Adding Solar and EasyTouch to 20-Year old pool

[Bayside33]

Hello - I'm looking for input & advice on this years upgrades to my pool. Everything on the diagram below is already in place except the EasyTouch panel and plumbing for the new solar system. Those will both be new for this season. The electrician is coming to rewire everything once I have the EasyTouch on hand.

Can I get by with the Easytouch 4P, or should I go with the 8P for future expandibility? Buying hte 4P would save me $400-$500 initially. Right now the only power relays I see that I need are for the gas heater and pool light. All the other electrical coming from the EasyTouch panel will be dedicated circuit breakers (autocover, pump, dolphin). In the future I may add some landscape lighting and some laminars to the EasyTouch panel. How many "programs" of the 4P would already be used up with this configuration?

This is how I'd like to program the IntelliFlo VS pump via the EasyTouch:
Speed 1 (10am to 10pm for filtration only)
Speed 2 (when solar activates)
Speed 3 (when gas heater activates)
Speed 4 (for additional filtration when needed)

Any other critiques would be greatly appreciated!

 

[JasonLion]

An Easytouch 4P is certainly enough for now, though you could get the larger one if you think there will be lots of expansion down the road.

Your current setup will use two relays, and will leave two relays for expansion. One relay for the pump, even though you won't use it, it can't be reassigned easily. And another relay for the pool light. The heater connection is builtin and does not count against the listed number of relays.

 

[pooldv]

I can't answer the 4P vs 8P question.

That is a good plan except that you do not need to run the pump from 10a to 10p for filtering.

Just for your reference Here is how my Solartouch controls my Pentair VS pump
speed 1 1100 rpm for skimming/chlorinating
speed 2 1950 rpm for solar

 

[Bayside33]

Thanks for the great input, this gives me a much better understanding of how many relays I'll actually use right from the start. To clarify, does the 4P have less programming capabilities than the 8P, or is the difference only the number of relays?

Here are my goals:

- automatically set the IntelliFlo to a certain speed/timeframe for filtering.
- automatically set the IntelliFlo to a certain speed for solar as necessary.
- automatically set the IntelliFlo to a certain speed for gas heat as necessary.
- turn on/off landscape lighting on a schedule (which would use the first of the two spare relays)
- turn on/off future stenner pump on a schedule (which I assume would use the other spare relay)
- turn on/off laminars at the push of a button (which wouldn't need a relay, just a second valve actuator?)
- turn on/off IntelliBrite at the push of a button

Is the 4P just as capable as the 8P in this respect? I'm leaning towards the 8P I'm just trying to get a better understanding before I place the order.

 

[JasonLion]

The programing ability is the same. The 4P simply has fewer relays.

Many people like to have spare relays for future expansion. They are much more expensive to add later.

Everything you listed is possible.

 

[Bayside33]

Thanks again for the help. Another quick question...

I have my Easytouch 8P in hand, and am now working on a list that I can give the electrician. Can multiple relays be fed by a single breaker? For example, the future stenner pump (relay aux2), landscape lights (relay aux3), and easytouch transformer. Can these all be fed from one 120V/15A GFCI breaker?

 

[JasonLion]

Yes, a single breaker can feed several relays as long as the total load is below the rating of the breaker.