Bad Controller on my pump I think

[djust]

Came home last night and noticed the pump was not running and found that all the lights are on, with no display on.
Tried turning off the power for awhile and that didn't help tried doing a factory reset and no response none of the buttons work.
I called my pool builder and told him what was going on and he is getting the warranty info for me to get a hold of Pentair for a warranty claim.

Question I have is how long does it typically take for Pentair to get involved after I contact them to send someone out and get a replacement ?

I didn't understand the pump differences when I was building the pool and my pool builder originally quoted a single speed pump and after some research on here I found
that I needed a variable speed pump so I had him change the pump to a variable speed pump and ended up with this one which is superflow but after it was all installed I realized I really
needed an Intelliflo pump.
I planned on buying a spare pump anyway eventually but I am under a time restraint now because I am headed to Houston which is an 8 hour drive away for surgery in a week and a half and am going to be gone
for at least 2 weeks and maybe 3 and when I get back I'm not going to be able to do much physically.

This is only my second winter since my pool just got finished a year ago and I did not winterize it last winter and did not plan on winterizing this winter, now I don't have time to do that.
Next week we have a couple nights where it's going to get down to 27 degrees and I am not to worried about that but if this problem doesn't get solved pretty quick I am going to be in trouble.

I asked my pool builder for a quote on a new Intelliflo but I think he is going to mark it up quite a bit and it will have a 3 year warranty on it I found a pump online for $1100.00 shipped to the door but it
only has a 60 day warranty on it if I install myself.

Does it sound crazy to go ahead and order a new pump with a 60 day warranty and just save the replacement pump from Pentair as a spare.
Not sure how smart it might be to order an $1100. pump with a 60 day warranty since the Pentair pump I have now went bad in a year !!

Thanks for any insight anyone might want to share.
Donnie

 

[Jimrahbe]

Donnie,

Since you have an EasyTouch and ScreenLogic, it would be worth it to just buy an New IntelliFlo no matter what Pentair does with your old pump. I suspect that they will just replace the controller. I assume you tested to make sure that your current pump has 220 volts right at the pump just to make sure that there is not an issue with the power going to the pump.. Not sure how your SuperFlo is wired into your EasyTouch..

As far as warranty goes, I'll tell you my story.. I installed two complete systems that I bought on line with only the 60 day warranty.. EasyTouch 4, IC40, and IntelliFlo for each pool.. One of these pools is about 8 years old and the other about 6 years old. So far, no failures... so, for me it was well worth it. It really is a risk reward kind of thing.. In my mind you can buy a new one, if the original one fails, and still be about even with the pool builders mark up. I am somewhat of a risk taker, others are not. Warranties are not based on how often something fails, but rather it is a sales tool.. They only offer longer warranties to entice you to buy from the pool builder.

Make sure you, or your pool builder, uses "Pump Unions" when you install a new pump. In my mind it should be illegal to install a $1200 pump without $30 pump unions.. Your SuperFlo VS came with unions, but the IntelliFlo does not.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[djust]

Thanks Jim
There is good power to the pump didn't know about the unions is there a difference in unions ?
The SuperFLo I have now has unions on it but I guess I don't know what a pool union is !
Do you know if the 2 pumps have the same footprint, can I take the unions loose on the SuperFlo and just set the Intelliflo down in its place and rehook up the plumbing ?
Pool Builder wants $1400 to drop off a new Intelliflo with a new 3 year warranty.
I can buy it online for like you say $1200 with unions and surge supressor but I am under the gun for time.

 

[djust]

Heres a pic

 

[Jimrahbe]

D,

I'm pretty sure the two unions are different.. Pump unions allow you to just unscrew the input and output connections, instead of having to cut the plumbing..

The two pumps are different and you will have to replumb a little... If the pool builder will install an IntelliFlo for $1,400 total, including the pump and a three year warranty that is a pretty good price.

Just because the pump has lights might not mean it has 240 volts.. If you lost one of the two input lines, you would only have 120 volts and that might still light the lights.

I also see that the pump is being somewhat controlled by a cable connected to several relays inside the EasyTouch. The first thing that I would do, is disconnect that cable just to make sure it is not the cause of the problem. I am not saying it is, but I would want to eliminate it, just to make sure..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[djust]

All good advice Jim.
I already unhooked the cable that provides the different speeds from the Easy Touch to the Pump just to make sure but it didn't help.
After having no power to the pump overnight I turned it back on and it came on at low speed for just a few minutes then it quit and all the lights came back on.

$1400.00 price was not installed I don't think.

So after some panic thoughts I just drained the pool down below the returns and used a shop vac to suck all the water out of each skimmer line and the returns and after 3
trips to Leslie's I got everything drained and plugged except for the drain line, I wasn't sure how to go about taking care of it since it is still under water.

The plan right now is to go ahead and get the warranty folks scheduled in a few weeks and hopefully since it seems like a control panel failure maybe they can troubleshoot with no water in the pool I
don't know if they will try that or not.
Otherwise I will wait until spring and start over with the warranty folks and then probably take my chances on buying a new pump online with the 60 day warranty and save myself a few hundred dollars.