Choosing a SWG that will integrate with Jandy iAqualink automation

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I have a SWG and the Jandy PDA system and have no problems. I can run the SWG on 15% during the summer and am fine. I do have a small pool and a low bather load. However, I feel the Jandy PDA is very old school (like the flip phone analogy) and knowing what I do now I would go the iAquaLink or go completely Pentair because of the great reviews here. (I can upgrade to the iAquaLink but don't really want to spend the $$.).

Addendum: when I say no problems I mean with the salt system. The PDA itself is fickle in that sometimes it won't come on, it just says "waiting..." And you can only adjust settings using the PDA.
 
Vec,

If you go back and look at my original post it says...

"If you really want to take full advantage of any automation system, it is almost always wise to buy all the electronic equipment from the same manufacturer, so that they can easily communicate with each other."

If nothing else, you can see by the posts so far that even though various manufacturer's products can be kluged together, nothing works as well as having everything from same product line.

I rest my case... :p

Jim R.
 
Thanks for the info. Yes, I see the reason for keeping equipment of the same brand. I'm sure I'll understand all of this more once I actually have a pool with equipment...for now, I'm trying to understand it just by reading on this forum.

I've never heard of the Autopilot brand. I thought it was a feature in SWG...."I just put my pentair SWG on autopilot and it takes care of the rest". :D Naive, yes...but I'm learning. So I just researched the Autopilot and it does look like a nice system...more expensive up front but cheaper in replacements. And you can buy generic replacement cells. Pentair requires pentair replacement cells.

Autopilot RC52 = $1,850 (replacement cell = $400)
Pentair IC60 = $1,030 (replacement cell = $750)
 
Veccster said:
Thanks for the info. Yes, I see the reason for keeping equipment of the same brand. I'm sure I'll understand all of this more once I actually have a pool with equipment...for now, I'm trying to understand it just by reading on this forum.

I've never heard of the Autopilot brand. I thought it was a feature in SWG...."I just put my pentair SWG on autopilot and it takes care of the rest". :D Naive, yes...but I'm learning. So I just researched the Autopilot and it does look like a nice system...more expensive up front but cheaper in replacements. And you can buy generic replacement cells. Pentair requires pentair replacement cells.

Autopilot RC52 = $1,850 (replacement cell = $400)
Pentair IC60 = $1,030 (replacement cell = $750)
Click to expand...

Yes its a very nice system. Has some great features if you don't need automation. I purchased the TotalControl Controller instead of the Pool Pilot Digital (was same price) as it allows me in the future to add ORP and PH sensors and an acid pump if I want.

I highly recommend Josh (a TFP member) @ saltpoolguys.com as they have good pricing (get a quote) and he knows EVERYTHING about the systems and can answer questions.
 
I'm doing automaton because I have other features going in. I have a waterfall, deck jets, slide and led lights. And an equipment pad that is outside of my fenced in pool area.

Maybe I just don't need to automate the swg. Hadn't considered that. So if that were the case, I wouldn't need to match brand of swg to brand of other equipment.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
 
Okay sounds like automation could work for you. As the other guy said with the jandy you do lots of waiting. I'd probably look into Pentair. But your lights and deck jets should match assuming they are lighted. I have Pentair jets and the lights on them don't work very well with the jandy
 
Rob,

In the old days, everyone had single speed pumps, so without any automation they simply tied the pump and SWG to the timer power output.

Today, a lot of people are going with the variable speed pumps. Since most variable speed pumps have constant power, you need either a second timer synced with the pump, or automation so that the SWCG and pump are only on together.

While it is true that the flow switch prevents the SWCG from coming on, the flow switch is supposed to be the secondary safety device. The primary safety device is to not have the SWCG powered when the pump is off.

Kind of like turning your car off while you gas up. Some people don't do that and have never been blown up.. Doesn't mean it is the safe way to do it.

Jim R.
 

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Jimrahbe said:
Today, a lot of people are going with the variable speed pumps. Since most variable speed pumps have constant power, you need either a second timer synced with the pump, or automation so that the SWCG and pump are only on together.
Click to expand...

Some exceptions here.

Many vs pumps have their own programming, so you can program its on/off times to correlate with the other timer for the external timer for the VSP - but they could get out of sync over time.

Could tie both to the existing timer - turn both vs pump and swg on/off together (program the VSP program/time to speed you want on power up). But this means you're only running the pump at the same time as the SWG.

Get an Autopilot SWG, use external relay with a vs pump like the superflow which has a simple digital i/o interface to select pump speed. Use the autopilot's internal swg timer program to trigger the external relay to select the desired pump speed. If pump is already on, it will override the speed (so nice if it was running in lower RPM just to circulate), and if off, it will turn it on. This way you can use the internal program in the pump to run additional speeds/times, including cleaning, and let the Autopilot override when it is on, including, utilizing its freeze protection mode in the winter to turn on the pump.
 
For a new pad, it really doesn't make sense to cobble something together.

Everything works best if it all works together. I would do EasyTouch with ScreenLogic 2, IntelliFlo and IC 60.
 
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