Air bubbles in two spa returns

[hensler74]

@1poolman1 may be able to identify those devices.

Still baffled on if there should be an air vent where is it at and if there is not one why would the builder back in 2005 or 2006 not have installed it. Of course I am not the original owner so have no clue about who did the install.

 

[hensler74]

Those screws are air control valves that control the amount of air added to the spa jets by it.

So are those the same as the air vent that Rancho is talking about or should there be a vent pipe like he explained and showed he has.

 

[ajw22]

I have read this and this is the only part I have been able to successfully do. In one of my other threads about this someone told me that one of my actuators is only turning 90 degrees when it should be turn 180. They included a link on how to change this and for some reason it just is not making since to me. I need to try to find a video so I can watch someone do it and maybe that would help me. For some reason just reading the manual on it is not helping me.

What thread is that?

 

[ajw22]

So are those the same as the air vent that Rancho is talking about or should there be a vent pipe like he explained and showed he has.

Each of those knobs is a mini air vent. As you screw it in you close the air vent. Screw up out and you open the tube letting air in the flows to the jets creating bubbles. When they age the plastic does not seal well and even when closed they can let air in.

 

[hensler74]

What thread is that?

This one and in glancing over it again this morning you are the one that pointed out my jva was not property working.

PH question

I will do this as soon as I get back home. I also need to double check on Aux3 because when I looked at my IAquaLink app just now it seems Aux3 may be setup as my spa light. See in this thread how the pool and spa lights were combined to free up AUX3…...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I just want to mentioned that although your pump cannot be controlled via the two-wire RS 485 protocol, it can be controlled via simple relays. The pump has four relay inputs so you can control four different speeds. I'm not sure how your automation system works, but you likely have some low voltage relays that you can use to control preset speeds on your pump. The manual for the pump should explain how the relays work.

 

[hensler74]

I just want to mentioned that although your pump cannot be controlled via the two-wire RS 485 protocol, it can be controlled via simple relays. The pump has four relay inputs so you can control four different speeds. I'm not sure how your automation system works, but you likely have some low voltage relays that you can use to control preset speeds on your pump. The manual for the pump should explain how the relays work.

Thanks I will do some reading in the manual to see what options I may have.
I do want to ask one question and because I am new to VS pumps don’t kill me or think man what an idiot this guy is.
What is the benefit of getting the speeds automated other than I would not have to manually adjust them at the pump. I have had a single speed pump for 3 years of owning this house so surely the energy efficiency savings is. It going to be life changing for me. I don’t have any features in the pool like fountains, bubblers etc. so my thought is the only time I would adjust the speed down in my head are the times I need to run the pump continuously for long times. Like freeze protection or when doing a slam. So what am I missing that it would really benefit me.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Optimally, for efficiency and cost savings, you want to run your pump at the lowest speed necessary to accomplish the task. That task may be skimming, using a vacuum, or just running the pump to produce FC. Running a pump twice as fast requires about eight times the energy. The slower you can run the pump the more money you'll save.

 

[HermanTX]

What is the benefit of getting the speeds automated other than I would not have to manually adjust them at the pump. I have had a single speed pump for 3 years of owning this house so surely the energy efficiency savings is. It going to be life changing for me. I don’t have any features in the pool like fountains, bubblers etc. so my thought is the only time I would adjust the speed down in my head are the times I need to run the pump continuously for long times. Like freeze protection or when doing a slam. So what am I missing that it would really benefit me.

Since you have a SWCG, you want the pump speed to be low most of the time but fast enough in RPMs to activate the flow sensor on the SWCG. I have the same SWCG as yours and I run at 1600rpm you might be able to run a little slower.
You want to increase the pump speed for better skimming action or if you wish to mix chemicals such as Muractic acid or salt.

 

[hensler74]

Since you have a SWCG, you want the pump speed to be low most of the time but fast enough in RPMs to activate the flow sensor on the SWCG. I have the same SWCG as yours and I run at 1600rpm you might be able to run a little slower.
You want to increase the pump speed for better skimming action or if you wish to mix chemicals such as Muractic acid or salt.

This all makes sense.
So since you have the same SWCG as me do you run yours that low and longer to produce the FC needed? Again all new to the VS pump and although too late as the Pentair pump is already installed and done I could do as @Rancho Cost-a-Lotta suggested and see if there are auxiliaries that I can use or buy the RS-485 cable and see if it would work.

 

[hensler74]

Optimally, for efficiency and cost savings, you want to run your pump at the lowest speed necessary to accomplish the task. That task may be skimming, using a vacuum, or just running the pump to produce FC. Running a pump twice as fast requires about eight times the energy. The slower you can run the pump the more money you'll save.

Thanks and all of that makes sense so I will do what research I can to see if there is anyway for me to make it work.

 

[hensler74]

So I found this YouTube video of this guy talking about the whisperflo and another Pentair pump and how you can use the rs485 cable to hook up to the iAquaLink. I am attaching it here and if any of you feel inclined to confirm or deny this for me please do so. It starts talking about the iAquaLink around 4:20 in.

 

[HermanTX]

So since you have the same SWCG as me do you run yours that low and longer to produce the FC needed?

Yes - my pool is a little larger than yours. I run 23.75 hours. In Summer I set from 30% to 50% on the SWCG depending if we are on heat wave like we are now or if we had a week or more of rain like we did last week.
I am on rev T.2 firmware. It does not allow 24 hrs. I hope the later revisions get this fixed. My base speed is 1600rpm. I only run faster for couple of hours a day to improve mixing and skimming but it would work fine at 1600rpm for the full 23.75 hrs.

 

[HermanTX]

So I found this YouTube video of this guy talking about the whisperflo and another Pentair pump and how you can use the rs485 cable to hook up to the iAquaLink. I am attaching it here and if any of you feel inclined to confirm or deny this for me please do so. It starts talking about the iAquaLink around 4:20 in.

Regarding the wiring of the RS485 cable to the RED connector on the Aqualink PCB, what he says is accurate. Only use the 2 wires Yellow and Green and connect as he states.
Also, each RED connector can only handle 2 devices so if you have 3 or 4 devices - pump, antenna, SWCG, then use both RED connectors with 2 devices on each RED connector.

 

[hensler74]

Regarding the wiring of the RS485 cable to the RED connector on the Aqualink PCB, what he says is accurate. Only use the 2 wires Yellow and Green and connect as he states.
Also, each RED connector can only handle 2 devices so if you have 3 or 4 devices - pump, antenna, SWCG, then use both RED connectors with 2 devices on each RED connector.

Thanks I will have to open up the control panel and check everything out and then determine from there. May come back here with some pictures once I do this. I appreciate everyone’s patience and willingness to help.

 

[hensler74]

Regarding the wiring of the RS485 cable to the RED connector on the Aqualink PCB, what he says is accurate. Only use the 2 wires Yellow and Green and connect as he states.
Also, each RED connector can only handle 2 devices so if you have 3 or 4 devices - pump, antenna, SWCG, then use both RED connectors with 2 devices on each RED connector.

So if I am looking at this correctly I can order the RS485 cable and connect the two wires as shown in that video here and then do the setup on the pump then configure my iaqaulink to an intelliflow pump and control the vs potentially for the whisperflow pump that was installed. Correct?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I wish I knew the answer, but I'm following.

Confirm this with your manual, but you will need the Pentair Digital Input Wiring Kit P/N 356324z that plugs into the pump. If the RS-485 connection doesn't work, you can use this cable to set up digital inputs via relays.

 

[HermanTX]

So if I am looking at this correctly I can order the RS485 cable and connect the two wires as shown in that video here and then do the setup on the pump then configure my iaqaulink to an intelliflow pump and control the vs potentially for the whisperflow pump that was installed. Correct?

Yes. You have 2 RED connectors so you can add the pump to either one.
Let us know if the WhisperFlo pump works with the RS-485 cable.

 

[1poolman1]

@1poolman1 may be able to identify those devices.

Air valves for venturi jets.

 

[hensler74]

Well the RS485 cable came in early so I installed it today and it is successfully controlling the Whisperflo VST pump. Photos of the automation I setup currently attached. My question now is what is good speeds and times to run it for as I am new to a VS pump. I currently have it set to run a high speed (3300 rpm) for 4 hours a day and a low speed (2200 rpm) for 9 hours a day. My SWCG is set for 65% but that is what I had it on when the pump was just running 3300 rpm for 9 hours a day.
Recommendations will be greatly appreciated and I am sure I will have to play with the SWCG % once I get all the automation set to what is recommended.