How to turn off solar heater?

[setsailsoon]

Two times in a row, I concur with Dirk. Don't do it. Get a qualified electrician experienced with pools. They won't do this for you but will be able to help you figure out a way to accomplish something less than a full automation $ such as a timer designed and rated for this service plus they will install to code.

Chris

 

[TexasBR]

Thanks both, I’ll look for a good size cartridge filter.
Dumb question - can I wire a the Superflo or Intelliflo to a power cord and plug into 110V outlet? This smart extension cord can handle 1850 watts, 15 amp, and has timer that works without internet. Running pump 3000rpm or less should work...can schedule both pump+circupool swg together for a poor man automation.

Kasa Outdoor Smart Plug by TP-Link, Smart Home Wi-Fi Outlet with 2 Sockets, Works with Alexa & Google Home, No Hub Required, Remote Control, Sunset & Sunrise Offset (KP400) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M6RS2LC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabt1_dlC_ghLQFb4M9A55C?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

You will find the washing of cartidges to be strangely satisfying as well as informative about what has been in the water lately

 

[caycarem]

Two times in a row, I concur with Dirk. Don't do it. Get a qualified electrician experienced with pools. They won't do this for you but will be able to help you figure out a way to accomplish something less than a full automation $ such as a timer designed and rated for this service plus they will install to code.

Chris

Inyopools says it's ok to wire Superflo with this cord PureLine 3-Prong Pump Power Cord, 6', 14 GA, 115V - SPX1250WA - INYOPools.com. Wife also told me it's perfectly ok to blow up the house if I messed up the pump wiring.
Actually no it won't be ok, thanks for the warnings! on second thought, I don't need to hook up the superFlo to a timer as it has its own timer, and no house would be blown up.
Perhaps the SWG can be hooked up to Kasa plug instead, which would be plugged in an existing outlet that run from the same pump analog timer box, for scheduling and phone control. what says ya?

 

[caycarem]

You will find the washing of cartidges to be strangely satisfying as well as informative about what has been in the water lately

LOL I didn't know that washing cartridges could be satisfying

 

[Dirk]

Inyopools says it's ok to wire Superflo with this cord PureLine 3-Prong Pump Power Cord, 6', 14 GA, 115V - SPX1250WA - INYOPools.com. Wife also told me it's perfectly ok to blow up the house if I messed up the pump wiring.
Actually no it won't be ok, thanks for the warnings! on second thought, I don't need to hook up the superFlo to a timer as it has its own timer, and no house would be blown up.
Perhaps the SWG can be hooked up to Kasa plug instead, which would be plugged in an existing outlet that run from the same pump analog timer box, for scheduling and phone control. what says ya?

Sorry, can't (won't) help ya with pool wiring... And just to be clear why not: blowing up your house is the not the worse thing that can come from mis-wiring a pool. Did your wife understand that potentially lives are at stake if you mess up the wiring, not just the house?

 

[ajw22]

Did your wife understand that potentially lives are at stake if you mess up the wiring, not just the house?

And maybe she did?

Best not to get in the middle of spousal discussions.

 

[caycarem]

And maybe she did?

Best not to get in the middle of spousal discussions.

 

[caycarem]

Sorry, can't (won't) help ya with pool wiring... And just to be clear why not: blowing up your house is the not the worse thing that can come from mis-wiring a pool. Did your wife understand that potentially lives are at stake if you mess up the wiring, not just the house?

maybe she did

 

[caycarem]

I just got this gigantic used filter clean and clear plus 420. It came with 1.5” inlet and outlet, I was wondering if it’s worth it to find the 2” unions and switch them out or the head loss is minimal?

 

[caycarem]

@Dirk, I have a solar question. I closed both Jandy never lube solar isolation valves both for the supply and the return line, but every morning there's a small amount of water leaking out of the lowest solar drain valve on the roof (there are 3 garden hose shutoff valves on the roof conntected to the panels which I leave all open). no leaking when the pump is running mid-day full speed. every night, after the pump is off, there is always a lot of water in the solar return line, held up by the valve. when I open the return isolation valve I hear the water runs down the pipes, through the (off)solar valve, into the pool return.
Is this normal or the return Jandy valve leaking and not able to block water running up the return line?
is the solar valve supposed to allow water flowing up the return line when solar is off?
temperature will get as low as 34 this week and I worry about freezing.

 

[Dirk]

Lots of questions...

Yes, you should worry about the freezing, so this is worth tracking down.

No, the solar valve should not allow water back up through the return line. So one or more of several things could be happening:
- The valve is defective and in need of a new rebuild kit.
- The actuator is opening the valve to the return line during pump runtime due to some errant setting in the controller.
- The actuator is set to not quite completely shut off flow up the return line. This might have been intentional or an oversight. If that valve is not a true solar drain down valve, perhaps the installer set it to stay open to the return line a crack to allow for the drain down. That would be very non-standard, but your whole solar plumbing setup is non-standard, so who knows. How to adjust an actuator to vary flow through the various ports of the valve as desired can be found on YouTube.

So you can try several things: rebuild the valve. Crack open the actuator and make sure it is set to completely shut off the return line when the the valve is in the solar-off position (which might circumvent the drain down kludge if my guess about that is correct). And/or after determining the solar-off position doesn't allow for flow up the return line, set the valve to solar-off and then disconnect power to the solar controller to eliminate any possibility it is inadvertently calling for solar heat and opening the solar valve to the return line.

With the two two-way solar shut-off valves in their off position, no water should be able to get past them. So one of two things is happening:
- One or both of the valves are defective and in need of a new rebuild kit.
- With the hose-bib drain valves open on the roof, you're getting enough air exchange through them that is resulting in condensation forming within the solar panel tubing which then drains down on top of the return's shut off valve. This is rather far fetched, for a couple reasons. (1) I'm not sure that would produce a lot of water in the return line, some maybe, but not a lot, and (2) most of that water would drain down the tubing and exit the panels through the supply pipe, not the return pipe. So that notion is a long shot.

So you could rebuild all three of your Jandy valves to eliminate some of those possibilities. After that:

Drain the system, and maybe blow it out, which you could do through the temporarily disassembled Jandy shutoff valves, and then shut off those hose-bib drain valves instead of leaving them open.

Try some of the other ideas from the third paragraph above.

And, of course, it could be something else that we haven't thought of...

 

[caycarem]

Lots of questions...

Yes, you should worry about the freezing, so this is worth tracking down.

No, the solar valve should not allow water back up through the return line. So one or more of several things could be happening:
- The valve is defective and in need of a new rebuild kit.
- The actuator is opening the valve to the return line during pump runtime due to some errant setting in the controller.
- The actuator is set to not quite completely shut off flow up the return line. This might have been intentional or an oversight. If that valve is not a true solar drain down valve, perhaps the installer set it to stay open to the return line a crack to allow for the drain down. That would be very non-standard, but your whole solar plumbing setup is non-standard, so who knows. How to adjust an actuator to vary flow through the various ports of the valve as desired can be found on YouTube.

So you can try several things: rebuild the valve. Crack open the actuator and make sure it is set to completely shut off the return line when the the valve is in the solar-off position (which might circumvent the drain down kludge if my guess about that is correct). And/or after determining the solar-off position doesn't allow for flow up the return line, set the valve to solar-off and then disconnect power to the solar controller to eliminate any possibility it is inadvertently calling for solar heat and opening the solar valve to the return line.

With the two two-way solar shut-off valves in their off position, no water should be able to get past them. So one of two things is happening:
- One or both of the valves are defective and in need of a new rebuild kit.
- With the hose-bib drain valves open on the roof, you're getting enough air exchange through them that is resulting in condensation forming within the solar panel tubing which then drains down on top of the return's shut off valve. This is rather far fetched, for a couple reasons. (1) I'm not sure that would produce a lot of water in the return line, some maybe, but not a lot, and (2) most of that water would drain down the tubing and exit the panels through the supply pipe, not the return pipe. So that notion is a long shot.

So you could rebuild all three of your Jandy valves to eliminate some of those possibilities. After that:

Drain the system, and maybe blow it out, which you could do through the temporarily disassembled Jandy shutoff valves, and then shut off those hose-bib drain valves instead of leaving them open.

Try some of the other ideas from the third paragraph above.

And, of course, it could be something else that we haven't thought of...

Dirk, I appreciate the detailed answer as always. I think I now understand 3 way valve. I leave the GL-235 at the solar OFF position, and from looking at the valve orientation in pic, it seems water can flow through solar return line? So I am guessing the problem may be at the 2 way solar return valve not stopping water going up. I just checked the valve it seemed loose, so I tightened the nut by hand. Not sure if that’d help, I’ll check again in the afternoon.

would this be the rebuild kit?
ATIE Neverlube Diverter Valve Kit 4720 Replacement for Jandy 2 Port or 3 Port Never Lube Diverter Valve 4720 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MXSV5S8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_Zu4UFbEAN1KSV

 

[Dirk]

I couldn't say. You'll need to get the model number of each valve off of the valve itself, and order accordingly...

 

[caycarem]

I opened up the 2 way and 3 way valves today. it's a Jandy 4716 2 way and a regular 3 way valve Hayward PSV3S2. You guessed correctly, the 3 way valve when OFF still leaves the solar return line wide open, must be for draining. When I redo my pad hopefully in next few weeks, I will replace it with the pentair solar valve that comes with the solartouch and place it at the supply side. I will also replace the 2 way with a clear check valve for the return. Thanks for your help Dirk.

 

[Dirk]

Sounds like a great plan. When you replumb, you can choose to leave those two two-way valves in place, but I really don't see the need for them. My system doesn't have them. When the three-way is in the solar-off position, no water can go up the supply side. Same for the check valve: nothing will go up the return side either. But both the new solar three-way and the check will allow water to come down, which is what you want, all the time. I can't think of any reason you'd want to isolate water from coming down, even in winter, especially in winter.

Which means you could skip rebuilding any of those existing valves, because they'd all be going away, at least until you replace all that copper pipe. Then you could use the old Hayward three-way for the return side of your plumbing.

 

[YonnyPiscinas]

I'm still working on updating my solar system. Valve relief and check valve added.
But still do not have any way of controlling the flow automatically (only have manual valves).
Summer has arrived and its getting hot! Bit of a pain manually switching the valves all the time.

As there are no 3 way actuators here in this country my plan is to add a solenoid valve (Hunter used for watering systems), 1"1/2" connections.

Valvula solenoide Hunter modelo PGV - 151 ( riego )

Conexión rosca: 1 1/2" (40 mm), Altura: 19 cm Longitud: 14,5 cm Anchura: 11 cm La purga manual interna y externa permite una activación rápida y sencilla a "nivel de la válvula". Caudal: de 5 a 27 m3/h; de 75 a 450 l/min

www.hidraulicamangusi.com.uy

Plan is to replace this with the manual 2 way valve in between the inlet/outlet of the panels.
So when activated the water will bypass the panels. Switched off it will close and water will flow through the panels. I'll need to add another check valve on the outlet of the panels so water will not be pushed back up.

 

[Dirk]

Hi Yonny, if you need any help with your system, you can start your own thread and we'll all help you there...

 

[caycarem]

Sounds like a great plan. When you replumb, you can choose to leave those two two-way valves in place, but I really don't see the need for them. My system doesn't have them. When the three-way is in the solar-off position, no water can go up the supply side. Same for the check valve: nothing will go up the return side either. But both the new solar three-way and the check will allow water to come down, which is what you want, all the time. I can't think of any reason you'd want to isolate water from coming down, even in winter, especially in winter.

Which means you could skip rebuilding any of those existing valves, because they'd all be going away, at least until you replace all that copper pipe. Then you could use the old Hayward three-way for the return side of your plumbing.

Agreed, that is in my plan I will toss those 2 way valves. I will get rid of most of the copper and replace the copper 3 way with the Hayward, but will leave some lengths as a heat sink for the heater. I'm redoing the whole pad except the heater unless I could find a good used one. I did a rough hand sketch of this, see attached. no full automation at this time as that requires a good chunk of cash...

So far I have:
-Superflo VS pump
-Flowvis meter/check valve (will place between filter and solar valve)
-Pentair CCP420 filter
-Solar touch controller (or I might just keep the GL-235 if I am able to connect to its booster pump terminals with the 353129Z cable from the superflo, to ramp up the Superflo to a high speed)
Still shopping for:
-SWG. likely Circupool Universal 40. I saw the Hayward Aquarite 40k gallon for $700ish the other day with "missing fasterners" but didn't know how good those are so I didn't buy. discountsaltpool listed them as 1.4lb/day, is it that a good number to go by when comparing with circupool (2.0lbs/day)?
-Robot cleaner. no idea what to get yet, maybe a dolphin. no room on pad, so I'll have to get rid of the Polaris pump and the 280.what to do with the polaris plumbing?
-copper to pvc threaded adapters (3), pvc pipes, couplings, unions, glue, etc. Is there a good and reasonable website to buy those things or Home depot/Lowes will have unions (if needed) that would fit the pump and filter? still investigating this.
-Superflo digital comm. cable. I can't believe how much it costs for a simple cable! Superflo/Super Max Pump Digital Comm. Cable Kit - 353129Z
-Jandy check valve with clear lid

 

[Dirk]

If Pentair automation is in your future, you'll want to have a Pentair SWG. If a Pentair IntellipH is in your future, you HAVE to have a Pentair SWG. There are bundles from Pentair that include the SWG, the SWG power supply and the actuators you need for the spa automation. I hate to see you putting together a Frankenstein system (various parts from here and there) that ultimately won't work all that well together. I get that your budget needs to take precedence, just be aware that if you someday wish to have a fully automated system, some of the things you've bought, or are about to buy, won't be a part of it...

 

[caycarem]

If Pentair automation is in your future, you'll want to have a Pentair SWG. If a Pentair IntellipH is in your future, you HAVE to have a Pentair SWG. There are bundles from Pentair that include the SWG, the SWG power supply and the actuators you need for the spa automation. I hate to see you putting together a Frankenstein system (various parts from here and there) that ultimately won't work all that well together. I get that your budget needs to take precedence, just be aware that if you someday wish to have a fully automated system, some of the things you've bought, or are about to buy, won't be a part of it...

Thanks Dirk, do you have a link to those bundles that I can take a look?