Considering adding Intellitouch and IntelliChem

[Montu]

Hello everyone,

I'm strongly considering adding the Intellitouch system to my simple pool setup, almost solely for the reason of more advanced scheduling for circulation/cleaning/heating.

I am on a demand rate with my power company (SRP customer solar generation plan E27 for those of you who live in the area)

The problem i'm currently running into is that I can't set a M-F schedule and then a Sat-Sun, additionally I would like to have one RPM set if my heat pump is on but a lower RPM if it's not, unless it's cleaning time then I want the cleaning speed to stay for it's set time then shift back down to either the heating RPM if the heat pump is on or the lower circulation RPM if it is not EXCEPT if it is now peak time in which case everything should turn off no matter what.

What I have been doing is letting the pump run it's schedule so that the heat pump simply cannot run during peak when the schedule calls for the pump to turn off, the problem with this is if I don't constantly reprogram then my RPM's are not ideal for heating AND some times (Say on a Sunday night) I may either use an egg timer or manually override the schedule and forget to ensure it's back on schedule before going to bed...and next thing you know heating for 4 hours cost me $20

Sorry for the long explanation that may still leave you confused, but my basic questions are:
Is this a good system that people are happy with?
Does this system let you setup rules that would fit my need? (particularly rules that override potential accidents like egg timers, quick cleans etc...)

Now, about the IntelliChem...it's more simple...I have been quite busy and some times neglect to test and dose.
Is the IntelliChem worth the money and does it reduce time spent on pool maintenance? Reviews?


Thanks!

 

[Patrick_B]

I have a pretty traditional pool with no frills aside from a heater. I have the Pentair easy touch system with remote, and a Pentair VS pump. We all tend to love what we have, and I could not be happier I chose this minimal amount of automation for my pool. I love having it in control, and love being able to schedule, and do things with it via remote. To me, it was well worth the small extra investment.

 

[Mam262]

It is very good with managing PH. FC not so much. I ended up essentially disabling the automation of the FC and set it to dose based upon time/pump run time.

Regarding PH, my builder swapped out the 3 or 4 gallon acid tank for a 30 gallon drum. I fill up the drum with acid in the spring and never touch it the rest of the year.

 

[Montu]

Thanks guys,

I was reading about the chlorine part not being so great..using ORP and all...were you able to change the dosing to a timer based solution simply by setting something up in the automation or were extra parts / re configuring required?

 

[Mam262]

I had to adjust the settings to make it think it always needed FC. Then I set the dosage for a set amount of time and then a set amount of "mixing time" which is when the SWG would be off. No extra parts necessary.

 

[Montu]

I had to adjust the settings to make it think it always needed FC. Then I set the dosage for a set amount of time and then a set amount of "mixing time" which is when the SWG would be off. No extra parts necessary.

Nice,

Thank you for the info...I'm now considering simply getting the intelliph but it seems that it doesn't use a pH probe...

 

[Mam262]

InteliPH is simply timer based. Much simpler concept.

 

[Montu]

Alright,

Well I am waiting on a quote and will take it from there.


Thanks for the information, If I do get Intellichem I will see about upgrading to bigger barrels/drums.

 

[Mam262]

The bigger drum is a pain to fill, but once done you don't have to worry about it the rest of the season. The other suggestion my builder gave was fill the drum 2 parts acid / 1 part water. It is a little easier on the drum itself, tubing and other equipment.

 

[Montu]

Thanks for the tip..In that case I may switch to the weaker acid sold at Lowe's.

 

[Montu]

Do these prices seem right?

Amazon seems cheaper for the parts...



Is there a good DIY on installing all of this? I feel like it should be easy enough as long as there are a set of good instructions out there.

Also, I can't seem to find just the Screen logic interface without that really outdated wireless setup at a decent price...I can have a Wifi Bridge out there providing Ethernet for less than $30

 

[Montu]

No one?

I may eat the added cost of going through these guys to just install the easy touch bare system (because of warranty and difficultly of install), then just add the screen logic 2 my self along with the intellichem (only thing that concerns me about the intellichem is wiring in electric...again a nice how to guide link would be appreciated)