Fried IntelliFlo anyone? Seeking advice on next steps...

Jump to latest Follow Reply
sdmark

sdmark

Bronze Supporter
Mar 13, 2016
51
San Diego, CA
Pool Size
17500
Surface
Fiberglass
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hi folks,

I'm a homeowner in San Diego. When my WhisperFlo failed in 2006, I purchased and installed an IntelliFlo #011012. It's been doing great until a couple days ago when I was doing some work on the house's main electrical panel. I noticed later that the pump's display is completely dead, even when disconnected from the IntelliTouch control system. The pump is not coming on at all.

I disassembled the drive unit. No water incursion but a small blackened area on top of the printed circuit board. My hunch is a blown capacitor, but they seem to be embedded in plastic resin so can't be accessed or replaced.

Any suggestions on next steps? Is there anyone who can repair these units? Pentair tells me the drive #350104 can be replaced by #353251, which looks to be $600 online and would only have a 60-day parts warranty. An entire #011018 pump is under $900, but does that have a 3-year warranty if self-installed? Replacing the entire pump would be a big job due to tight plumbing. I assume I could replace the drive, or the drive + motor, and leave the existing plumbing and basket?

Thanks,

Mark
 
P.S. Here's are a couple pics of the circuit board. I'm wondering now whether it wasn't a capacitor but rather an arc between the circuit board and the control panel (the unit in my left hand with the buttons and display). The sticker on the back says that is an LCP 102 Control panel. Anyone know how to tell if whether it's the Control panel (which could be replaced pretty easily) or the other electronics that have failed?

IntelliFlo Blackened Circuit Board 1.jpg

IntelliFlo Blackened Circuit Board 2.jpg
 
I don't believe Pentair offers any extended warranty on any self-install unless you are a certified installer.

If you are good at troubleshooting boards, you might be able to figure out which component failed. But looking at the board, the area with the black soot looks like area where the IGBTs are soldered. Those are the high power switching gates that control each of the three phases and components that are most likely to fail (especially any voltage transients). Can you post a picture of the other side of the board in that area and/or get the part #s off the gates?

Not sure about the area where there is white soot but that could be the bridge rectifier which feeds the IGBTs and would fail too if one or more of the IGBTs failed since they usually short.
 
Mark,

Thanks for your reply.

The white soot looked almost like calcification. Both black and white soot wiped away easily with little vinegar on a cotton ball.

When attached, the bottom of the control panel, with its two metal straps, floats barely above the circuit board. I could see how a surge might arc between the circuit board and one of those straps.

However, I would kinda think that even if the local controller failed, the remote control through IntelliTouch would work. It doesn't, so that may be evidence of main board failure.

I removed 5 or 6 small and 2 large screws but was unable to lift the main circuit board. Should I have been able to? It almost looked like they assembled the board, filled the reservoir with plastic resin, then inverted the board and pushed it into the resin so that anything taller than 1/2" or so on the board would have been in the resin, and once cooled, it's stuck. Did I miss something on the disassembly?
 
That may be the way they water proof the board so perhaps you won't be able to remove it without destroying the board. The arc might have been caused by the display to the main board but I doubt the electronics of the main board escaped destruction as well so if you can't remove the board, then there is probably no way to repair it.

Probably the only choices you have are to replace the drive or replace the motor and drive with a two speed motor.
 
Thanks. Any suggestions for 2-speed pumps? Would like to integrate with IntelliTouch. Basically low speed for daily timed operation and high speed when using the spa. I think the IntelliTouch can control pumps via relays but it's been a while since I set that up.

What's the normal life of a pump motor? At 10 years, is it about done anyway?
 
I was suggesting just attaching a new motor to your Intelliflo wet end so you don't have to buy a new pump nor change the plumbing.

What speed do you use for the spa?

The life of a pump is mostly dependent on the motor (drive to for a VS). If properly maintained, pumps have lasted 20-30 years in some cases. But so far for the VS line of pumps, things are starting to look a bit more problematic because of drive failures.
 
If I recall correctly, the pool runs at 25 gpm and the spa at 50 gpm, with the 50 requiring 2750 or 3000 rpm. I do like the idea of variable speed, which can ramp up to maintain gpm e.g. when solar is on or when the Kreepy dives to the deep end and requires more rpm to maintain 25 gpm. Really I've had no complaints with the variable-speed but the sensitivity to power surge (or whatever hit it), and the high cost of replacing electronics when the actual failed part is probably worth $25, concern me. I wonder if a surge-protected breaker would have saved the pump and if they even make those in 240V 20A versions.
 
If me, I'd just buy a whole new Intelliflo and either replace the entire thing, or swap out the drive and motor assembly. You got 10 years out of the old one without a surge protector so installing a good surge protector should get you another 10 years or more.

I noticed you said the existing pump is an P/N 011012, which is a Variable Flow pump and then you talk about the price of a P/N 011018 which is a Variable Speed pump. I have no idea if swapping the motor and drive between these two pumps is ok or if something on the wet end also has to change.

Jim R.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Heat and/or chemical solvents might work, but sounds like they could damage the circuit board as well, especially since in this case the board sits upside down above the resin bath. Google Groups

I guess I could try to boil the whole drive in water but not sure I want to spend the time unless there is a known repair strategy.
 
Jimrahbe said:
I noticed you said the existing pump is an P/N 011012, which is a Variable Flow pump and then you talk about the price of a P/N 011018 which is a Variable Speed pump. I have no idea if swapping the motor and drive between these two pumps is ok or if something on the wet end also has to change.
Click to expand...
Thanks for pointing that out. I do like the VF as I said for adjusting "on the fly" for solar, etc., but not sure a 011012 is worth an extra $300+.

Called a local pool dealer. He said the 2 VST they wanted to sell me is the same as the 1.5 horsepower VF that I have. Well mine is 3 HP and VF <> VS. It bugs me that I know more than a qualified installer but I only get a 60-day warranty if I do the work myself.

I talked to Pentair support and they said the wet end is the same. They also told me the 353251 VS drive replaces the 350104 that I have on my VF, but I would need to double-check that--the buttons are labeled differently on a VS drive.

I am leaning towards replacing the whole thing with a 011018. I think I can get a $200 rebate from the utility. Trying to figure out if I can replace the plumbing with only one valve. Are most folks using 2" unions now for pumps?

- - - Updated - - -

chiefwej said:
I have two surge protectors in my system. A larger Eaton Ultra ($120)on my main service panel and a smaller Square D unit ($25) on my pool sub panel. Less than $150 total and both installed in one afternoon.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info. These babies look like they are separate from the breakers? The Pentair rep today said they suggest GFCI breakers, which would also stop a surge, but that doesn't sound right to me.
 
GFCI does nothing for surges. The larger surge protector I'm using is wired to a 220/50amp breaker that I happened to have open in the main panel. The smaller one is just hooked directly to the same terminals as my incoming power in the pump's sub panel.

The unions are the way to go for connecting a pump. Most pumps have straight treads vs tapered pipe thread, making it hard to make a good lasting watertight connection. These unions are specifically designed to seal against the body of the pump with an O-ring.
 
I would not install a pump without unions, no matter what kind it was.

My understanding is that the Pentair GFCI circuit breaker was developed because standard GFCI breakers were randomly, and very intermittently, popping because of transients produced by the Intelliflo drive system. Pentair suggests they be used, so my PB installed one.

I have three systems, one with the Pentair GFCI breaker, installed by my PB, and two without, installed by me.. I have never had the CB pop in any of the three pools. I do have a surge protectors as the first thing power sees when entering the power panels.

Jim R.
 
I didn't realize Pentair had their own brand of GFCIs. Thanks for the tip. It's apparently made by Siemens:

Product Details - Industry Mall - Siemens USA

I wonder if it is similar to a Siemens QF220AH, which has an 22,000 amp inrush rating. I find that part number on the Siemens site but not for sale anywhere online.

My VF pump ramped up nice and slow so I wouldn't think inrush current draw would be a big issue.
 
Last edited:
I used the $21 set with no problems at all.

Not sure what kind of room you have toward the bottom of the picture, but if me, I'd move the whole pump down to give me a little more room when I'm doing filter maintenance.

Jim R.
 
Thanks Jim. No room towards where I'm standing, if that's what you mean--it's a narrow path; my back is to the house's water heater (yes, kept outside in San Diego in a little aluminum housing). The tan thing behind the filter is a 400K heater. Cleaning the filter means standing on the heater to pull up the grids.

I'm thinking I'll have to replace the 2-port Jandy to the right, moving it towards the three-port, then connect the union between the pump intake and the two-port. Looks like I have just under 4" of pipe on the intake and 4" on the output sides. Is that enough room for the unions?
 
On mine, the distance from the pump to the end of the coupling is just under 3"... You could just take the motor and controller off the new pump and bolt it on our old wet end. Would not need the unions and would not have to re-plumb at least this time.

Although my OCD would make me gut the whole thing, lay down a concrete pad, and redo it all... :)

Jim R.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply