Automating Heater Flush

[wgillette]

I have a heater bypass set up for my MasterTemp. The valve is tied to the Heater circuit so when heat is called for, water flows to the heater. All is working well. Since I have it set to full bypass to maximize flow to the pool and minimize pump RPMs, I want to schedule a daily flush of the pool heater. I've tried to create a circuit group to schedule but can't seem to get it work. I think it's because the valve uses the default Heater circuit. How have others scheduled a flush of their heater?

@MyAZPool I seem to recall from some of your posts on scheduling you do something similar?

 

[mas985]

Seems like a lot of trouble doing it that way. If you leave both paths open (bypass & heater) the head loss is even less AND the heater will always have water flowing through it albeit at very low flow rates. Most of the flow will be bypassed. IMHO. there is really no good reason to block all flow through the heater unless you have very poor chemistry.

 

[MyAZPool]

I have a heater bypass set up for my MasterTemp. The valve is tied to the Heater circuit so when heat is called for, water flows to the heater. All is working well. Since I have it set to full bypass to maximize flow to the pool and minimize pump RPMs, I want to schedule a daily flush of the pool heater. I've tried to create a circuit group to schedule but can't seem to get it work. I think it's because the valve uses the default Heater circuit. How have others scheduled a flush of their heater?

@MyAZPool I seem to recall from some of your posts on scheduling you do something similar?

@wgillette
So yea, I run flush programs once a week (Heater/Water Feature and spa).
Here is the Circuit Group (macro) that I use to flush the heater and the water feature line.

As you can see, it turns the pool circuit on, activates the heater bypass valve actuator, the water feature valve actuator and then increases the pump flow to 50 GPM.
Then I created a schedule that invokes this Circuit Group (Flush Heat/WF) once a week for 5 minutes.
Something similar should work just fine for you.
r.

 

[wgillette]

Ok, so you're using a dedicated Heater Bypass circuit. I started to do that but couldn't figure out how to make sure the Heater Bypass was activated when the heater was turned on. How do you trigger the Heater Bypass when you call for heat?

 

[MyAZPool]

Ok, so you're using a dedicated Heater Bypass circuit. I started to do that but couldn't figure out how to make sure the Heater Bypass was activated when the heater was turned on. How do you trigger the Heater Bypass when you call for heat?

I use a Circuit Group (macro). All I do is activate my circuit group named "Relax" and just wait for the water to heat up.
It opens the heater bypass valve, changes the suction and return valves from pool to spa, activates the Spa Circuit and energizes the heater relay.

NOTE: Most people do not use a power relay to route 240VAC power to their heater but I do. It's a very unconventional method but it works good and lasts a long time.
Anyway, just ignore that step.


r.

 

[wgillette]

Thanks for the additional detail. How does that Circuit Group work with this screen? Flipping the toggle here turns on SPA MODE and if Heat Mode is set, turns on the heater. Your Circuit Group replicates this, but does it reflect in this screen accurately? Is the temp still controlled in this screen?

What's the Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF) on your setup?

Full disclosure, I have a bypass for my Heater and for my Heat Pump so I'm thinking though how it would work for both of them. I think it would be pretty straightforward to add a Circuit Group for Pool Heat and Spa Heat.

 

[MyAZPool]

As far as the WAF is concerned, she picks up the iPad, and it goes like this...
1. Opens the IntelliCenter app.
2. Taps Features, and scrolls down to Groups and turns off any currently running Circuit Groups.
3. Then turns on the spa activation circuit group (Relax).

The following will occur -
a) Opens the heater bypass valve.
b) Changes the suction and return valves from pool to spa.
c) Activates the Spa Circuit and powers up the heater.

The Spa circuit is switched on via the Circuit Group. When I tap the "Relax" Circuit Group, this happens.


Just in case the wife forgets to turn off the circuit group, it has a 4 hour egg-timer associated with it.

I'm pretty sure you could add a Circuit Group for both Pool Heat AND Spa Heat but really not sure, since I don't heat my pool (just spa). You'll have to experiment.
I encourage it. You can always delete a circuit if it doesn't work.

The one or maybe two things that I know about the IntelliCenter (installation and operation) was all learned through the "trial and error" method since the documentation is extremely lacking.
I was one of the first to install one, so I didn't have the advantage of tribal knowledge back in October 2018.

Let us know how it goes.
r.