AquaLink RS8 and Heater Control

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powerplay

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Oct 11, 2008
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North Port, FL
I have a bypass valve, Jandy Never Lube and the JVA2444 which bypasses the pool/spa water to the heater when not heating the water. It works fine with the controller set up using the Solar button. However, it requires the user to push the Solar button first and then the heater button. That isn't so bad, but when shutting the heater off you have to remember to leave the water flowing through the heater for awhile before going back to bypass. My question is there a way to control the bypass valve by just using the heater button so it can take advantage of the control logic used in the heater function which has the 5 minute delay for heater cool down?
 
The heater button controls an on-the-circuit-board relay which closes the heater circuit, as opposed to the other function buttons, like filter, which close a seperate relay and actually send power to the devices.

All things are possible, but making this a one button operation would take some doing. First off, you'll need a transformer because the valve actuators operate on 24v. You would then need a separate double-throw relay that was on the heater circuit so that when the heater circuit was open the actuator would be set to one side, and when it was closed it would move to the other.

So you'd essentially need to fabricate a second control box. Feel up to it?
 
I ordered the relay and a 24V transformer so I can mock it up. At first glance, I think I can run the power to the secondary 24V transformer from the heater relay. Since I want to take advantage of the heater control circuitry, I think I have to come off of the heater relay to control the power to the DPDT relay and the JVA. I will keep you posted. I would like to install all of this right in the RS power box so it looks like it is OEM.
 
I laid it out on paper today and I can do it with a SPDT relay and 24VAC transformer. I could probably use the transformer that is already in the cabinet, but I ordered one just in case I don't want to piggyback on the existing one. It will use the heater relay for switched power when calling for heat and close the NO contact on the relay. When not heating, the NC contact will provide the power for the bypass mode. It will be a week or so before I get the parts and have a chance to install it, but I will let you know how it goes. Jandy should include this in their system for people who want to bypass the heater when not heating the water, which is most of the time. It reduces back pressure and wear and tear on the heat exchanger.
 
Yeah, SPDT should suit your needs just fine. Although in many cases people have a dual 3-way valve bypass instead of a single + check valve. In which case you could actuate both valves and control with the DPDT, if somebody wanted to buy two actuators just to bypass the heater...

But anyway, just rambling. Great project! I woke up thinking about this thing.
 
I realized this morning that the 5 minute delay for prevention of super heated water only comes into play if you try to shut the pool/filter pump off. It won't help me here, so I have to incorporate a separate timer for my circuit. No big deal, but when returning to bypass when turning the heater off, I don't want it to go to bypass without a delay. It sure would be nice if I could program it to work from the controller and save all this extra work.
 
Yeah, it's getting to the point of building your own controller. Have you tried Jandy tech support? They're not the easiest bunch to get in touch with and have failed me on multiple occasions when it comes to the more technical controller issues like integrating with home automation, but it's worth a shot if you've got 30 minutes to kill.
 
A small update on my venture. I found a nice 1 sec to 60 minute timer which has it's own SPDT relay which can handle the current requirement of the JVA. It is ELK-960 made by ELK Products. Cost was $30 from Smarthome.com This should work nicely to give me my delay from turning the heater off and going back to bypass. I am just waiting for my 24VAC transformer before I can get started.
 

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Well, I finally got some warm weather for a day and I installed the control circuit in the AquaLink. The ELK-960 Delay timer works well. The only feature it has, which I didn't need, is a test cycle. When you first power it up, it will activate the JVA (Heater position), time out and then go back to the normal mode which is to bypass the heater. I powered the circuit from the +/-24V on the Pump/Filter relay. I took the trigger line from the +24V on the Heater relay. For the 24V AC for the JVA I tapped into the 2, yellow wires running from the transformer in the AquaLink unit. One wire runs to the common terminal on the circuit board and the other yellow wire is connected to the black wire on the JVA. The red wire on the JVA gets connected to the Normally Open contact and the white wire from the JVA is connected to the Normally Closed on the circuit board. That's all there is to it. So for $30, an extra JVA and a little time you can bypass your heater when not in use. When you push the Heater button on the control panel it will change the JVA to circulate the water to the heater. When you are done heating and push the heater button again to stop the heater, the circuit will delay the valve returning to bypass for a preset amount of time. I use 20 minutes which is adjustable from 1 minute to 60 minutes. I hope this explains what I did and helps other people who might be interested in doing the same thing.
 
powerplay said:
Well, I finally got some warm weather for a day and I installed the control circuit in the AquaLink. The ELK-960 Delay timer works well. The only feature it has, which I didn't need, is a test cycle. When you first power it up, it will activate the JVA (Heater position), time out and then go back to the normal mode which is to bypass the heater. I powered the circuit from the +/-24V on the Pump/Filter relay. I took the trigger line from the +24V on the Heater relay. For the 24V AC for the JVA I tapped into the 2, yellow wires running from the transformer in the AquaLink unit. One wire runs to the common terminal on the circuit board and the other yellow wire is connected to the black wire on the JVA. The red wire on the JVA gets connected to the Normally Open contact and the white wire from the JVA is connected to the Normally Closed on the circuit board. That's all there is to it. So for $30, an extra JVA and a little time you can bypass your heater when not in use. When you push the Heater button on the control panel it will change the JVA to circulate the water to the heater. When you are done heating and push the heater button again to stop the heater, the circuit will delay the valve returning to bypass for a preset amount of time. I use 20 minutes which is adjustable from 1 minute to 60 minutes. I hope this explains what I did and helps other people who might be interested in doing the same thing.
Click to expand...

Hello
Just wondering where did you get the +24V for the trigger...low voltage heater contacts, when there's no call for heat, have 24VAC and are closed when there's a call for heat.
Want to do the similar setup...everything is clear to me except the place (contact, etc.) where i hook up the trigger wire for the heat call.

Thank you
 
Just in case anyone stumbles on this thread like I did and is wondering about the trigger like in the comment above.

Instead of using the low voltage heater contacts in the green bus bar on the main board, I moved them into one side of a relay (had to sacrifice AUX3 for this).

The relay is then controlled by the heater relay socket on the bottom of the main board.

Everything else is wired as in powerplay's post. The only thing to note is that red is - and black is + from the relay wires. It wasn't working for me initially and a multi meter showed these were reversed in my case.

Otherwise this works like a charm. The power on test cycle is a bit annoying but for the convenience of automatic bypass, I can live with it.

Thanks a bunch powerplay for this guide!
 
natesrt said:
Just in case anyone stumbles on this thread like I did and is wondering about the trigger like in the comment above.

Instead of using the low voltage heater contacts in the green bus bar on the main board, I moved them into one side of a relay (had to sacrifice AUX3 for this).

The relay is then controlled by the heater relay socket on the bottom of the main board.

Everything else is wired as in powerplay's post. The only thing to note is that red is - and black is + from the relay wires. It wasn't working for me initially and a multi meter showed these were reversed in my case.

Otherwise this works like a charm. The power on test cycle is a bit annoying but for the convenience of automatic bypass, I can live with it.

Thanks a bunch powerplay for this guide!
Click to expand...
Hello I was looking if there is a easy way to modify and interconnect Auxiliary JVA Relay Board 5254 with ELK960
 
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