freeze protection not kicking pump on

[midtngal]

So, I haven't gotten around to closing my pool yet. We've had this blast of cold air come through like most of the country. I noticed last night that although the air temperature was 32, the pump was not on. It is set to kick on at 35. It has worked flawlessly for the last several years. I've had no timer or pump problems this year. What could be causing this? I checked the sensor and nothing is covering it. My plan is to get it ready to be closed this weekend so it's not something that will matter before long but am curious if there's anything I should be doing or checking for.

TIA

Karen

 

[mas985]

What type of timer/controller do you have?

Have you checked the freeze protection settings?

If the settings are ok, it could be a bad temperature sensor.

 

[midtngal]

It's an Intermatic....don't remember the model but it's their digital one. Yes, I checked to make sure the setting was still at 35 and it was. I did move the sensor a little to make sure it wasn't stuck in place thereby maybe throwing a wrong temperature. I guess it could very well be the sensor. It's only about 4 or 5 years...what is their life expectancy? Anyone know? If that's about all I can expect out of it, I'll put it on next year's "to buy" list! :lol: If I remember..they're pretty cheap, in the $15-$20 range.

Thanks Mark!
Karen

 

[mas985]

I had one drift (wrong temp) a few years ago. Also, sometimes it is the wire that breaks or the connection to the timer.

 

[midtngal]

Imagine my surprise and appreciation when I just looked out before I was heading to the pump to turn it on to see that it had indeed come on...temp is 32 outside (I have an outside thermometer so it's not just the local temp on the news telling me that! ) So, I guess it is drifting some as you suggest Mark. But, that's kinda why I set it at 35 at not 32 just to make sure it came on! But, I'll still look into replacing it next year if I don't close it. I am closing this year...just haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[mas985]

One thing to realize is it takes many hours at temperatures well below 32F for pipes to freeze so I wouldn't be all that concerned about setting the run temp at 32F. In fact I don't use freeze protection at all and we get down to the low 20s for close to 8 hours per night.

 

[Isaac-1]

I had a sensor go flaky this year, it was only about a year old and started reading about 10 degrees off.

 

[midtngal]

So, sounds like I've had a good run with this one! That's so NOT my luck! ;-). Thanks for your help. I need to get on the ball and get it closed and I won't need to worry about it any more!