EasyTouch Freeze Mode Tip

[Dirk]

So this worked (so far)! It got its first test last night when my air temp dropped below my EasyTouch's Freeze Mode threshold. I expect this would also work with other Pentair controllers.

I had a spare circuit, so I named it "Freeze" and set its Circuit Function to "Light." And I checked the "On with Freeze" option. Now I get two niceties:

I happen to have an EasyTouch Indoor Control panel, so when the EasyTouch goes into Freeze Mode I now have a little green LED light up inside where I can see it. But better still:

Because I assigned the Circuit Function to "Light" with the "On with Freeze" option, I now get a pink bar on my ScreenLogic's History graph during freeze time! I can see when Freeze Mode kicks on and then switches off. This is the more useful, as I'm generally asleep when Freeze Mode happens, so the chart is handier than the green LED.

I can use this info for strategizing pool maintenance as well as gardening considerations (like protecting my citrus trees). But mostly it's just nice to know when Freeze Mode happens and that it does happen.

I'm never gunna have a pool light on at 4:00AM, when the air is freezing, so I can tell those events apart on the graph.

The EasyTouch can't do a lot of what I wish it could, but in this case I managed to squeeze out a little extra bit of useful functionality.

 

[Dirk]

@Flying Tivo, you might be able to use this tip for something else. I also have my acid injection relay set up as a Light Circuit Function (see "Aux 2" on screenshot above), so I can see on the chart when my acid-dispensing relay kicks on and off. You can see it on the chart above at around noon on Thursday. Even a couple minutes of on-time shows up on the chart. Again, my lights and acid injection and freeze mode are never likely going to happen at the same time of day, so I can tell them apart on the chart.

Well, sort of! I woke up today and checked the chart for air temp and freaked at first because I forgot about my own freeze mode trick! At first I thought my EasyTouch had just dumped three hours worth of acid into my pool!!

I also get a green LED inside on my Indoor Control Panel when acid injection is happening. Hopefully I'll notice that if it occurs for more than just two minutes!!

So these tips do require a certain amount of memory brain function to actually be useful!!

 

[Jimrahbe]

Dirk,

I do something similar...

I have a pool equipment shed that has lights in it and the lights are controlled by the EasyTouch. I have that Aux circuit set up with 'on with freeze'. In the winter the light circuit connected to an electric oil heater which keeps the pool equipment above freezing.

I too notice this when using ScreenLogic as it tells me the equipment shed light is on.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Dirk]

This is what it looks like on iOS ScreenLogic. (Which, if you've been following The Antics of Dirk, I now have running on my Mac laptop!)


FYI: This is a screenshot off of my computer, not from an iOS device.

 

[Dirk]

Dirk,

I do something similar...

I have an pool equipment shed that has lights in it and the lights are controlled by the EasyTouch. I have that Aux circuit set up with 'on with freeze'. In the winter the light circuit connected to an electric oil heater which keeps the pool equipment above freezing.

I too notice this when using ScreenLogic as it tells me the equipment shed light is on.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Ha, originally I was going to share this with you in a PM, all proud of myself and just sure I had thought of something that Jim hadn't. I should'a known better!!

 

[Flying Tivo]

@Flying Tivo, you might be able to use this tip for something else.

Im just too afraid to follow you down the rabbit hole. Dont know if i would make it back to real life.

 

[Dirk]

Im just too afraid to follow you down the rabbit hole. Dont know if i would make it back to real life.

Why worry? The tea is pretty good down here. We have parties. It's a thing.

 

[DrewLG]

Nice idea, @Dirk, thanks for that.

 

[stevo777]

Last night (actually this morning) marked the first time ever that freeze mode activated since the pool was commissioned last spring. I was pleased to see on ScreenLogic that freeze mode activated shortly before the normally scheduled filter cycle started at 8:00am, alternated between pool and spa modes, and furthermore continued until ambient air temp rose above 38 F. At which time the pool filter cycle continued as normal. Happy to see it works as designed!

 

[Dirk]

Last night (actually this morning) marked the first time ever that freeze mode activated since the pool was commissioned last spring. I was pleased to see on ScreenLogic that freeze mode activated shortly before the normally scheduled filter cycle started at 8:00am, alternated between pool and spa modes, and furthermore continued until ambient air temp rose above 38 F. At which time the pool filter cycle continued as normal. Happy to see it works as designed!
View attachment 461132

Huh, I missed your post somehow. I have a few reasons I use a dedicated circuit for Freeze mode, instead of just turning it on for my Pool circuit.

- I don't use my Spa mode for a spa, so I wouldn't want my Freeze mode to alternate Pool and Spa circuits like that.
- Pool mode doesn't light up an LED on my Indoor Control Panel, so I wouldn't easily see that it was on due to Freeze mode (not without reading a very dim LCD display).
- I wouldn't be able to distinguish the difference between Pool mode and Freeze mode on the chart.
- But mainly: Pool mode energizes my SWG and IntellipH circuits, and I wouldn't want either powering up in the middle of the night and trying to do their thing.

Most of the time I have my SWG disconnected in the winter. But my IntellipH works year 'round and I don't want that firing at night. Where I live there are fringe seasons in which I'm still able to use the SWG/IpH during the day, but it'll drop to freezing at night. For about a month, the early morning air can get to 35°, which would trigger Freeze mode, but the pool water might still be warm enough to trigger the SWG and IntellipH. I just don't like the notion of the SWG generating and the IntelllipH injecting, or even trying to, outside of their scheduled runtimes.

Actually, your history graph illustrates this issue. You've got 35° air at 7AM, and your pool and spa temps are both plenty warm enough for your SWG to fire. Unless you've turned off your SWG for both pool and spa, it will generate during Freeze mode. And because Freeze mode could be a few minutes, or all night long, you might get inconsistent FC levels based on what the nighttime temps are doing. Maybe not. Something to consider, anyway.

 

[stevo777]

Thanks for the response. Not quite sure yet if a separate freeze circuit is right for me; i’ll consider it. It’s easy to look in the history graph, notice that the spa and pool features are alternating, to observe freeze mode. SWCG has been going into cold water mode at or below 53 degrees. Before water temps fell that low, i simply turned the SWCG down to 10%. FC levels have been stable, slowly decreasing over a period of weeks, not even had the need to add any LC yet.

 

[Dirk]

Thanks for the response. Not quite sure yet if a separate freeze circuit is right for me; i’ll consider it. It’s easy to look in the history graph, notice that the spa and pool features are alternating, to observe freeze mode. SWCG has been going into cold water mode at or below 53 degrees. Before water temps fell that low, i simply turned the SWCG down to 10%. FC levels have been stable, slowly decreasing over a period of weeks, not even had the need to add any LC yet.

You can have both. I didn't explain that well. You can leave freeze mode on for your pool and spa circuits, and all that will work as it is now. Just create a "Freeze" circuit and turn its freeze mode on. If you designate this "Freeze" circuit as a light, it will show up on your History graph. The bars that show the Pool and Spa alternating on and off will still show up, with the addition of a new bar for Freeze (though the graph will still label it as a light). This way, you can have what you have now on the chart, but this new bar will show more clearly exactly when the freeze mode kicked on and off, even if either event occurs during your regular pool or spa mode schedules. Win-win.

The Freeze circuit won't do anything, and it shouldn't affect the Pool and Spa alternating feature. It won't turn anything on or off, it'll just show up on the chart. Now, it could do something, if you assigned the circuit to a relay. Jim uses this option to turn on a space heater for his pool equipment shed. Or you could just wire it so it turns on a small indicator light, maybe one you can spot from a window, that would tell you when Freeze mode is engaged. Or you could wire it to a small music box that plays Christmas carols whenever it gets cold. Your neighbors will LOVE that! All kinds of possibilities...