New motor needed, looking for thoughts

[guinness]

Keep one of the old 120v breakers for your EasyTouch transformer. You will need either the Siemens QF220AP or Pentair PA220GF for your pump - the latter is less sensitive to false tripping. I have the Siemens breaker for my pump and haven't had any issues with it.

Siemens 20 Amp Double Pole Type QPF2 GFCI Circuit Breaker US2:QF220AP - The Home Depot

Prevent a ground fault in construction applications like spas, hot tubs, kitchens or bathrooms with this Siemens Double Pole Type QPF GFCI Circuit Breaker.

www.homedepot.com

 

[1poolman1]

Keep one of the old 120v breakers for your EasyTouch transformer. You will need either the Siemens QF220AP or Pentair PA220GF for your pump - the latter is less sensitive to false tripping. I have the Siemens breaker for my pump and haven't had any issues with it.

Siemens 20 Amp Double Pole Type QPF2 GFCI Circuit Breaker US2:QF220AP - The Home Depot

Prevent a ground fault in construction applications like spas, hot tubs, kitchens or bathrooms with this Siemens Double Pole Type QPF GFCI Circuit Breaker.

www.homedepot.com

Peel the sticker off the Pentair and you will find that it is the QF220AP, at least when they first came out. My supplier that handled them carried both. The one in the Pentair box was about $40.00 more for the same item. Pentair may have been able to get them private-labeled now.

 

[Kjhoffman]

Tech came by and installed comms cable. I see now when I go into EZT via Screenlogic and go to intelliflo I can choose speed for pool, as well spa. I have both set at 3000rpm. I'll need to readup manual to see what else I can do in this regard. Id like to set pool to run at 3000 during day because of spillway, and maybe have it run overnight at a low speed. Not sure how to set this up yet, and not sure it is necessary but just playing with new toy

 

[guinness]

You didn't mention it but I assume the pumps electrical wiring is no longer on a relay? Running the spa spillway during the day isn't recommended (unless for aesthetics) since at 3000 RPM you'll be limiting your energy savings. If @Jimrahbe is around he can probably give you some pointers to setting it up more efficiently under ScreenLogic. See below for setting up a schedule to run Spillway for just part of the day.

Pentair Screenlogic - Spillway Feature Programming

Hi all, I'm hoping someone can help me figure out how to program my Pentair Easytouch 8 to have the spillway feature work. I have two three-way actuated valves that control the pool/spa suction and return lines to my new pool. So far I have been manually switching one of the valve actuators...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Jimrahbe]

Kj,

The whole point of having a VS pump is so that you can run it as slow as you can and still get the job done.

For reference I run my IntelliFlo at 1200 RPM, most of the time, so 3,000 RPM sounds pretty fast and noisy to me.

That said, it is your pool, and you can run anyway you want.

The simplest way to set pump speeds using the EasyTouch and ScreenLogic, is to make the "Pool" circuit the slowest speed you ever want to run and then add more Circuits (speeds) which will make the pump run faster. Here is my pump speed set up page as an example..

Heater Speed.PNG

• Jimrahbe
• Jan 3, 2019

You can see that my pool speed is about 1200 RPM and then I have circuits named Skim Low, Skim High, Waterfall. As I turn on those circuits, the pump will change speeds. But... the key to this whole mess, is that anytime the pump sees two or more speeds it will aways run the fastest one.

I'd be glad to help, so if you need help setting up you speeds, just let me know.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Kjhoffman]

Thanks Jim. I agree, I dont want to run at 3000, but just set that way till i figure things out. Prior to the pump upgrade, we had the pool set to run (filter/pump) 10am to 4pm. I have the actuator set to return water about 70% thru pool returns, and 30% to spa, causing the spillover which we like for the sound of the "waterfall". I did need to ramp up the new pump speed to get roughly same effect which surprised me, but that is the reason for close to 3000 at the moment.
I suppose a better approach would be to divert more of the return flow into spa. Is it possible to have different valve/actuator setting for pool and spillway, yet still have spa close the pool return ?

Today I activated the "Spillway" circuit and it looked like my spa was running. I guess it just diverted 100% of return to spa. I tried lowering the rpm on spillway but that didnt work and the noticed that when spillway was active, "pool" was also active.
So Here is what I think Id like to do and any suggestions are much appreciated:

Have pool circuit for low speed filtering of pool, maybe off hours
Have spa for spa usage
have spillover (or a new circuit such as "MySpillover") that runs during day time at lowest speed possible and still have the waterfall effect.

I tried setting that up today but dont think it was working as I expected.

Also another question..does screenlogic/EZT override the setting at the pump ? Because I see it running at 3000 but my highest setting in automation was set to 1200.

 

[Jimrahbe]

OK,

I came to this party a little late, but it appears you now have a WhisperFlo VST pump. It that true?

When the pump is being controlled by the automation, it should ignore all the speeds inside the pump. All speed commands should come from the automation.

I never suggest running the pool in the 'Spillway' mode all the time. In the Spillway mode, none of your pool returns will work and your skimmers won't work well, as the water is not moving.

I suggest that you just set up the Pool Circuit at say 1500 RPM, and then rename an unused Feature Circuit as "Skim High" or "Pool 2" or "Jim".. (It does not matter what you name it as long as it is not "Pool") Set this new Circuit for 2000 RPM Then Schedule the Pool Circuit to run the total amount of time you want the pump to run. Then Schedule the new Feature Circuit to run for the period of time you want your spa to spill over into your pool. As an example..

If Pool is scheduled for 8 am until 8 pm (1500)
And your new Feature Circuit is scheduled to run noon to 5 pm (2000)
This will happen...

At 8 am the pump will come on at 1500 RPM, at noon the speed will increase to 2000, at 5 pm the speed will drop back to 1500, and at 8 pm the pump will shut off. Obviously, you can set the speeds and times that I have used in this example to anything you want.

Show me your pump speed page that I shared above in my post 45.

Show me a pic of your pump's display with the System in Auto

It does not sound like your pump is being controlled by your automation.

VS pumps are not magic, in general, they don't move any more water at full speed than a single speed pump. It is not realistic to think that your spillover would look and sound the same, when comparing a VS pump at low speed with a single pump which is always running at full speed.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Kjhoffman]

Thanks Jim,
Yes I now have whisperflo vst pump. I will take some pics in the daylight tomorrow. I believe it is controlled via automation. I can see the speed and see it change when i increase/decrease thru screenlogic. It just seemed a little strange when I saw it up at 3000+ earlier since I dont have any features set for that speed. But otherwise I see when I turn on a circuit it changes to that speed. Until now Ive just used the automation for schedules etc.. I need to learn my way around the circuits and features now. Thanks for the advice, I will try to set it up tomorrow,..

 

[Kjhoffman]

Hi Jim, Happy Thanksgiving.
Attached are the pics requested. One showing the config settings, one showing the screenlogic display that shows pool circuit is running at 1500rpm. 2 pics of pump, one showing 1500rpm and the other showing Auto (since it toggles the display). Also another screenlogic showing rpm at 3450.

So here is what i did. I added MySpillway and set it to 1800 and had it set to run till 12:45 at which time it would switch to pool mode /1500rpm. Everything seems fine but I dont know why screenlogic showed 3450rpm earlier. I will need to keep an eye on it and see what it does tomorrow since I am unsure of exactly when it changed from 3450 to 1500 and why it would have been 3450 since the pool was set to 1800.

 

[Kjhoffman]

and to Guinness, not sure about the wiring. I will need to remove the cover again and take a pic to see if anything was changed when he installed to cable (I wasnt home at the time).

Happy thanksgiving All...

 

[Jimrahbe]

K,

If the pump is under the control of the EasyTouch, it should not run at 3450. Maybe it was priming???

Please make sure that the pump's prime mode is disabled. You have to do that at the pump, in the service mode.

Do me a favor, no rush.. With the system in AUTO and the pump running, watch the pump's display for about 5 minutes and tell me if there are any major changes every 30 seconds or so.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Kjhoffman]

So this morning I watched and when the pump starts it runs at 3450 for 5minutes. Perhaps the priming you mentioned. I havent looked at the pump setting yet. But after 5 minutes it dropped down to the speed it was set at.

I still havent figured out the circuits. I setup a new circuit and called it "myspillway". I set it to turn on this morning. I looked in screenlogic and the circuit was "running" since the button on the screen was green. But there was no activity in pool and screenlogic indicated pump speed was 0. What am I missing ?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Kj,

Not sure what the problem is.

Let me see your ScreenLogic circuits page like this one..


View media item 1964

And let me see your schedules like this...

Schedules1.JPG

• Jimrahbe
• May 27, 2019

ScreenLogic Heaters set up

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Jimrahbe]

And yes.. that is exactly what Priming does.. You should be able to adjust the max priming speed and length of prime.

Jim R.

 

[guinness]

I don't think your pump is in external control mode. From Installation And User's Guide below. You also need to program speed 1 to 0 RPM for 24 hours.

TO ENABLE/DISABLE EXTERNAL CONTROL ONLY MODE:

1. If the pump is running or Start/Stop LED is illuminated, press the Start/Stop button to stop the pump
2. Press and hold the Start/Stop button for 10 seconds to enable/disable External Control Only mode. The Ext. Control Only LED will illuminate if enabled.
3. Press the Start/Stop button to start the pump.

 

[Kjhoffman]

After earlier post I deleted the "Myspillway" from the schedule. So the schedule is only the two items shown here. Also,on the setup circuits page "myspillway" shows circuit as "spillway". Yesterday I had it as "generic", same result either way.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Kj,

On your circuit called "MySpillway" You do NOT want the Circuit function to be "Spillway". It should be Generic.

Here is the difference...

The Spillway mode is an actual mode built into the EasyTouch. To enable it, the Circuit function should be "Spillway" as you correctly have for Feature #1.. When the Spillway mode comes on, it turns the Intake valve to suck all the water from the Pool and Return valve to send it all to the Spa. You also need to add a speed for your pump to run in the Spillway mode.

Your MySpillway is just a circuit name. It has nothing to do with the actual Spillway mode. It is just a way to make the pump run at a particular speed. You could name it "Jim" or "Bob".. It is just a name, that only means something to you, not to the system.

I see your current Pool schedule is from 9:35 am until 4:30 pm.. This should be the entire time you want your pump to run.

Then schedule your MySpillway to run from 9:35 am until X:XX. This schedule does nothing to the valves all it does is tell the pump to ran at 1800 when the circuit is on. When the MySpillway circuit is off, the pump will run at 1500..

If this does not make sense, just let me know and I'll be glad to try again. It is like anything else, once you understand it, it seems simple, but until that happens it make no sense at all..

As a side note... What kind of Pool Light do you have?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Kj,

Just like @guinness, I am not at all sure your pump is talking to your automation.

Please confirm that you can adjust the pump's speed using the following ScreenLogic page and see a corresponding increase or decrease in the watts used.





Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Kj,

One of my problems is that most people with an EasyTouch have an IntelliFlo pump, but you have a WhisperFlo VS pump which has a different control head. The fix may be very simple, but we will need to work together to find it.

Also re-read post #55 from guinness as that might be the key we are looking for..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Kjhoffman]

Yes Jim, your first reply does make sense. I did originally have Myspillway set up as generic. However, it does not actually do anything on its own. Correct that if I have "pool" running then I can have "myspillway" come on at a different speed and it does change the pump speed. I guess what I was looking to do was to have "myspillway" run during the daytime hours when we are outside, and we would continue to get the "waterfall" effect that we like. But I dont want to run pump at a high speed so I thought I could set it up like "spillway" but a lower speed. Then I would have pump run evening hours for filtering purposes for example. I could just set speed for spillway to a low setting and just use that. I actually never have used spillway setting in the past, but the fact that I divert some of the pool return to the spa keeps that water circulating I suppose.

Yes, automation does control the pump speed. I can set and change thru screen logic and see corresponding speed on the display. So that part is working great.