Autopilot Start-Up?

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nupoolsoon

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Jan 7, 2008
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So our Autopilot Dig SC60 is finally up and operating. We were not anticipating when it would be fixed, so I had loaded up on the chlorine levels b/c we had some organic material from the paver sand in our pool. The foaming of the water since I added more CL last night has diminished alot.

This morning the chlorine levels were at 9.5ppm. I turned the purifier off for now b/c I was reading in the manual that excessive CL levels can be corrosive. Should I wait until the CL levels drop to about 4ppm b/f turning on the purifier on the SWG?

My other readings this morning were
TC 9.5
pH 7.8 (going out to pool to add some acid right now)
TA 90
CYA 40 (added one container this morning to add another 15ppm)
CH 110
Salt 2800-3200ppm
 
The tech tested the salt levels with the "high sensor" salt tester and came up with 3200, so that is how we calibrated the control panel.

I used the test strips and if you take the lowest full white strip, I come up with 2900, but if you take the highest white line, even though the white line is not technically straight across, it says 3400.

I guess based on both 3200 seems pretty accurate

Poolsean - Since this is our first day with the AP operational, I have a quick question for you. Since the control panel is set up for a 2sp pump. is the only way we can turn it off at night is turn to the actual breaker off? We realize that there is a Pump1 and Pump2 progarm, but how would you set it up so that the pump turns off? Would it be just not setting up a program for the Pump2 program? A little confused here(sorry)

BTW - Thanks for all of your help. We are very happy to have a working SWG, even though we only have about 4 weeks left in our season here in NY, not having to run to the store to buy bleach every week and test all the time will allow us to relax the remainder of the summer.
 
If the PoolPilot unit is wired for 2 speed operation as suggested in it's manual then to turn the pump off you need to use an external switch, if you have one, or the breaker. Using that approach the PoolPilot can change the pump speed, but it can't turn the pump off. There are other ways to wire things up, depending on what you want.

If your CYA level is only 40, the FC level will drop significantly by tomorrow evening.

The AquaChek salt test strips should be read at the highest peak of the white spike, not the last full width white line.
 
We have the PE1353 digital control timer, however, it is no longer connected. The technician that was sent to help us with the Autopilot told us that he could not connect the timer with the control panel set to program as a two-speed pump. I guess the PE1353 is meant to control the 2sp pump like the AP control panel is, but on/off would be fine by us.

Is this timer (PE1353) too high end to use? (I can always sell it on ebay) We can easily buy a new timer at Lowe's that is just mechanical, but not sure what wires would be connected to it? Is this something our electrician could easily figure out? I know he could not figure out how to use the PE1353 and have the control panel set as the 2sp pump program at the same time.

All I know is that before we went on vacation last week, I had the electrician come back and connect the two wires to the 2sp pump to the PE1353 so we could at least have the pump come on and off automatically while we were gone. Now I have to go down in the basement and turn the breaker off to get the pump off. Doesn't seem like it makes my life any more simple now, although it keeps me in shape.
 
Maybe it is time to get a new electrician? It really isn't particularly complicated.

If you are using the PoolPilot to control the speed then you don't need the fancy timer, but you can use it without any problems if you want to.
 
To be quite honest with you..the service tech who was assigned to assist us with the SWG was the one who could not figure out how to connect the timer to the AP control panel. Since the AP was not working and we did have an external timer set up, I had asked him to reconnect the timer when the AP was functioning b/c I feel it is not the electrician's resp to come back once again to reconnect the timer. The svc rep to me there was no way he could connect the timer to the AP control and it was not meant for an external timer. The svc tech actually suggested we get rid of the timer and we had asked him if we should at least put the toggle on/off switch back in its place and he told us no need to do that either, just use the breaker. Maybe he thought I wanted the 2sp to work through the timer, but really just on/off is all we need, although telling us to just use the breaker doesn't make anything very convenient.

poolsean- as you are aware, we first had an external timer connected just to work on/off while the AP was not functioning, then the svc tech came out on a Saturday to fix the AP, was supposed to come back the next day with the part so he left the pump connected to the AP programmed as low/high, although it still did not work He did not come back on Sunday so once again I had to call the electrician back to connect the timer before we went on vacation. Am I now supposed to call the electrican back again to have him figure this out? I know the svc tech spoke with Mike and Mike had told him he could not connect an external timer either.
 
nupoolsoon said:
The svc rep to me there was no way he could connect the timer to the AP control and it was not meant for an external timer.
Click to expand...

The people you have working for you are not competent. This statement is dead wrong and most of the rest of what you say they said is also wrong.

This entire setup is not complicated and any competent electrician should be able to figure it out quickly and easily. The people you have been using have been wasting your time and you should not work with them again.
 
Have to agree with JasonLion. The "electricians" that did mine ran the conduit and wiring fine. When it came to hooking the timer, Pool Pilot, pump to gether I stopped them. They didn't have a clue. I think they were actually helpers. Hooked it up myself.
 

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I don't think there are any competencies going on here....

I went and turned on the breaker this morning so the pump could go on, and the control panel is now in another language (possibly Spanish)...UUGGHH!!!

Going to try to correct it from a prior TFP post where someone had the same issue, but they were not able to correct it on their own.


UPDATE....
switched it back to English, but

is this going to default to Spanish every time I turn off the power through the breaker?


Sean - do you have more wiring diagrams so that if I "want" to pay the electrician more $$ to come back and connect the external timer *again*, he can see it like you did for the actual wiring please?
 
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