Android/iPhone control of Intellitouch and Easytouch

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Unless they specifically stated this, I doubt it. It would be kind of like voiding the warranty if you hooked up a Jandy 2-speed pump to an Easy Touch or Intellitouch, or an Intermatic valve actuator.
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According to my pool repair guy, who does warranty work for Pentair, connecting any non Pentair equipment to the ET will void the warranty. He knows I'm going to use the Autelis system. Maybe he's trying to scare me. However, even if it does void the warranty, the price difference between it and the Pentair system will cover at least 1.5 MB replacements.

He'll be here this morning to replace the MB. Once he leaves, I'll install the Autelis. I'm tired of walking out to the equipment to turn on the pump, lights, etc!

Then I'll start playing with access from the www. It may be simple for you guys but its got me baffled.
 
CraigMW,

Many thanks. I'm trying to educate myself so I'm not an "unconcious incompetent" - you don't know what you don't know!

Today the Pentair repair guy showed up with the new MB. No go! It seems its the pump controller. Later I confirmed it with the Autelis. After he was done troubleshooting, I showed him the Autelis. He was blown away. Only yesterday he was talking with a mutual PB friend about Android control. The simplicity and cost just overwhelmed him. He said something like it would not void the warranty. He was worried I was going to hook up some kind of Rube Goldberg thing. The Autelis passed the "smell test".

As he was leaving, he told me to install it and let him know how it worked. So I did. It's amazing! I've only scratched the surface but I know I'm going to like it. Although the pump needed to be turned on and speed set manually, the lights, valves and temp controls worked great for the spa Christening. Yeah!!!

The other thing that showed up today was the IntelliChlor dummy unit. Since the water is in the 60's, I figured there is no sense leaving the real unit in the system. In the spring I'll add the salt and put in the SWG. The repair guy says is does this every year and his SWG is 7 years old.

Theoretically, on Tuesday, we'll be fully up and running. In the mean time I'll get more educated on static IP's and port forwarding.
 
Bill:

Congrats on getting the Autelis set up. You should check out their site for more details, including a forum for troubleshooting, etc.

Even though you won't be using the Intellichlor much during the off season, it might be worth it to hook it up and ensure that it's working properly. This is important to make sure there are no major issues and that it produces chlorine. If you wait until spring to set it up, then you lose all of those months of warranty protection with it just sitting there. So, I'd suggest adding the salt and then connecting the IC40 up (at least 24h after adding salt). I'd recommend purchasing a salt test (e.g. Taylor K1776: http://tftestkits.net/K-1776-Taylor-Salt-Test-p31.html). Our pool was already up around 1400 ppm salt before I added any, and I guess this was from the TriChlor or from our water supply. If I would have just added salt based on the pool volume, I would have overshot the salt concentration quite a bit.

Cheers...

Craig
 
The repair man fixed the pump today. He called me ahead of time so I could disconnect the Autelis. He wanted to be sure the pump fix solved the problem. Apparently, Pentair is very strict about not having 3rd party hardware connected to their systems. Having run a large manufacturing operation, I can appreciate their position. However, the pros and cons are a topic for long, controversial discussion.

After the repairman left I hooked the Autelis back up. And, nothing blew up. The rest of the day was spent programming the ET. Programming is not what I call intuitive. The documentation for programming a VS pump needs work. But once the "logic" is understood, after a couple of hours and the corresponding number of Coronas, it's pretty easy. The lights, spillway and spa don't have schedules but are 1 button functions. Currently the in-floor cleaning system is set to run at 3100 rpm for 2 hours. Then the pump runs at 1500 rpm for 4.5 hours. This equates to 2 turnovers of the water/day. As I gain more experience and winter sets in, I'll adjust the run times accordingly. Since we do get freezing temps here, one thought is to run the pump at 700 or 1000 rpm for 22hrs/day. Now that everything is working from my LAN, it's time to get it working from the WAN.

The Autelis is really easy to install, easy to use and inexpensive. I'm glad I pulled the trigger. Although my repairman is cautious about it due to warranty issues, he is pretty impressed. He even acknowledges that it is far superior to the Pentair wireless system.

Even though you won't be using the Intellichlor much during the off season, it might be worth it to hook it up and ensure that it's working properly. This is important to make sure there are no major issues and that it produces chlorine. If you wait until spring to set it up, then you lose all of those months of warranty protection with it just sitting there.
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CraigMW - I know you're right. I usually do that with any new gadget. But I need to make sure the chems are balanced and stabilized before taking the plunge. The pool has only had water in it for 2 1/2 weeks. The current water temp is about 69. So it needs another 10 days or so to cure. But it needs to happen before the water gets in the 50's. Guess what I'll be doing over Thanksgiving?

I'll keep you posted.
 
The ET8 and Autelis have been up and running now for over a week. I must say I'm delighted with the finished product. I have tried accessing from my 3 computers, 2 iPads and 2 iPhones. Everythings works fine. The only thing I don't like is its wants to be accessed via Chrome from the computers.

Once the ET was programmed, all of the functions appeared in the Autelis. The Autelis is setup to send me alerts when anything changes, ie. Floor Cleaner On/Off, Pool On/Off, Spa On/Off, Spa max temp, freeze protection On/Off. The programs can even be changed from a computer.

While everything works fine from the LAN. I have had zero success accessing from the WAN. I've signed up with No-IP for a static IP, forwarded the appropriate (I think) port on the router, etc., with no luck.

CraigMW - HELP!
 
Bill -

Good to hear you figured out how to access via the WAN. It's a bit tricky and really depends on your router software (i.e. the firmware that typically comes with your specific router). Fortunately, the Autelis unit simplifies this somewhat by having a port setting. Trial and error is typically the way I work it out!

Craig
 
CraigMW,

This thing is slick! I can't believe how easy it was to set up, other than the WAN. The user interface is really self explanatory.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I also use my iPhone/iPad for controlling my HT system. But I've found it not conducive to old eyes and big thumbs. The iPad is much better but cumbersome. So last week I ordered an iPad Mini (16G, WiFi only).

The DW, who also has an iPhone and iPad, informed me the iPad Mini would fit very nicely in her purse and would be much easier to carry when we travel. Go figure! :|
 

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CraigMW,

Thanks for starting this thread. I saw your post a couple of months ago. Last week I ordered the Autelis for my Easy Touch and it arrived Friday. Today, I installed an ethernet cable out to the pool house and hooked up the Autelis. I changed nothing on my computer or router and it all works! I can control with my Android phone too!

So easy to setup and quite powerful. I'm happy.

Thanks again!

Rob
 
Vcbmoore said:
BTW, how did you get yours to send text messages?
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I don't have it send text messages, but I think you can set up certain mail servers (e.g. Gmail) to send you text messages (SMS). I know that the Autelis will support this. I just have it send me emails so that I don't have to worry about getting overcharged for text messages each month. My Android phone shows me if I have any new messages on the front page (and vibrates when a new one comes in), so it's fine for my purposes.
 
mtbr7 said:
CraigMW,

Thanks for starting this thread. I saw your post a couple of months ago. Last week I ordered the Autelis for my Easy Touch and it arrived Friday. Today, I installed an ethernet cable out to the pool house and hooked up the Autelis. I changed nothing on my computer or router and it all works! I can control with my Android phone too!

So easy to setup and quite powerful. I'm happy.

Thanks again!

Rob
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Rob...

Sounds great! I really like how it works too. It's pretty simple to set up and use, which is really cool!
 
I realize this an old thread but I thought an update with my experience to date might be useful. The Autelis system has been running flawlessly now for 7 months. In late March the solar panels were installed. At the same time I reinstalled the IntelliChlor 40. The infloor cleaning system runs 2 hours per day at 3450 rpm. During the winter the pool filters and circulates at 1700 rpm for 4 hours per day. Since early April, the pool runs for 8 hours per day at 2250 rpm. I tried lower rpm's but the solar panels wouldn't prime. By April 7th, the water was 80!

This morning I upgraded the Autelis firmware to version 1.4.2. The new version has many, many more features. Almost anything that can be done at the control panel can now be done remotely. The download was straight forward. So far, it seems to work on all of my PC and iOs devices.

I must say, based on my experience, the Autelis system is exceptionally great value!
 
Vcbmoore said:
I realize this an old thread but I thought an update with my experience to date might be useful. The Autelis system has been running flawlessly now for 7 months. In late March the solar panels were installed. At the same time I reinstalled the IntelliChlor 40. The infloor cleaning system runs 2 hours per day at 3450 rpm. During the winter the pool filters and circulates at 1700 rpm for 4 hours per day. Since early April, the pool runs for 8 hours per day at 2250 rpm. I tried lower rpm's but the solar pqnels wouldn't prime. By early April 7th, the water was 80!

This morning I upgraded the Autelis firmware to version 1.4.2. The new version has many, many more features. Almost anything that can be done at the control panel can now be done remotely. The download was straight forward. So far, it seems to work on all of my PC and iOs devices.

I must say, based on my experience, the Autelis system is exceptionally great value!
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Yes, they have just placed this on their Wiki as an official release. The new firmware is just incredible, as you now have control over Intelliflo pump speeds (VS, VF and VFS), and can also configure all of the circuits remotely. This makes programming the Intellitouch and Easytouch so much easier. There are also setup pages for lights, 2 speed pumps, macros (Intellitouch only), heaters, custom names, etc. Added to the existing functionality of the Autelis unit for controlling Pentair automation remotely, it really enhances the overall experience of pool automation.
 
Out of stock for a few weels.

But meanwhile I was reading the installation instructions... It says to plug it into a standard wall outlet. I have a few outlets on my easytouch panel but not sure if they are water resistant enough with the outlet cover lifted and something plugged in all the time.

Where did you guys plug it in?
 
Autelis looks like it gives you tons more control than ScreenLogic. I assume that the Autelis unit does not buffer any settings or do any non-initiated control operations, right? It is simply a web interface to the serial interface command on the IT/ET bus, right? Each time you bring up a screen, does it query that from the panel fresh? What I am getting at is, can both SL and Autelis coexist and be used interchangeably? Or does Autelis constantly query for conditions and locally generate it's alerts? I assume it can just connect to the same point the 520500 interface does inside the house?
 
hulla said:
Out of stock for a few weels.

But meanwhile I was reading the installation instructions... It says to plug it into a standard wall outlet. I have a few outlets on my easytouch panel but not sure if they are water resistant enough with the outlet cover lifted and something plugged in all the time.

Where did you guys plug it in?
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Hulla - you have 2 choices: 1. The ET should have a GFCI outlet on the side. Get an outside outlet cover from HD or Lowes or 2. Hard wire it into the Control Panel relay in the ET. I chose the latter because I don't like plugging things in outdoors. In either case, it needs power 24/7.
 
jtech1 said:
Autelis looks like it gives you tons more control than ScreenLogic. I assume that the Autelis unit does not buffer any settings or do any non-initiated control operations, right? It is simply a web interface to the serial interface command on the IT/ET bus, right? Each time you bring up a screen, does it query that from the panel fresh? What I am getting at is, can both SL and Autelis coexist and be used interchangeably? Or does Autelis constantly query for conditions and locally generate it's alerts? I assume it can just connect to the same point the 520500 interface does inside the house?
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Jtech1 - It is a web interface to the series buss. It does not initiate any control operations unless told to do so. Each time a screen is opened it queries the ET to refresh. Alarms can be set to notify you via email when things occur - pool on, spa on, pool temp, spa temp. To the best of my knowledge, it monitors traffic on the buss and does not query for alarms. The same 4 wire connection point is used as the SL. Whether the Autelis and SL can be used interchangeably is above my pay grade. However, see an earlier post in this thread.

I chose the Autelis over the SL because of the wireless capability and the direct access from web. To me the SL wireless capability is a Rube Goldberg/kludge (it works but is not very elegant). And, I didn't like having to go through Pentair's servers to access from the web.

If you haven't already, sign up for the Autelis forum http://www.autelis.com/forum/.
 
Vcbmoore said:
This morning I upgraded the Autelis firmware to version 1.4.2. The new version has many, many more features. Almost anything that can be done at the control panel can now be done remotely. The download was straight forward. So far, it seems to work on all of my PC and iOs devices.

I must say, based on my experience, the Autelis system is exceptionally great value!
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After a week of running, I have found a couple of funnies.

One of the new great features is the ability to calibrate the temp sensors from the Autelis. Since I operate a weather station (see sig), accurate temperatures are easily available. My ET has 3 temp sensors (air, water and solar). The current FW version only has the ability to calibrate air and water - no Solar. Solar temp is needed so the ET knows when the panels on the roof are warm enough to heat the water.

The other funny is when a calibration is performed on either the air or water sensors, the solar sensor calibration changes! Whoops! I've seen the solar sensor calibration temp go from 94 degrees to 84! In which case the solar system might shut down! That's how I discovered the problem.

In my opinion these issues are not show stoppers, just minor inconveniences. Autelis is already working on the problem.
 

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