Equipment okay?

[Mattlar0806]

Lots of stuff you need to get answers about and understand what you are really getting and what you are paying for.

Without the IO Board or IntelliCenter it throws more stuff back to your electrician to put in a timer that will control the SWG to ensure the SWG only runs when the pump is running. And it throws it to you to ensure the pump schedule and the timer stays in synch.

Pentair Intellichlor ICXX SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Could not agree with you more. I’ll get to the bottom of this and really appreciate all the advice.
From prior conversations with PB- now I would guess the IO would be there given the inferior product if not, but will confirm!

 

[Mattlar0806]

Lots of stuff you need to get answers about and understand what you are really getting and what you are paying for.

Without the IO Board or IntelliCenter it throws more stuff back to your electrician to put in a timer that will control the SWG to ensure the SWG only runs when the pump is running. And it throws it to you to ensure the pump schedule and the timer stays in synch.

Pentair Intellichlor ICXX SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

My ultimate goal here is to open my pool and then just have the system run a set 10 hours a day and automatically adjust salt / pump speed as needed. When desired turn on secondary pump to waterfall and slide. Possibly running this pump on a daily schedule to at a very low GPM to just keep the water from sitting anywhere.

What would be the minimum setup required for this?

Also if an automatic cleaner or the automation panel eliminated a weekly service contract that would pay for itself in a relatively short amount of time.

I want to things to be as hands off as possible until I become more knowledgeable (if ever).

Thanks

 

[ajw22]

My ultimate goal here is to open my pool and then just have the system run a set 10 hours a day and automatically adjust salt / pump speed as needed. When desired turn on secondary pump to waterfall and slide. Possibly running this pump on a daily schedule to at a very low GPM to just keep the water from sitting anywhere.

Automation will vary the speed and electrical consumption of the VS pump based on other equipment's needs. The heater will need a higher flow rate then the SWG. Without automation you will need to set the VS pump to the highest RPM your equipment needs. Versus the automation increasing the pump RPM when the heater turns on and lowers RPM when the heater turns off.

Also the automation will let you manage when you want your heater to run. If you get a few cold wet days you may turn your heater down to not consume electricity. You will need to go out to your equipment pad to make adjustments to your heater without automation.

You will probably need to run your pool for more then 10 hours/day with a heat pump and SWG. They both generate heat and chlorine slowly.

The savings in electricity can be significant although you have a short pools season when your pool is open....

 

[Mattlar0806]

Automation will vary the speed and electrical consumption of the VS pump based on other equipment's needs. The heater will need a higher flow rate then the SWG. Without automation you will need to set the VS pump to the highest RPM your equipment needs. Versus the automation increasing the pump RPM when the heater turns on and lowers RPM when the heater turns off.

Also the automation will let you manage when you want your heater to run. If you get a few cold wet days you may turn your heater down to not consume electricity. You will need to go out to your equipment pad to make adjustments to your heater without automation.

You will probably need to run your pool for more then 10 hours/day with a heat pump and SWG. They both generate heat and chlorine slowly.

The savings in electricity can be significant although you have a short pools season when your pool is open....

Thank you for all of this!!
Automation is certainly sounding more appealing now. I just want to make sure I understand you correctly.

Automation does not allow for different RPMs simultaneously, correct? It would only systematically switch to lower RPMs when the heater wasn’t on which otherwise I’d have to manually go out and change? If I’m wrong and it allowed for different simultaneous run rates that would be great for my waterfall and slide combo on the same pump as they could be run at different GPMs.

 

[ajw22]

Thank you for all of this!!
Automation is certainly sounding more appealing now. I just want to make sure I understand you correctly.

Automation does not allow for different RPMs simultaneously, correct?

Different RPMs simultaneously from one pump? No.

From two pumps, yes.

It would only systematically switch to lower RPMs when the heater wasn’t on which otherwise I’d have to manually go out and change?

Yes, the automation will raise the pump speed when the heater turns on and lower the speed when the heater turn off.

You will find your HP will cycle a lot as it maintains the set temperature.

If I’m wrong and it allowed for different simultaneous run rates that would be great for my waterfall and slide combo on the same pump as they could be run at different GPMs.

You can have more then one pump speed scheduled for the same time. The automation will always run the pump at the fastest speed when there are multiple speed requests set.

 

[Mattlar0806]

Seems to be

Different RPMs simultaneously from one pump? No.

From two pumps, yes.



Yes, the automation will raise the pump speed when the heater turns on and lower the speed when the heater turn off.

You will find your HP will cycle a lot as it maintains the set temperature.



You can have more than one pump speed scheduled for the same time. The automation will always run the pump at the fastest speed when there are multiple speed requests set.

I have to keep saying thank you!

a question on pump setup then.

Need to do the following
1) normal pool operation (SGW and heat pump)
2) smallish waterfall maybe like 60 gpm
3) dolphin slide - maxes out at 130gpm tho I don’t think anything close to that is needed.

How many pumps and type would you use for this ?

 

[ajw22]

Need to do the following
1) normal pool operation (SGW and heat pump)
2) smallish waterfall maybe like 60 gpm
3) dolphin slide - maxes out at 130gpm tho I don’t think anything close to that is needed.

How many pumps and type would you use for this ?

The optimal answer is one pump for each.

A Pentair Whisperflo VST or Intelliflo3 for the pool

A Waterfall Specialty pump or Dyna-Je Spa and Water Features Pump
for the waterfall -

WaterFall Specialty Pumps

The Pentair Waterfall Specialty Pool Water Features Pump has a closed impeller, low-head pump ideal for water features such as fountains, waterfalls and other special pool features.

www.pentair.com

Dyna-Jet Spa and Water Features Pump

Sta-Rite Dyna-Jet Spa and Water Feature Pump- Glass-reinforced, thermoplastic pump ideal for warm water service, high flow, and quiet operation requirements.

www.pentair.com

IntelliFloXF VSF Variable Speed and Flow Pump for the slide -

IntelliFloXF VSF Pump

Pentair IntelliFloXF VSF Pump - This innovative, variable speed & variable flow pool pump offers precision and savings for large and feature-rich pools.

www.pentair.com

You can get away with valving the IntelliFlo3 to feed the waterfall but the plumbing must be properly designed to get sufficient flow for the waterfall through the restrictions of the filter and heater. With a dedicated waterfall pump you can minimize the restrictions to ensure sufficient flow for the waterfall.

This ties into the automation discussion as you are looking at running the pumps at different speeds if your waterfall in on or off. And turning the slide on and adjusting the pump speed for the right flow over the slide.

When you need high flow rates for a waterfall or slide you need to consider the pipe sizes which are discussed a bit in...

Equipment Pad Best Practices - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Hydraulics 101 - Have you lost your head?

Edit - Before reading this article, you may want to first familiarize yourself with this Pool School article on Pump Basics Hydraulics 101 - Pump Head Curves, Plumbing Head Curves and Operating Points Hydraulic Head In fluid dynamics, head is a concept that relates the energy in an...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Mattlar0806]

The optimal answer is one pump for each.

A Pentair Whisperflo VST or Intelliflo3 for the pool

A Waterfall Specialty pump or Dyna-Je Spa and Water Features Pump
for the waterfall -

WaterFall Specialty Pumps

The Pentair Waterfall Specialty Pool Water Features Pump has a closed impeller, low-head pump ideal for water features such as fountains, waterfalls and other special pool features.

www.pentair.com

Dyna-Jet Spa and Water Features Pump

Sta-Rite Dyna-Jet Spa and Water Feature Pump- Glass-reinforced, thermoplastic pump ideal for warm water service, high flow, and quiet operation requirements.

www.pentair.com

IntelliFloXF VSF Variable Speed and Flow Pump for the slide -

IntelliFloXF VSF Pump

Pentair IntelliFloXF VSF Pump - This innovative, variable speed & variable flow pool pump offers precision and savings for large and feature-rich pools.

www.pentair.com

You can get away with valving the IntelliFlo3 to feed the waterfall but the plumbing must be properly designed to get sufficient flow for the waterfall through the restrictions of the filter and heater. With a dedicated waterfall pump you can minimize the restrictions to ensure sufficient flow for the waterfall.

This ties into the automation discussion as you are looking at running the pumps at different speeds if your waterfall in on or off. And turning the slide on and adjusting the pump speed for the right flow over the slide.

When you need high flow rates for a waterfall or slide you need to consider the pipe sizes which are discussed a bit in...

Equipment Pad Best Practices - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Hydraulics 101 - Have you lost your head?

Edit - Before reading this article, you may want to first familiarize yourself with this Pool School article on Pump Basics Hydraulics 101 - Pump Head Curves, Plumbing Head Curves and Operating Points Hydraulic Head In fluid dynamics, head is a concept that relates the energy in an...

www.troublefreepool.com

Awesome - thank you.

Sounds like if I do 3 pumps then less of the need for the automation, besides the points we already discussed - Mobile access and optimized RPMs for on/off heater etc.

I do think a separate waterfall pump makes the most sense given it’s a pretty cheap add on relatively speaking. Only hesitation I have maybe doing a VSP. I need to make sure it can be tuned low enough to be quiet. We were at a pool over the summer where you couldn’t speak to someone next to you bc the waterfall was so loud. No idea what the optimal GPMs should be set to until my waterfall is actually built and I can’t hear it myself. Flexibility in a VSP is key here I think.