Pentair Screenlogic/Intellitouch Woes--Need Help!

[Chertlein]

My system consists of a Variflo VS pump, an Intellichlor IC40, and a MasterTemp 250. Prior to this year my equipment all worked perfectly, independently of one another. This year I decided to integrate them all with an Intellitouch system, consisting of a Power Center with an I5+3 personality board. The pump and heater are directly connected to 240v power, not through Power Center relays. The IC40 is powered through the integrated chlorinator transformer in the Power Center and is cycled through the pump relay (per the manual). I have a pool only--no spa. I believe I have made all the correct connections, and the ScreenLogic app appears to work--certainly monitors the system. And ScreenLogic seems to control the pump as one would expect. But I am having some problems controlling the other elements of the system, possibly due to incorrect configuration of ScreenLogic (I find the User Manual and other instructions to be remarkably uninformative!). My issues:

1. The heater. When disconnected from the personality board (with the control leads jumped, thus returning it to stand alone mode), it works perfectly, just as it always has. But when connected to the personality board, it does not fire--even though according to the ScreenLogic screen it is on (red button), and even though the heater relay light on the outdoor control panel lights up as if the heater is on (but it's not). Do I correctly understand that the heater should fire when the "Low Temp" circuit is on and the water temperature is below the set point? Is the "High Temp" circuit irrelevant, only intended for a spa, if I had one? How should ScreenLogic be configured to properly control the heater?

2. The chlorinator. Sometimes the lights on the unit are on; sometimes they are not. Nevertheless, even when the lights are not on, ScreenLogic has a salt level read-out--but it won't ever let me run the superchlorination feature. Are the outdoor lights on the IC40 supposed to light up whenever the unit is operating, or is it operating via ScreenLogic even when the lights are not lit on the unit itself? How is the chlorination function properly configured in ScreenLogic?

Is there a tutorial or any instructions better than the included (multiple) manuals that would help with the configuration process?

Any advice would be most welcome.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I just so happen to have the Customer Support number for Pentair handy-

Pentair - Contact Us

I hope that might be of some help to you

Maddie

 

[CountryBumkin]

If the pump is not connected to a relay in the IntelliTouch, how do you turn it off an on?

EDIT: I came back to this to update it. I forgot how this pump worked when I had it (I just looked a the manual). It does connect to "always hot" 240V and then receives its RUN/OFF commands from its low voltage communication cable to the IntelliTouch controller.

The heater would not normally be connected to relay (it always has 240V and the control wires turn it on/off).
In my setup when I command the heater to On, that same button also commands the pump to run - maybe the IntelliTouch is not "seeing" a pump connected/programmed and therefore not sending the heat command.

I have the IC40 too. But I don't have the ScreenLogic. On my setup when the pump is running, the IC40 has lights on it (flow, output setting, etc.) that are lit. When the pump is off (IC40 is off) there are no lights lit. I make the chlorine adjustments through the IntelliTouch panel (not at the IC40).

 

[GDN]

If the pump is not connected to a relay in the IntelliTouch, how do you turn it off an on?

The variable speed pumps get power all of the time - direct power if you will. They turn on and off and vary their speed either via their own built in timers/controllers or in this case from the Intellitouch panel. There is a separate data cable from the panel that tells the pump what to do and when to do it. The Intellitouch has a relay dedicated to the pump, but it's not used in this case. If you had a single speed pump you would wire it to the relay for on and off.

 

[CountryBumkin]

I used to have the IntelliFlo pump and it was controlled through the IntelliTouch (relay). It was capable of running itself with its built in timer, but the IntelliTouch can also provide the control (which I believe was the preferred setup when you have the IntelliTouch and IntelliFlo since the IntelliTouch would provide pump status/info on its indoor control panel - maybe the same with the VariFlow).

 

[Jimrahbe]

C,

Welcome to TFP... A Great resource for all those pool owners that do not speak "Pentair"...

I have the EasyTouch which is not the same, but similar to your IntelliTouch...

In my case the IC40 light are on whenever the pump is on. With the pump off no lights on the IC40 work because it is disconnected from power.

As far as I can tell the only "configuration" you need to do in ScreenLogic is check the box that says "Intellichlor is present"...

Tell me how you have the heater attached to your system... Are you just using the two wire fireman's switch approach and connecting it to the "Gas heater" connection?

Not sure why you would take advice from me, as I don't have a heater... But I do know that the Gas heater connection is just a set of dry rely contacts.. If the pump is running, and the Heater is selected, you can make the "Gas Heater" contacts open and close by changing the set point up or down using ScreenLogic. For this to work, the heater has to be set for its highest temperature internally, this allows the IntelliTouch to uses its temp sensor as the reference for the water temperature.

Thanks,

Jim R.

- - - Updated - - -

I have not heard of a "Variflo VS pump".. Is this correct? Does ScreenLogic allow you to change the speeds? If so, it has to be controlled by a small data cable from your IT to the pump. The power for this pump will NOT go through any relay.

Thanks again,

Jim R.

 

[Chertlein]

Thank you Jim, and to all, for responding to my query so quickly! Much appreciated. To try to answer questions raised:

1. I don't know why in the world I wrote "Variflo" when I knew full well it is an "Intelliflo" pump. Sorry for the confusion!

2. The pump receives its power directly from the main circuit breaker panel and not through the Intellitouch Power Center. The pump's communication cable is connected to the Intellitouch personality board com port which is where (I presume) the pump receives its (low voltage) on/off/speed/timer commands as this appears to completely override the on-pump control panel. Yes, Screenlogic controls pump speeds.

3. The Intellichlor unit receives both its power and (I presume) its commands via a single cable connection to the Power Center/Personality board. However, as instructed in the installation manual, the separate 24v transformer that powers the IC40 through that cable is wired through a relay in the Power Center--confusingly called the pump relay even though the Intelliflo does not use that relay (but I gather non-Pentair pumps would be powered through that relay. As I understand the manual, the IC40 transformer is to be wired through that relay simply to make sure it only receives power when the pump is receiving power. In Screenlogic you do indeed simply check the one box.

4. The heater likewise receives its electrical power directly from the main circuit breaker panel and not through the Intellitouch Power Center. It is controlled from Intellitouch by a two-wire connection in place of the fireman's switch on the heater circuit board. If you remove those two wires from the Intellitouch end and jump them together, you return the heater to its stand alone state. When I do that, it operates perfectly, on its own, just as it always did. But I can't seem to make it turn on through the Intellitouch for some reason. How would I determine whether the heater is set to its highest temperature internally?

Anyway, any further thoughts gratefully accepted.

Regards,
Chas

- - - Updated - - -

I just so happen to have the Customer Support number for Pentair handy-

Pentair - Contact Us

I hope that might be of some help to you

Maddie

Thanks Maddie! That will almost certainly be my next step when I can get some time to mess with this during business hours. It's kind of driving me nuts. Chas

 

[Jimrahbe]

Chas,

My EasyTouch has a "Heat" menu that allows you to select "Off, Heater (for gas heat) Solar only, Solar Pref.." See if your IT has a menu for heat.. if so set it to "Heater" and see if that solves your problem.

If I understand correctly your heater has an display showing the temperature you want. Just crank that temperature up as high as it can go. You should be able to do with the fireman's switch connected to the IntelliTouch.

So now the heater thinks it wants to be at say 100 degrees, but with the fireman's switch open nothing will happen. Now in ScreenLogic turn on pool heat and run the temperature up above the actual pool temperature. What should happen is the Gas Heater relay in the IT closes and this tells the heater to come on. It will not happen instantly.. it still has to go through the start up cycle, pump has to run, pressure switch has to close, etc. The Heater light on the Heater should flash and then turn solid when the heater starts running.

If this does not work for you, then a call to Pentair might be in order.. It works for me and I don't even have a heater...

Jim R.