I5PS upgrade / solar spa only

[tomswell]

Upgrade Design Concept , Maximize Spa heat gain.
We have never appreciably heated our pool as the Fafco array is not big enough to make a huge difference and all gain is lost overnight.
It's Free form pool ... all covers tried have been a hassle and long term not durable.
Even in the winter we get reasonable heat gain in the elevated pool side spa when operating in spa only mode. 70ºF up to 100°F not unusual.
I'm upgrading system controls with Intellacenter I5PS. The filter pump is an old VS3050.
I would like to program controls in such a way as to dedicate the solar to the spa only. My vision is to schedule pool filtration during non solar gain hours and allow built in solar control to kick in VS3050 when solar gain is available and at appropriate speed , actuating all three valves suction, return & solar so as to maximize spa heat daily.
I'm guessing all that may be needed if not directly programmable would be to add a DBL pole DBL throw relay "in line" with the suction valve that would enforce switching to spa suction when solar action is triggered. Presumably the built in AUX circuit could be applied to said relay.
Pool sweep has its own separate pump.
Am I crazy ? Is the I5PS capable without custom relay to force suction valve over to spa ?

 

[rstrouse]

The i5PS supports this function out of the box. You can define which bodies are available to the solar heater and also what the start and stop temp deltas are. As for the RPM increase simply choose the virtual solar circuit as one of the circuits for the pump.

EDIT: Maybe I didn't read this right are you trying to activate Spa mode when the start temp delta is achieved?

 

[tomswell]

Yes , when solar panels have appreciable higher temp than spa , "delta" , suck from spa and return to spa a gain.

wow , you sure have a lot of pool side features ! I'm looking forward to exploring i5PS menus and verifying proclaimed "out of the box". I've watched a few generic YouTube how to videos and read the manual , sure hope you are correct. Thanks for the encouragement.

 

[tomswell]

After sleeping on it I realized basically I'd be placing the spa in Jet or Gas Heater valve positioning mode AND diverting flow through solar panels.
I only have concerns about hysteresis [ short cycling ] and adjusting flow rate to establish optimal gain without manually "throttling " VS pump.
So wish there was an online IntelliTouch menu simulator to play with ... guess I'll just have to purchase, install and tinker.

 

[rstrouse]

If I recall IntelliTouch doesn't let you change the stop temp delta but IntelliCenter does (I have had both). There is an IntelliCenter demo for the web interface by going to www.intellicenter.com and clicking on the Demo button.

You do not have to manually throttle the VS pump as the speed will change when the solar kicks on. This is true for both IntelliTouch and IntelliCenter. It really doesn't cycle around. In fact with either system you can choose to heat with a solar preference where the solar heater will be used if there is sufficient start temp delta but will switch to the gas heater should the solar not be able to provide any heat.

FWIW I would never buy an IntelliTouch or EasyTouch. IntelliCenter while it doesn't really add that much in terms of features, all of the peripheral devices are cheaper, it has built in Ethernet, and it allows you to upgrade the firmware without pulling out the board, paying someone to upgrade it, or buying your own equipment. I had IntelliTouch for 8 years and now on IntelliCenter for 3.

 

[tomswell]

I get confused by the Pentair naming , I'm not terrifically Intella just doing as much learning before spending hard earned $$$ ... iP5S is what I'm after.
Thanks for the pointer to the "Demo" , wish there were more than two examples , at least I get a feel for the overall schema.