Stuck in "SPA" mode - can't get back to "Pool"???

[amyable]

Hi all,

What an amazing site! Wish I'd found y'all a lot sooner....I have been plugging away at maintaining our new pool and have been doing ok for the last year or so but today I am stumped.

Water chemistry - I self test weekly, today was pretty normal: Chlorine a little low; added 3 pts of acid but otherwise pretty good. Cl been low as during winter levels I lower the feeder setting to 1.5ish but now it's warming up so should be fine at around 3-4. Here in Austin, the live oaks are losing leaves and releasing their pollen this week and there is green haze over everything. I was planning to shock it thoroughly today and keep brushing through the week to keep on top of the pollen, and then do my 6months cleaning of the DE filter once it's all passed.

So we don't use the spa much yet (only just got heat connected this year - we've been remodelling and had no gas until very recently) so every few weeks or so I brush it out and set the pump to "SPA" mode for a few minutes, which I was advised would change the suction to the spa drains and help clear it out.
My problem is that today I can't Switch It back to pool mode.

Normally the spa is still and the pool is running and I just press V on the "intelliflo" control box and I can watch the valves swing over on the equipment and then the spa bubbles a little and the pool is pretty still. Today it worked fine, but then I can't seem to switch it back. I checked the pool skimmers and they are drawing a little but the pool doesn't look right. I tried "cntrl/alt/delete" ie, turning the whole thing off for 20 min hoping it would revert to normal, but it didn't do the trick.

One point, is that I seem to remember that the screen displayed whether you were in POOL or SPA mode and it doesn't seem to be doing that now.

It is also possible that since we had the heater connected to the gas last month (although Im embarrased to admit I've not tested it yet, but we've had a huge remodel finishing and a lot going on) the system has changed slightly.

Any Advice Appreciated, and will supply more info if needed. Many thanks
Amy in Austin

 

[257WbyMag]

Welcome to TFP!

I am researching your problem. Hopefully, someone with Intelliflo experience will beat me to the punch and have you fixed up real soon.

 

[JasonLion]

One possibility is that the automation system is fine, but one of the valves failed to move. When you do what you normally do to switch modes, does anything move? It would not make sense that both valve actuators would fail at the same time, but it is quite possible that one of them has failed or gotten stuck. If so, you would still see the other one moving when you switched modes.

Another possibility is that your automation system has forgotten it's configuration and gone back to default settings. Do you see anything on the display that is specific to your pool? Depending on how familiar you are with the automation system, you might explore around and see if everything is still properly configured.

 

[amyable]

Good points Jason. And yes, ONE valve moves when I switch it to what looks like on the consol is to SPA mode (although when I look at the water, it hasn't changed). The one that moves is the one controlling the drain flow to the pump. On the other side of the equipment are two other valves, which also normally move but they are still. I think they are the Pool Return. Could it be that they are stuck?

Once I had a professional pool guy come around who helped me take the filter apart the first year and gave me some good advice. (INterestingly for this site, I had been ready to hand him the pool maintenance contract and give up thinking I was on the verge of blowing the whole thinng up out of ignorance and he said, naw, it's easy you can do it! and He was right. Nice guy...)

Anyway, he flipped a little switch somewhere under the valves and got them to turn and then said sheepishly, 'Oh, you werent meant to see that" - I think you might be right that the return valves are stuck. Can I move them myself? Will it blow up?

thanks
Amy

 

[JasonLion]

There are a couple of possibilities. The valve actuators may have become unplugged from the control unit. The cables to the valve actuators may have been cut. The small switch on the actuator may be in the center off position, or the handle of the actuator may be disengaged from the gear train.

I would start by locating the small toggle switch on the actuator. Note it's current position. Center is off. And the two sides are do what the controller says and do the opposite of what the controller says. By switching it to the other side you should be able to get the valve to move. If the valve does not move it is either jammed or the connection to the controller, and thus power, has been lost. If it is jammed you should see/feel it trying to move.

If nothing happens when you switch the switch, put it back into the position it started in and then trace the cable back to the controller and make cure the cable is intact and the plug at the controller end of the cable is properly plugged into the controller.

 

[amyable]

Hey! sorry to be so slow getting back to you but You Were Right. The valves were stuck. I played with the hidden switches and the minute I moved them, they swung over to match the drains valve. Such a relief.
Am not sure why it happend or how, but I have moved from Pool to Spa and back again now and it seems to be ok.

Thank You So much for your help!
Amy