iAqualink iPhone app problem?

[bakerj7]

I have a Pentair iAqualink automation system. I've been trying to program it to run fours hours in the morning in Clean mode (in-floor heads) @ 2750, and four hours in PM in Solar Heat mode @ 2250. Clean mode seems to be working ok, but the Solar Heat mode is not. The speed is 2750, and the app says that Spillover is on even though it's not. It seems like it's running at Spillover speed, but not spillover mode. Will post pics ...

 

[bakerj7]

 

[bakerj7]

If there's any other info yall need (or I should have in my signature ) plz let me know ... thx to all

 

[MSchutzer]

Filter pump should be scheduled any time the pump is running, it should be 8AM to 4PM per your setup. This tells the system that you want the pump on, and it's speed will be the Pool speed (1400 rpm) unless you have another function active that is associated with a faster speed, then the fastest active speed wins.

What is "Clean Mode"? That is not a Jandy built in function. Do you have that set up as one of the One touch buttons? If so, please show us the programming associated with that one touch button (in the system setup menu).

Also there is no reason to limit the time the Solar heat is running, you can schedule it for the whole duration the filter /pump is active. Solar heat will not activate the valve to send water to the solar panels unless the temp sensor on the roof is at least 5 degrees above the pool temp, and then only if the water temp is below the pool temperature set point. You can just leave it on all the time and it will only activate (and increase the pump speed) when the panels are warm enough to heat the pool.

And just as a note, it's Jandy / Zodiac / Fludria that makes the Aqualink system, not Pentair.

 

[bakerj7]

 

[bakerj7]

My bad, I was thinking of the pump.
I have fixed the Filter Pump schedule to run 8am-4pm.
I can eliminate the Solar Heat program. But, I want to run the pump at a lower speed from noon-4pm, to continue to circulate and heat water. If I have no other program scheduled except Filter Pump, it'll run at Pool speed, 1400rpm?
I don't know an optimal speed for the solar (to maximize heating). I've seen alotta mathmathmath stuff out there, but still not sure how to compute GPM from RPM/Watts/PumpModel.
Is there a better way to program it to run in-floor heads other than "Clean Mode"?

 

[bakerj7]

These are my options when scheduling

 

[MSchutzer]

You will still want to have solar heat in the schedule, just set it for the same duration as the filter/pump function.
The normal way to set up the speeds is such that the pool speed (which is automatically associated with the filter/pump function) is the slowest speed that you have.

Then when you activate other things, such as cleaner the pump will increase the speed needed for that function. When the function ends then the speed drops back to the filter speed.

The solar heat function works the same way. This is usually a faster speed than your filter/pump speed because it usually takes a faster speed to push the water up to the panels on the roof. On my solar system if I run the pump too slow the vacuum breaker on the roof doesn't close all the way and I will start to get a stream of bubbles coming out of the returns. I set my solar heat speed about a hundred RPM faster than the speed where the bubbles stop.

The solar heat only runs the pump faster (if you have the solar heat set faster) if the panels are warm enough to heat the water. You can have Solar heat enabled, but if the panels are too cool then the JVA valve won't activate, and the pump speed will stay at the pool speed.

The screen shots of the one touch set up that you posted are for the setup of the one touch names. You want to go to System Setup / One touch Setup / Set Devices, and then click on your Clean Mode box.

Here is a picture of that screen for my filter/clean one touch setup. On the right you will see a list of the functions, and each one will be labeled as on/off. Be sure to also click page down so that you can see the second page of functions, I suspect that you may have spillover turned on by accident.

Here are a couple of screenshots from my system showing my filter/clean one touch item.

 

[MSchutzer]

I should have added that there's a lot of good information in the Wiki regarding the setup of VSP pumps.

See: Jandy Aqualink RS - Further Reading

 

[bakerj7]

What you're saying makes sense, but that's not how it's behaving. And that's what's been driving me nuts.
Like right now, 9am, the schedule has "Filter Pump" running (8am-4pm) and "Clean Mode" running (8am - 12pm). The pump is running 1400rpm, not 2750 for Clean Mode. Why? It's supposed to always run the highest speed. That should be 2750 right now.
If I change Filter Pump to run 12-4pm, then the only program running right now is Clean Mode, and it kicks up to 2250 for Solar Heat speed. But there is no "Solar Heat" program. Then about 10 minutes later it's telling me it's at 2750.
Yesterday I changed the In-Floor speed from 2750 to 2900, today it's back to 2750.
And in the current mode (whatever it is), it is still showing Spillover on, even though it's not in Spillover Mode.
Should I add a program to enable Solar Heat from 8am-4pm? That system turns itself on and off automatically according to pool/air temps, all I do is "Enable it".

I'll post some more pics and maybe you can help me figure out what this insane system is doing.

 

[bakerj7]

Pics to come ...

 

[MSchutzer]

You need to post the screens that show what clean mode is.
Clean mode is a one touch function and you don't normally schedule a one touch as they turn everything off when they turn off. By everything, I mean everything, not just what is turned on when you activate the one touch function.

Please attach screenshots of the devices setup for the clean mode one touch button so that I can see what you are actually activating when you turn clean mode on. See the screens in my earlier post, please show me those screens for your setup.

What do you want to happen when you turn on clean mode? Do you activate an auxiliary function to turn on your in-floor cleaner or just increase the pump speed?

I can tell from the setup gear icon in the corner of your Aqualink app screen that you have a very new system that supports virtual functions and that may be the right way to set up clean mode rather than using a one touch button.

But I really need to see what that one touch button is activating before I can figure out a better way to do what you are trying to do.

 

[bakerj7]

I removed Clean Mode from the programming, but here is the screenshot I think you are asking for.

 

[MSchutzer]

Please also click on pump1 on that list on the right and capture that window that pops up so I can see if any of the speeds for the pump are activated, and also click on the page down button on that screen so that I can see if any of the items on the second page of functions is being activated by clean mode. Keep pressing page down and capture each screen until you have captured the entire list of functions.

From what I can see from that screen capture that you posted Filter/pump and Solar Heat are activated on clean mode, but I suspect there is more active that you will see when you click on pump1, and when you page down.

 

[bakerj7]

I think I've figured out a few things.
Changing speeds in the app doesn't work. It flops back to the previous setting. Only in web interface.
When making a schedule there is an option in the scroller for "Pump1". When I select that, another scroller shows up with all the pump speeds, including In-Floor and Solar Heat speeds.
So I can remove the Clean Mode schedule and replace it with "Pump1 - In Floor" (2900) from 8am-12pm.
Then I program "Pump1 - Solar Heat" (2250) for 12pm-4pm.
Then I program "Solar Heat" from 8am-4pm, so it's always enabled and it can figure out for itself when to actuate.
Makes sense? You'd think so. But (see screenshots below), with this programming it is now 12:25pm and it is running In-Floor speed. I've cycled auto/service/timeout/auto, which usually causes it to resume normal operation according to the scheduled programming, no help. Power cycle the aqualink, no help.
What is going on with this thing? This is one of the most horrible user interface I've ever seen.

 

[MSchutzer]

Your screenshots didn't come through. ( I see the screenshots now)
You don't need to schedule speeds normally, you schedule functions and they automatically drive the speeds.

I agree the interface is not great, but once you understand the logic it is using what it does makes sense and it's predictable how it acts.

Please have a look at the Wiki link I posted earlier in the thread, it does a pretty good job of explaining how the system sorts out speeds, there was a lot of trial and error that went into figuring out how it works.

You don't usually need to schedule speeds, you schedule functions and speeds auto-associate in most cases.

In the schedule you would add Solar Heat when you want to enable it. If the panels are warm enough it will activate, and when activated it will automatically run the solar heat pump speed, unless a faster speed is already active. By adding a pump1 speed solar heat in addition to Solar Heat all you will do is to run the pump at that speed whether or not the solar heat is actually active, and that's not what you want to do. It will take care of changing the pump speeds automatically by just adding the Solar Heat function to the schedule.

What do you want to happen when you run clean mode? Do you just want to run the pump at 2900 rpm, or do you also activate an auxiliary that is associated with a Jandy valve that turns your infloor cleaner on? I can tell you how to do what you want to do, but I need to know what you want activated when you run what you are calling clean mode.

 

[bakerj7]

Thanks.
8am-12pm I want to run in-floor cleaning at 2900rpm.
12pm-4pm I want to run 2250.
I want Solar Heat enabled always. It's smart enough to turn on/off on it's own.
I think those are ok speeds for those two functions, but if you feel otherwise please let me know. I'm just guessing.
BTW, now about 30 minutes after rebooting the system, the pump speed reported in the web app Status has gone from 2900 -> 2250. I have no idea why it ran In-Floor for half an hour begore doing what it was supposed to.

 

[MSchutzer]

Okay, so to run your in floor cleaner all you do is increase the pump speed. I would have thought there was something more to that like an auxiliary that's linked to a Jandy valve or something.

You can schedule both those speeds and they should work, but I would stagger the overlap times by one minute just to avoid any possible speed conflicts at the start up of the Solar Heat speed. Start it a 12:01pm so that the start and ending of the two speeds don't happen at the same time.

I'll just note that there's no real need to have the Solar Heat speed in the schedule unless you really, really want the pump to run at the 2250 speed for all four hours in the afternoon. Normally you run the pump faster for a reason, such as heating, cleaning, spillover, etc.

If you don't schedule the Solar Heat speed then the pump will run at the pool speed (1400 rpm) until the solar heat activates and then it will automatically bump up to 2250rpm. If you get clouds, wind, rain, or something that cools off the roof sensor the solar heat valve will turn off and the pump will drop back to 1400 rpm.

It can be quite confusing when looking at the schedule when you have pump speeds scheduled in addition to functions, especially when they are both named the same. You see this with your schedule with both the solar heat function in the schedule and the pump1 Solar heat speed in the schedule. They both show up with the same name and that can be confusing.

There's also another way to add speeds to the schedule with the names that you want to use. Let's say you want to run 2250 rpm for some reason, but not necessarily because its called the solar heat speed.

Since you have the latest version of the system you have something like 25 virtual functions available to use. If you go into the web interface on the VSP pump speed setup page you will there is an Assign to Aux column next to each speed. If you click on that box you should be able to assign the speed to an Aux function, and if you scroll down on that list that pops up you can choose virtual Aux's. Choose aux V1 for the speed you want to assign.

Once you assign one of the virtual Aux's you can go to the Label Aux's screen in the setup menu and change the name of that Aux to whatever you want, lets say Speed 2250 for example.

Now this new virtual Aux will show up as something that you can add to the schedule. So you will able to add Speed 2250 to the schedule and not have it say Solar Heat, as this may be less confusing. You could also associate virtual aux V2 to the Infloor speed and then name that Virtual Aux as Clean mode, and then you could schedule that. That's a way of being able to name things as virtual functions and have them show up as what you want them to in the schedule.

I'm not sure why your speed setting aren't switching like they should, it might be related to the start stop overlap of the times.

Did you ever get the spillover indication sorted out, did that go away when you removed the Clean mode one touch?

 

[bakerj7]

I should program functions, then, not speeds. Let the (allegedly) smart systems figure out the best speed.
I've deleted the Pump1->SolarHeat speed schedule, changed SolarHeat function to 12:01, and changed the schedule to this ...


It has now dropped from In-Floor speed 2900 (inexplicable why it was doing that at 3:30pm), to 2250 - the correct solar heat speed.
So I think I got that figured out. The system knows to associate the Solar Heat schedule item (from the scroller when I select "Add Schedule")
with the Pump Speed labeled "Solar Heat". There is therefore, in theory, no need to tell it twice to run at 2250.
The "InFloor" in the schedule above (web interface) is Pump1-InFloor in the app. I am forcing it to run at 2900. If I want to program a function, not a speed, would I use the "Cleaner" function (found in the scroller when I select "Add Schedule")? You expressed earlier that that was maybe not right, cuz it's a OneTouch? I don't see any other option.
The Spillover button has now gone off, but I don't know why. I guess it just decided to.

 

[MSchutzer]

Yes, it would be better to schedule the Cleaner function. You must have DIP switch 1, position 1 turned on as the Cleaner function is showing up in the list of functions that you can choose.

Okay, at the risk of blowing your mind at some of the idiosyncrasy's of the system the Cleaner function is auto-associated with pump speed 3 regardless of what you have renamed it to. The system is internally hard coded to treat speed 3 as Cleaner, as that is it's default speed name. In your speed table you have this named Low Speed and have it set to 1400 rpm. When you turn the Cleaner function on the pump will run at 1400 rpm assuming you don't have any faster speed also running at the same time. I know, this is completely stupid, but that's the way it works.

I would suggest renaming speed 3 back to Cleaner (or InFloor), the name really doesn't make a difference, this is the speed it will go when the Cleaner function is active. Then set it to the 2900 rpm speed that you want.

Speed 8 with the default In Floor name is not pre-associated with any built in functions and that can be freely renamed. I would suggest renaming that to Low Speed and setting that to 1400, and associate that with Aux 5 if you want the Aux 5 button to be able to also activate it. But note that this speed really will never do anything if selected as the filter/pump speed is also 1400 rpm, and the fastest active speed wins, so if anything else is running the pump faster you won't get 1400 rpm when you activate this. You might want to use this for some other speed, High speed maybe?

After you reset speed 3 back to Cleaner, and set it for the 2900 speed then you can add the Cleaner function to the schedule and the pump will go to speed 3 (2900) when the cleaner function is scheduled.

Are you confused by the illogical nature of the programming yet?