Low temps causing issues?

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jthom86

jthom86

In The Industry
Aug 18, 2024
15
Moore, OK
Pool is automated through a hayward panel. Freeze protect switches between pool and spa mode every 30 minutes. Actuators on pool and spa valves.

For the past few days below freezing, it has gone back and forth from pool to spa mode. Spa mode kicks in the heater so the water in there is toasty, relatively, throughout the day.

Today I got a call saying the pump was running dry, and after going back and forth, found out it was on the spa side. I'm a little lost because if anything, I would think we would have a loss of suction on the pool side. Client said pool is iced over, but main drains and return lines still function. Only when we switch to spa do we have a problem with the pump. Any ideas? In spa mode, the heather runs and keeps water warm, even if only for 30 minutes before switching back. The spa side would be heated so I'm not sure why there would be an issue. Only thing I can think of is the actuators failing.
 
And why is the heater included in freeze protection? Cycling it off and on at those temps will significantly shorten the lifespan.
 
jthom86 said:
Pool is automated through a hayward panel. Freeze protect switches between pool and spa mode every 30 minutes. Actuators on pool and spa valves.

For the past few days below freezing, it has gone back and forth from pool to spa mode. Spa mode kicks in the heater so the water in there is toasty, relatively, throughout the day.

Today I got a call saying the pump was running dry, and after going back and forth, found out it was on the spa side. I'm a little lost because if anything, I would think we would have a loss of suction on the pool side. Client said pool is iced over, but main drains and return lines still function. Only when we switch to spa do we have a problem with the pump. Any ideas? In spa mode, the heather runs and keeps water warm, even if only for 30 minutes before switching back. The spa side would be heated so I'm not sure why there would be an issue. Only thing I can think of is the actuators failing.
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Sounds like a bad actuator or someone played with the 3-position switch and turned the actuator "off" (middle position). Turn the heater off at the heater if you don't want it to turn on during freeze protection. Need to remember to turn it back on when the danger has passed or let the customer know in case they want to use the spa. Otherwise you will get a call from the customer saying the heater isn't working, you will go there, do a lot of troubleshooting, then slap your head remembering you turned it off.
 
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1poolman1 I told the homeowner not to mess with the switches, he had done so in the past not knowing what they did. The actuators have been functioning fine since their opening a few weeks ago, but it seems like the return side actuator fails every so often, and I'll get a call saying the pump is running dry. Is it possible for an actuator to fail, and turn the opposite way? That's what it seems like is happening, as it seems to run fine in one mode, then during switching it closes off suction altogether.
 
jthom86 said:
The heater is included because they want to use the spa. The pool was opened a few weeks ago. We just got cold weather this week.
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I would still argue that is not a good way to have the freeze protection setup. I use my spa at least weekly in the winter, many times several nights a week. When I want to use it, I whip out my phone, turn the pool to spa mode and turn the heater on. By the time I get changed into my suit, make myself a drink and find something good to watch on the outside tv, I have a nice and warm spa to enjoy.

My freeze protection kicks on 25 nights out of the year and in times like the past few days it spends the majority of its time in freeze protection. By my math, each winter my freeze guard cycles to spa mode about 2,000 times. If I had my freeze protection setup like they do, thats 2,000 times my heater is firing on with 99.9% of those times I have no intention of using the spa and am likely asleep... no thank you.
 
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JJ_Tex, I agree. I have no intention to leave the heater on if we experience more cold weather, but as I said, it was just for a few days because I opened this pool for a customer a few weeks ago and he was intent on having the spa running, and making an extra trip to change the settings on the panel in bad weather wasn't an option. Additionally, I had just fixed the heater for the customer, as he'd never had it working since he moved into the house. Sort of a few days for testing as I see it. In hindsight, leaving the temp set on the automation to run during the few days we were in cold weather might not have been the best idea, but I wasn't worried about it cycling back and forth 30 minutes over a few days. Next time it drops to freezing, I'll make sure the heater is off.
 
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