is extremely neat and clean. I also agree on the SWCG. I had a pool about 15 years ago and it was salt back before it was cool to have a salt water pool. And it was so easy to care for. All I ever did was add acid. I will probably be back to ask for advice on converting at a later date.

You comments are making a bit more sense now. For my backstory I have a homebuilder and a pool builder so I should be careful when I say "the builder". I have not spoken to the pool builder yet. I have spoken to the home builder several times. He's told me that the main pump is set to run from 8 am to 3 pm each day. I will confirm that today as I'm meeting him in person at the house at 11. He's trying to get the pool builder there. He did tell me that the pool builder set it up to work and it's been running for 3 months before we purchased the home. But that the pool builder has not setup all the smarts because the house didn't have internet. So it sounds to me like I need to calm down and be patient and wait for a meeting with the pool builder to walk through all of this.

What was throwing me for a loop is that in the SL app I see 2 schedules. One says "Pool 8:00 AM -> 5:00 PM every day". The other says "AUX 1 10:00 AM -> 2:00 PM every day".

I'm still not sure I understand above where you said:
Your Aux 1 and Aux 2 buttons (relays) are powering your Blower and Booster pump. You NEVER want the booster pump to run if the main pump is not running.. At this point, do not push the "F" button ON unless the main pump is running.
Click to expand...
First, what does the "F" button do?
Second, why can't I run the booster pump if the filter pump isn't running?
Third, do you mean don't press "AUX 1" if the main filter pump isn't running? AUX 1 runs my pool robot cleaner, AUX 2 is my spa blower.

Thank you so much for your time and comments. I'm learning a lot!
 
jda,

You do not have a robot cleaner.. Robot cleaner operate off of low voltage DC current. You have a pressure side cleaner which uses a Booster pump AND the main pump to send water to power your cleaner. The main pump provides the main source of water the the booster increases the pressure to the cleaner.. You never want to run the booster unless the main pump is on, as it can damage the booster pump.

The 'F' button on the main panel of the EasyTouch will close the Pump/Filter relay. It is the first one on the top left. This relays main job is to never close unless you are in the Pool or Spa mode. The power for your booster and blower come through the Pump/Filter relay. I just don't want you forcing the pump/filter relay on by pushing the 'F' button, as I don't know for sure the status of your pump. Just trying to make sure you don't damage anything for now..

If the pump/filter relay is closed, pushing Aux 1 button will turn on the booster, and pushing the Aux 2 will turn on the blower.

Your system may be programmed, it just don't look like it.. It may just be me..

In theory, your ScreenLogic programs should do the following..

Pool - 8 am until 5 pm, should run the main pool pump for 8 am until 5 pm
Aux 1 10 am to 2 pm, should run your cleaner from 10 am until 2 pm (Notice that during the time the main pump is also running..)

I've got to go more later..

Jim R.
 
Ah, makes sense now. What I really don't want to do is hit "F" and then "AUX 1" if the main pump isn't running. And the main pump isn't integrated with the Easy Touch, so I will indeed ask the pool builder about that.

I can confirm that at 3:15PM yesterday the filter pump was not running. But I'll be there at 11 today and hopefully all will be made clear. But thanks to you I have a much better understanding of what to ask them to do.

Thanks,
Jeff
 
Jeff,

When you get there, go look at the pump's control panel.. Obviously the pump has a conduit for the 240 volts AC power, but for the pump to be controlled by the EasyTouch, there has to be a small cable between the EasyTouch and the pump's control head.. I can't see it in the pics, but it could just be out is sight.. Please check and let me know if you can find that small cable.

I have never seen an IntelliFlo3 in person, but I believe that when the pump is connected to the EasyTouch, the pump's display has a solid Magenta/Pink Control light.. My pump's display shows "Display not active", which the same thing for me..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 

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Jeff,

For the EasyTouch to make the pump run, several things have to happen...

System must be in AUTO. (Can't be in the Service mode.)
A Circuit has to be scheduled to be on.. Usually the Pool circuit, but it can be any circuit. (In your case Pool 8 am until 5 pm.)
This Circuit must have a speed assigned.. As in Pool = 1200 RPM.. Something I can not see, but you can in ScreenLogic
The pump speed set up page must have the correct Pump Type.. For me this is VS (Variable speed) I suspect that would be VSF for you??
The pump must be under the control of the EasyTouch.. For you, the Control light, on the pump's control panel, needs to be solid magenta/pink.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
All has now been made clear to me, the sun is shining!

The pool builder was not able to meet, but the home builder explained everything. There is indeed a connection from the VSF pump to the EasyTouch, but the homebuilder has it temporarily disconnected. The Pool Builder could not configure the system until there was a wireless network setup, so they left the pump disconnected from the EasyTouch and used the Pentai Home app to connect to the pump via Bluetooth and set the schedule that way. He showed me how to do that so I can control the filter pump now from the Pentar Home app for now.

The home builder wants to come out with the pool builder to do the final setup. The home builder is curious and wants to see how everything gets setup. We're going to get that time scheduled to come out, but in the meantime now I understand how everything is setup and what I need to do for various things. Mainly how to make sure the filter pump is on so I can heat up the hot tub and enjoy a drink in there for the first time :). Hopefully after we move in on Friday!

I'll try to remember to post back here after everything gets setup and let you know how the outcome is. Then onto the joys of pool maintenance! Thanks again, really appreciate all the explanation.
 
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Just to revisit and close out this thread, maybe asking for a bit more help. I finally was able to meet the pool builder and get things setup. The good news is that I can now control my InteliFlow pump and my colored from the ScreenLogic iOS app. The bad news is that the pool installer had no real knowledge of how any of this works, they just sat on the phone with Pentair while they got some very basic stuff setup.

So I downloaded the SL app for a PC and connected up to my system. I was able to rename my basic ciruits as "Cleaner", "Air Blower" (for my spa) and "Lights". That seems to be ok. I also was able to configure three different pump speeds, one for Pool, one for Spa and one for Cleaner enabled. Things seem to be working ok with all that basic stuff. But there are a few things I cannot figure out.

1. My temperature history is not working in the PC app or the iOS app. The history is just totall blank. Even though it does display the outside, pool and spa temperature on the app home page (both PC and iOS). Any thoughts on why this would be?
2. While my automated valves are working, I would like to understand how to adjust/configure them in the future if they stop working. I don't see anywhere they are setup in the configuration app or anything.
3. I like the idea of setting up a Spa high and Spa low mode. Right now I just have one spa mode with a fixed GPM setting. How do I get a second spa mode?
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Jeff
 
When you're ready, and if you're interested, I can help you get things running on your Mac. I would need to know the model of Mac, and the version of OS you're running. I have ScreenLogic running on a new Mac and on an old Mac, so it's all doable.
 
jda,

I am not a fan of running in the GPM mode.. But to each tier own.

60 GPM for the pool mode seems way to fast...

I run at 1200 RPM and my filter pressure is about one lb.

The whole point of running a VS pump is to run as slow as you can, not a fast as you can... :mrgreen:

"Spa" is an actual Circuit, like "Pool"

Spa high and Spa low are just circuit names, by themselves, they have nothing to do with the spa or high or low...

The first key is that when the pump sees two or more speed inputs at the same time, it will always run the fastest one.
The second key is the Feature Circuits are used to move valves and to change pump speeds.

If you want to have 3 spa speeds, you need to set the Spa Circuit speed to the slowest speed you ever want your spa to run. Let's say 2500 RPM
Then you set up a Feature Circuit #1 and name it (really whatever you want) or Spa Low.. Set it to 3000
Then set up Feature circuit #2 and name it (anything) or Spa High. Set it to 3300

When you turn on your Spa Circuit.. The pump will run at 2500
With the Spa Circuit still on, turn on Feature #2 named Spa high.. The pump will speed up to 3300
Then turn on Feature #1 Spa low.. Nothing will happens as 3000 is less then 3300.
Turn off Feature #2 and the pump will slow down to 3000 RPM.

Just to be clear.. if you turn on Feature #1 and nothing else, the pump will come on at 3000, but you will not be in the Pool mode or Spa mode.

The same basic idea is how you change speeds for the pool mode. Set to the "Pool" Circuit to the lowest speed you ever want to run in the pool mode and leave it on for the entire time you want the pump to run.

Intake and Return valve operation is fixed and can not be modified. (They switch you between the Pool mode and Spa modes..)

Water feature valves A and B can be assigned to any circuit, or circuit name, you want to use. Again, there is no adjustment inside the EasyTouch on how they operate.. They are either open or closed.. (Basically they move all the way one way or all the way the other way.)

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Thanks, that explains a lot. I was told by the pool installer that he prefers GPM because that guarantees a turnover of the entire pool in a fixed amount of time, even as your filter gets dirtier, etc. But now I see folks say that's not really required.

I'm guessing I could run with lower RPMs for most of the day, then just an hour of high speed to improve skimming? And should I run it a bit faster while my booster for the pool cleaner is running?

EDIT* Nevermind about the temperature history not working. I now see that it is working all of a sudden!

Thanks,
Jeff
 
So does this look like a reasonable starting point?
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1200 RPMs seems really low for my pump, but it's easy for me to change and get dialed in. I will probably bump up the spa RPMs because I have a massive heater. Even with the pump at 70 GPM, the temperature difference between the intake and outtake is 5 degrees Fahrenheit. It heated my spa 25 degrees in just under 30 minutes just the other day.
 
jda,

You should use the speeds that work for you.

I do not have a heater and 1200 works well for me.. If I had a heater, I'd have to run at 1500 or so..

Spa low is kind of useless right now, as it is the same speed as the Spa circuit

Also you do not have to use a Circuit Name from the drop down list, you can just make up your own names if you want..

What kind of pump do you have??? It is much more energy efficient than my 10 year old IntelliFlo.. At 1200, I use a little less than 200 watts. You appear to be using 50 watts at 1200.. When my pump dies, I want a pump like yours... :mrgreen:

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Check the photos above you can probably identify the pump better than I can 😉.

I’m not sure is 1200 RPMs is consistent across pumps. At 1200 RPMs I can’t even feel water coming out of the jets. Running it at 3000 RPMs move a lot of water, very nice for spa jets! I’ll find what works well for my pool by just trial and error I suppose. The way the pool was configured was 50 GPM from 9-3:30 each day. And the pool has been looking really great. I’ll pull back a bit from that slowly and see how things go.

I’m not sure what the pool cleaner needs. I guess it’s more an issue for the booster pump to make sure it has enough pressure to run efficiently?
 

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