Solar Valve Controller Issue

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tomzo

tomzo

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LifeTime Supporter
May 29, 2011
77
Escondido, CA
Greetings,

I have a Pentair Easy Touch controller that runs the solar system I recently installed. The valve actuates properly when the solar system turns on but when the pool reaches the temp setpoint the system switches from solar mode to normal mode but the valve does not turn back to bypass around the solar panels and the pool overheats (85 is about as warm as I like it!)

Has anyone out there experienced this? Perhaps I have the valve set up wrong - it is using the slot for the solar valve (Valve A) so I am confused as to why it does not turn off correctly.

Thanks in advance!

Tom
 
Yes - I made those adjustments and it stops where it is supposed to stop in both directions. I have a sense that the controller is just not sending out the signal to change the valve position when it goes from SOLAR mode into AUTO mode.
 
There are three wires that connect from the actuator to the controller. If one of the wires is not properly connected, it may not be able to reverse direction.
 
Does your valve have a toggle switch? Mine has a three way toggle. Middle is off, one way is on (regardless of the input from the solar controller), and the other is automatic I guess, where the solar controller can move the valve as needed. Maybe you have it set to ON?
 
The toggle switch reverses or swaps the leads with on1/on2 and with middle being off. So when a valve is turned on by the controller, it can move either direction dependent on the toggle setting.
 
It is a Pentair actuator and I can move the valve by switching the toggle one way or another with the middle being off. I came home today to a 91 degree pool and the system had turned the valve into the solar position correctly this morning but whenever it was supposed to turn back when the solar mode turned off it failed to do so. I flipped the toggle and it went into the correct position. I wonder if I just need to leave it there and see what happens tomorrow.
 
That may do it but if it doesn't check where the wires connect to the controller to make sure there is a good connection.
 

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Here's an odd thing - I went out an hour after switching the solar valve to the non-solar position and it was back at the solar position! THe Easy Touch was NOT in solar mode. I wonder if there is some delay or something that I am missing. I have not set up any delays in the system. Perhaps its time to call in Pentair - this unit is less than 9 months old....
 
@carlscan26 - I am not sure what you mean there. I have the solar enabled and I thought that was separate from any other schedules. That valve is on the solar position (VLV-A) and I thought that this was reserved for the solar system bypass valve actuator. Are there other schedules that can control it?
 
You assign heat to a mode; pool, spa, custom or a feature group. If you assign solar to one of those modes then it will use solar to heat the pool based on the set temps. You can set preference to use your heater and/or your solar. I'm not sure if Valve A is the correct valve or not. On my suntouch it's valve C for solar but my system is limited in terms of valve assignment, etc.
 
I see what you are saying. I have the system set in Auto and have a schedule for the Pool mode to run for about 10 hours per day and Solar is the heating source for this feature. Solar is enabled in the Solar menu as well. My understanding on how this should work is that when the pool pump is running and the temperature is below the heating setpoint the system should switch into Solar mode for heating, change the valve position, and ramp up the pump speed (in order to get the water up to the roof). This all seems to work correctly, but when the temperature gets to the upper setpoint the system switches out of Solar heating mode, slows down the pump, but fails to close the valve.
 
As now Jason, carlscan26 and myself (3x) have suggested, check your wire connections on the circuit board. If one of the three wires is not connected properly, it will behave just as you describe.
 
I called Pentair and he took me through some steps to set the valve position and then reset the controller using the rest button. When the system could come back from being reset it was defaulting to the solar mode. After switching the valve position using the toggle and hitting reset again it defaulted to the correct position. He thinks that is all it was but we will see tomorrow (if my pool cools down enough).

Thanks

Tom
 

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