Intellicenter - I8PS - do i have enough slots?

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luckyc1423

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Apr 8, 2017
165
houston texas
I am educating myself on the electrical side of my system and not sure i fully understand how many circuits/relays i need. See below what i have, i would love to learn what is assigned to a circuit vs. a relay so i can identify if i need to get a daughter card.

I have the I8PS alongside 300w transformer

I have a sand filter
5 total intellivalves
1 blower
1 NG 400 BTU heater
9 globrites

1) Main Pump - 3 intellivalves
- suction - intellivalve to control pool/spa suction
- Return - intellivalve to control pool/spa chlorine & spa mode no chlorine.
- Return - Once on the pool/spa chlorine side of the loop i have another intellivalve that controls whether i allow water to the spa. so i can control when i have spillover and when i do not.

2) Second Pump - 1 intellivalve
- suction - dedicated drain
- Return - intellivalve to control flow going to waterfall or slide

3) Third Pump - 1 intellivalve
- Suction - dedicated drain
- Return - intellivalve to control flow going to waterfall or bubblers

4) Blower for spa jets.

5) 9 total globrights
- 1 in the spa, 2 in the 2 bubblers, 6 in the pool --> I have no need to control the lights independtly, so all lights would be controlled together.
*yes i know no one likes globrites, but its what i chose so have to stick with it at this point*

*I know i have 2 pumps going to my waterfall as i have 2 dedicated lines. that way if im not using slide or bubblers i can use max output of 2 pumps designing it this way. its a big waterfall/slide combo (8' tall x 20' long)*
 
3 relays for the pumps (one is the filter/pump relay), one for the blower, one for the lights. Leaves you three relays for future expansion.

You will need intellivalve extension card (s).

Globrites work great, until they don't. Right now replacement cost is about $450+ per. So budget for that every few years.
 
Lucky,

You will need a relay and transformer for each light (or set of lights) that you want to independently control..

So.. If you want all the lights to turn on and off at the same time, and be the same color, then you only need one relay and one transformer.

The valve actuators do not need a relay.. But there are only 4 valve drivers on a standard IntelliCenter, so you will need to buy an valve driver expansion card.

IntelliFlo style pumps do not need a relay.. but if any of your pumps are single speed pumps they will each need a relay.

The heater does not need a relay...

The blower will need a relay.

I suggest that you have a light over your equipment pad.. That will need a relay..

I don't fully understand your chlorine/no chlorine valve idea... I suggest that you make sure what you want will work, as most automation system have a preprogrammed method on how the pool to spa switching works.. Will this be a saltwater pool with a Saltwater Chlorine Generator??

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Thank yall for the feedback. So it sounds like i have plenty of relays, my only issue is i need a intellivalve extension cord, ill get that ordered asap.

Just for my knowledge - how would i determine what would need a relay? why doesnt the intellivalves or the variable speed pumps need relays?

Also in regards to transformers, how do you size that and determine how many transformers you need?

**asking questions to learn, but also for future readers looking at this post**
 
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Jimrahbe said:
Lucky,



I don't fully understand your chlorine/no chlorine valve idea... I suggest that you make sure what you want will work, as most automation system have a preprogrammed method on how the pool to spa switching works.. Will this be a saltwater pool with a Saltwater Chlorine Generator??

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
I probably made the system more complicated than it needed to be but in my mind it made sense. I know people hate chlorine but this is what we went with.

my plumber doesnt normally plumb pools the way we chose to do it, but i was adamite i wanted it this way. Hopefully it all works as expected.

The idea is:
1) have the spa only on, with the heater, and have no chlorine goign to the spa as we like to sit in the spa for a few hours and dont want to over chlorinate.

2) I still needed to chlorinate the spa, so i ran a loop off return 2 back to the spa return. i put a intellivalve there so i can turn this loop on, off, partially on (slow trickle), or have a cool overflow mode where it is wide open. Thought here is to not have it on much so doesnt raise PH, turn it on at ngiht while sleeping for a few hours to chlorinate, and only ever turn on again if i want to show off the overflow.

3) I ran 2 dedicated return lines to the pool (2 seperate loops). that way if return valves 1-4 (loop 1) start to leak i can shut return 1 off and still run return 2 while i make repairs. (5-8 loop)

4) added check valves on the spa loop to prevent any backflow of water when a certain part of the loop is not on.




1627786458102.png
 
Lucky,

The IntelliFlo style pumps are connected to constant AC power and are controlled by an RS-485 serial com bus....

The IntelliValves do use small relays on the electronics board.

When we talk about relays, we are generally talking about the high voltage relays.. the i8PS has eight of them.. They are used to power some external device that runs off of 120 VAC or 240 VAC.. Things like lights, blower motors, single or 2-speed motors, etc...

The transformer you listed above can provide 300 watts of power.. You need to find out how much power each light requires.. as an example if each light used 50 W then you could power 6 lights off of one transformer.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
luckyc1423 said:
I know people hate chlorine but this is what we went with.
Click to expand...

Lucky,

That is just not true.. We are all about chlorine pools.. A saltwater pool is a chlorine pool..

What we are against is the uncontrolled use of chlorine tablets.. We don't care how you chlorinate your pool as long as you have a clue what you are doing... What we are for, is for the home owner to routinely test their own pool water and maintain their CYA to FC relationship.. Per this chart.. FC/CYA Levels

As long as you do that you will never run into any issue with tablets..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
luckyc1423 said:
Also in regards to transformers, how do you size that and determine how many transformers you need?

**asking questions to learn, but also for future readers looking at this post**
Click to expand...

See page 1 in https://www.pentair.com/content/dam...g-led-light-manual-english-spanish-french.pdf

Maximum Wattage Using Multiple Color LED lights (with a 300 Watt Isolation Transformer)
IMPORTANT! When using multiple 12 VAC Pentair LED pool and spa lights the total allowable light wattage is 300 Watts maximum. The individual light wattage is as follows:
• One GloBrite Color LED Pool light is 15 Watts maximum
• One GloBrite White LED Pool light is 15 Watts maximum

Note that the Intellivalves are not Intelli now or in the foreseeable future. They are two position valves just like other actuators.
 

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luckyc1423 said:
I am educating myself on the electrical side of my system and not sure i fully understand how many circuits/relays i need. See below what i have, i would love to learn what is assigned to a circuit vs. a relay so i can identify if i need to get a daughter card.

I have the I8PS alongside 300w transformer

I have a sand filter
5 total intellivalves
1 blower
1 NG 400 BTU heater
9 globrites

1) Main Pump - 3 intellivalves
- suction - intellivalve to control pool/spa suction
- Return - intellivalve to control pool/spa chlorine & spa mode no chlorine.
- Return - Once on the pool/spa chlorine side of the loop i have another intellivalve that controls whether i allow water to the spa. so i can control when i have spillover and when i do not.

2) Second Pump - 1 intellivalve
- suction - dedicated drain
- Return - intellivalve to control flow going to waterfall or slide

3) Third Pump - 1 intellivalve
- Suction - dedicated drain
- Return - intellivalve to control flow going to waterfall or bubblers

4) Blower for spa jets.

5) 9 total globrights
- 1 in the spa, 2 in the 2 bubblers, 6 in the pool --> I have no need to control the lights independtly, so all lights would be controlled together.
*yes i know no one likes globrites, but its what i chose so have to stick with it at this point*

*I know i have 2 pumps going to my waterfall as i have 2 dedicated lines. that way if im not using slide or bubblers i can use max output of 2 pumps designing it this way. its a big waterfall/slide combo (8' tall x 20' long)*
Click to expand...
Sounds cool man, the difference between relays and circuits are relays are switches controlled by the board to interact with high voltage. For example(single speed pumps,lights, blower) they are just switches connected by a low voltage that turns them on and off. Circuits are integrated in the boards software that communicates with low voltage or valves for example for the vs filter pump when it’s in spa mode And it’s your designated jet return you can set different speeds for jets. Because the the board is communicating with vs pump through the low voltage and not turning them on or off by interrupting the voltage going to them. They can be wired directly to the breaker or line side of the relay. If you have the globrite white led they are 15w each so you can max load transformer at 20. Don’t fret though those extra relays can be used for outdoor lighting or sound systems. The only issue is the amount of actuators you have. The spillway could have been done without the extra actuator and designated line, it’s a feature that could have been programmed in.
 
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