Question on Suntouch + Intelliflo DIY install

[Galun]

Hello! I am thinking about installing the intelliflo and suntouch with the option to add solar later. The suntouch manual was... shall we say... inadequate.

I only have a pool, no spa. The equipment that I will have is the intelliflo VS-AU pump (the new one with the timer), a booster pump for cleaner, a RayPak RP2100 heater, and solar in the near future.

Couple of questions when I try to think through the design of the system.

1) My plan is to run solar at around 48gpm (calculated that I need 12 panels at 4gpm), and while solar is running I will run a suction cleaner at the skimmer. Then I will run the pump at low speed for however long it takes to get my targetted turn per day. I want to suntouch to control the heater (seems like solar pref mode) via the heater's fireman's switch. Finally I want the suntouch to control the booster pump for the pressure side cleaner in case I want to run it. My plan is to run the suction cleaner most of the time and not run the booster pump for energy savings, but since the booster pump is already there I want to hook it to get extra pressure cleaning if I want to. Based on my reading of the suntouch it seems like all that is doable... I just wanted to verify before I move forward. If there are suggestions on how to design the programming and circuits that would be great!

2) Do I need a relay for the intelliflo, or can I wire the intelliflo directly to a circuit breaker and have the suntouch control the intelliflo via the data cable?

3) This question is more about best practices. I currently have one 230V breaker going into my current old mechanical timer. There are four wires to two mechanical switches so I assume it was just a parallel connection from the breaker. One of the mechanical timer had both the filter pump and heater wired to it (so the heater only turns on when the filter pump runs), and the other mechanical timer had the booster pump for the cleaner. With the new plan I am thinking about wiring both the heater and the intelliflo to the circuit breaker directly, and the booster pump to a relay controlled by suntouch. The breaker sees the same load as before (or perhaps even less given how bad my old pump was compared to the intelliflo). However I read the manual and see the recommendation of dedicated breakers. So I am wondering if there is a best practice.

4) Should there be a ground wire from the circuit breaker panel to the automation panel? In my current mechanical timer box I see a grounding bar, but no ground wire from the breaker.

Thanks!

 

[JasonLion]

1) Sounds good.
2) No relay, a data/control cable controls the pump.
3) Best practice is to have the pump on it's own breaker. If that is impractical it is allowed most places to share the existing breaker.
4) Everything electrical should be connected to electrical ground. Also everything that touches water should be connected to the pool bonding system.

 

[Galun]

1) Sounds good.
2) No relay, a data/control cable controls the pump.
3) Best practice is to have the pump on it's own breaker. If that is impractical it is allowed most places to share the existing breaker.
4) Everything electrical should be connected to electrical ground. Also everything that touches water should be connected to the pool bonding system.

Thanks. What's the best way to bond the solar heating system?

 

[JasonLion]

Most of the solar system doesn't get bonded. If there isn't any metal, or only tiny bits, then it doesn't get bonded. I was over-generalizing a little

 

[Galun]

What if I want to get rid of the booster pump completely? I can plumb a valve / actuator on the suction side and connect that to the current cleaner line that goes to the middle of the pool and bypass the booster pump completely.

So the plan I asked above involve controlling one valve / actuator (solar), one relay (cleaner booster pump), one filter pump (rs485 cable), and one heater (fireman's switch). In my new plan, can the suntouch control two valve / actuator (solar / dedicated cleaner line), filter pump, and heater?

I wanted to clarify because my searchs on the forum indicate that the suntouch is relatively limited compared to the easytouch, and sometimes people need to be creative in high jacking circuits to make it work. However I have a simple setup with no spa / water fall / lights etc so I want to save the money if I can.

Thanks!

 

[carlscan26]

I have a thread on using the suntouch with two actuators. The limitation with thr suntouch is that you can't decouple the suction and return valves; they always work in unison. But since you only need one of them you can do what you're describing.

 

[Galun]

Thanks. I actually found your thread before I posted my question, but it didn't make sense at the time. Now it does.

So I need to use pool/spa mode. Valve C is solar. Valve A and B work together, but I only need one to switch the suction cleaner line. So I basically plug in two actuators - solar into C and cleaner into B. Intelliflo goes in with data cable. I will not need relays in my box.

Sounds about right?

 

[carlscan26]

You're ditching the pressure side cleaner right? If so then yes no need for a relay and the confog is correct - you're actually where I ended up myself. I used the suction connector since it was a suction valve just for clarity if someone else ever looks at it. I use spa for running the cleaner and pool for filtration mode and heating.