That's what I am planning to do. I'll remote the 4 wires over the CAT6 and run both the RPi and the SL controller remotely. Thanks again for all your work. Its too bad Pentair is so lame about software support, but glad open source comes to the rescue again!
Pentair IntelliCenter Pool Control Dashboard Instructional Guide
- Thread starter MyAZPool
- Start date
That's what I am planning to do. I'll remote the 4 wires over the CAT6 and run both the RPi and the SL controller remotely. Thanks again for all your work. Its too bad Pentair is so lame about software support, but glad open source comes to the rescue again!
wgipe
Gold Supporter
- Jul 4, 2020
- 501
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
This is such a cool project. I finally got some time today and started to set up my RPi. When I go to download the modules from Github, it prompts me for a user and password. I didn't see that documented here. Is that something I need to PM someone to get? Am I perhaps doing something wrong? Thanks in advance for the help!
Wes
Wes
Ah yes. Yea, setup an account real quick. I need to remember to put that in there. Thanks for the heads up.
wgipe
Gold Supporter
- Jul 4, 2020
- 501
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
wgipe
Gold Supporter
- Jul 4, 2020
- 501
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
@MyAZPool - that worked just fine. Thank you. Now.....to wait until my IntelliCenter is installed. Probably will be a couple of weeks. The pool panel company jerked us around, and now the actual pool won't go in until early spring, as it's too cold now to safely install a liner. 2020.... The contractor was gracious enough to go ahead and pour the foundation and slab for the pool house, and I got that framed up last week, so as soon as I get a roof on it, I can at least have the winter to get my pad in tip-top shape.
That brings me to my question - I'll have the electric service in and the panel installed with all of the equipment set, just no water.....am I crazy to fire up the IC and play with this in the interim? My thought was I could leave the breakers off for the IC40, heater and pump so they don't accidentally cycle, and that would give me some time to play and get familiar with things. Any thoughts you have would sure be appreciated.
-Wes
That brings me to my question - I'll have the electric service in and the panel installed with all of the equipment set, just no water.....am I crazy to fire up the IC and play with this in the interim? My thought was I could leave the breakers off for the IC40, heater and pump so they don't accidentally cycle, and that would give me some time to play and get familiar with things. Any thoughts you have would sure be appreciated.
-Wes
Wes...
Hmmm. I think if you had the breakers to the pump/swcg, heater, pool/spa lights, etc. de-energized, then I don't think that would be an issue. Only the breaker to the system transformer (if it is separate from these other items), should be okay, so you can power up the system itself and get a head start. But it's late and the old brain is fried from today and so just to make sure that I'm not missing something, lets ask @ajw22 or @Jimrahbe just to make sure I haven't missed an important consideration.
Thanks
r..
wgipe
Gold Supporter
- Jul 4, 2020
- 501
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Thank you sir! Yes - The IntelliCenter control is on a dedicated breaker, so it’s possible to only have the brain powered.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 53,392
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
You should be fine.
Just take a careful look and confirm no equipment is powered and that your electrician wired it the way you expected. You never know when something was miswired.
Wes,
You are just like a kid before Christmas asking to open the gift early...
To be blunt... it won't hurt anything, but you are not really going to gain that much.. I suspect that the IntelliCenter is just like the EasyTouch when it comes to learning.. Trial and error is the best teacher.. You can't get much of either if the system is not up and running...
In my tiny mind, the key to how Pentair automation works is to understand the relationship between the terms.. "Circuit", "Circuit Name", "Circuit Function".. Once you understand that and how your automation is connected/wired to the pool, the rest is pretty easy....
Thanks,
Jim R.
You are just like a kid before Christmas asking to open the gift early...
To be blunt... it won't hurt anything, but you are not really going to gain that much.. I suspect that the IntelliCenter is just like the EasyTouch when it comes to learning.. Trial and error is the best teacher.. You can't get much of either if the system is not up and running...
In my tiny mind, the key to how Pentair automation works is to understand the relationship between the terms.. "Circuit", "Circuit Name", "Circuit Function".. Once you understand that and how your automation is connected/wired to the pool, the rest is pretty easy....
Thanks,
Jim R.
wgipe
Gold Supporter
- Jul 4, 2020
- 501
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
You are just like a kid before Christmas asking to open the gift early...
Guilty as charged.
Blunt is good.
I see your point. I guess I'll have to settle for this.
Wes
wgipe
Gold Supporter
- Jul 4, 2020
- 501
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Hey @MyAZPool - you mention in your fist post on this thread:
Thanks,
Wes
What sort of cover/remote support is possible? I will have a CoverStar CS3000, and have purchased the rotary encoder as well as the cover expansion board for the IntelliCenter so that I can automate salt cell production changes when the cover is open / closed. Just wondering what other sort of functionality might be possible.
Thanks,
Wes
I recently saw a good a thread here on covers and IntelliCenter. Had a lot of detailed info. You will need to do a search for it but it will be worth it. Lots of good info.
r.
r.
wgipe
Gold Supporter
- Jul 4, 2020
- 501
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I think you may be referencing my thread here: CoverStar Sensor with IntelliCenter?
I guess I was just curious what kind of cover features you guys envisioned with this project. Perhaps I misunderstood the post to mean there would be something more than the native IC functionality.
Thanks again for the reply.
Wes
The only thing I know about it is it is NOT designed to actually operate the cover. But instead to only give an indication of the cover "status" and will not let you turn on certain circuits like water features when the cover is closed.
Thank you all for great work! I apologize in advance if this has been clearly addressed elsewhere or I'm missing something real simple. Not experienced in nodejs. Anyway, I've read documentation and threads but seem to be stumbling getting dashPanel to communicate with poolController (6.1 with npm v 6.14 and node v 12.22) from remote pc (on same LAN), either with Linux or WIndows machines??? I am running poolController on a headless remote Orange Pi with Armbian Buster near pool equipment. njsPC seems to be running fine as I see valid data in /data directory. I can ping OPi and even run a simple nodejs "Hello" server from Opi which I can access from anywhere on LAN. Pool equipment is intellitouch i10 with old firmware.
Per great thread from you, the dashPanel npm start & seems to work. However, on remote LAN machine all I get is swimming pool with 'ham burgh' menus greyed when I http://192.168.xx.xx:5150. All I see on Opi is web connection?null. In my poolControl config.json I have for 'http' "enabled": true, "ip": "0,0,0,0" and for 'https' "enabled": false., "ip": "0,0,0,0". In my dashPanel config.json I have 'http' "enabled": true, "ip": "0,0,0,0" and 'https' "enabled": true, "ip": "127,0,0,1" (same as in defaultconfig.json). In dashPanel "services" I changed ip to 192.168.xx.xx (Opi static IP). I've tried "ssdp" "enabled" true but to no avail. Note I cannot (or do not know) how to get a GUI local interface on Opi to try out http://localhost:5150 since I am running headless. I run putty from in house and ssh to Opi.
Thanks again for your time. Your thread is one of the most detailed that I've read, and I feel somewhat embarrassed not being able to get this to work!
Per great thread from you, the dashPanel npm start & seems to work. However, on remote LAN machine all I get is swimming pool with 'ham burgh' menus greyed when I http://192.168.xx.xx:5150. All I see on Opi is web connection?null. In my poolControl config.json I have for 'http' "enabled": true, "ip": "0,0,0,0" and for 'https' "enabled": false., "ip": "0,0,0,0". In my dashPanel config.json I have 'http' "enabled": true, "ip": "0,0,0,0" and 'https' "enabled": true, "ip": "127,0,0,1" (same as in defaultconfig.json). In dashPanel "services" I changed ip to 192.168.xx.xx (Opi static IP). I've tried "ssdp" "enabled" true but to no avail. Note I cannot (or do not know) how to get a GUI local interface on Opi to try out http://localhost:5150 since I am running headless. I run putty from in house and ssh to Opi.
Thanks again for your time. Your thread is one of the most detailed that I've read, and I feel somewhat embarrassed not being able to get this to work!
@21MTLastBest
I'm really sorry to hear about the minor setback in getting up and running.
I compared your config.json files to mine and all appears to be correct there.
One question. What panel are you running? IntelliCenter, EasyTouch or IntelliTouch? Really, doesn't matter as the dashPanel can integrate with all three now. Just curious.
You got a couple of things going on there that are slightly different although I'm running my RPi's headless as well now. But I don't claim to be a SME in the finer points, when it comes to the connectivity issues especially.
Do this for me please.
Navigate to the "issue" page for njspC-dashPanel. Here is the link. dashPanel - Issues.
Create an "issue" there and give all of the details that you did here. The owner of the repository is very responsive and guaranteed he will have you up and running in no time.
Thanks and I'm looking forward to you getting off the ground with njspC-dashPanel. Please give us an update when it's all resolved. I'll watch for your issue over on the repository and follow the thread. Hopefully, I can glean something in your "issue" thread that I can use to help me make the instructions I provided a bit better.
Thanks...
r..
I'm really sorry to hear about the minor setback in getting up and running.
I compared your config.json files to mine and all appears to be correct there.
One question. What panel are you running? IntelliCenter, EasyTouch or IntelliTouch? Really, doesn't matter as the dashPanel can integrate with all three now. Just curious.
You got a couple of things going on there that are slightly different although I'm running my RPi's headless as well now. But I don't claim to be a SME in the finer points, when it comes to the connectivity issues especially.
Do this for me please.
Navigate to the "issue" page for njspC-dashPanel. Here is the link. dashPanel - Issues.
Create an "issue" there and give all of the details that you did here. The owner of the repository is very responsive and guaranteed he will have you up and running in no time.
Thanks and I'm looking forward to you getting off the ground with njspC-dashPanel. Please give us an update when it's all resolved. I'll watch for your issue over on the repository and follow the thread. Hopefully, I can glean something in your "issue" thread that I can use to help me make the instructions I provided a bit better.
Thanks...
r..
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intellitouch i10 (but very old firmware, circa 2012. Separately, sure wish I could update firmware without Pentair i-link protocal nonsense...) I will follow your link. I believe I have some sort of nodejs permissions issue where the server (poolControl) is refusing my connection? As I mentioned, your instructions where clear as daylight, and I can't believe I couldn't get this to work? Thanks for your time!
wgipe
Gold Supporter
- Jul 4, 2020
- 501
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Hey @MyAZPool - Have you seen this? How To Write Log Files In RAM Using Log2ram In Linux - OSTechNix
I'm in the process of building a monitor for my Generac 22kw standby generator, and the guy that wrote the code suggested this bit of code that swings the log files to RAM instead of the SD Card, and then syncs the logs to disk periodically. It cuts the writes to the SD card significantly, thereby greatly extending its time to failure. Do you think this would be worth looking at here also?
Source links (I would ask that folks respect the intent of this thread, as I don't want to hijack it with GenMon stuff. Just providing these links for reference in relation to this thread):
GenMon github link: Home · jgyates/genmon Wiki · GitHub
From the GenMon wiki on log2ram:
"Using a raspberry pi as an always connected monitoring device can be tough on your SD card as the linux kernel and installed apps are continuously updating the system logs. One way to prolong your SD card is to use the application log2ram. This program will create a RAM based disk for the /var/log/ directory. This RAM disk is periodically flushed to your SD card. This reduces the number of writes to the SD card which extends the life of the Flash memory on the card. This page describes how to install log2ram.
I'm in the process of building a monitor for my Generac 22kw standby generator, and the guy that wrote the code suggested this bit of code that swings the log files to RAM instead of the SD Card, and then syncs the logs to disk periodically. It cuts the writes to the SD card significantly, thereby greatly extending its time to failure. Do you think this would be worth looking at here also?
Source links (I would ask that folks respect the intent of this thread, as I don't want to hijack it with GenMon stuff. Just providing these links for reference in relation to this thread):
GenMon github link: Home · jgyates/genmon Wiki · GitHub
From the GenMon wiki on log2ram:
"Using a raspberry pi as an always connected monitoring device can be tough on your SD card as the linux kernel and installed apps are continuously updating the system logs. One way to prolong your SD card is to use the application log2ram. This program will create a RAM based disk for the /var/log/ directory. This RAM disk is periodically flushed to your SD card. This reduces the number of writes to the SD card which extends the life of the Flash memory on the card. This page describes how to install log2ram.
@wgipe
I have not seen that.
I didn't have a clue that system logs were so hard on the micro SDcard. But according to that OSTechNix article as well as the GenMon Wiki, it appears that they might be.
I would really like to get opinions from @cmc0619 and @Katodude and see what they think about this. They know way more about all of this than I do, so I would be interested to get their take.
Hey, thanks very much for sharing. This info may be very beneficial to us running Raspberry Pi's for pool automation, sensor and chemical control purposes.
r.
I have not seen that.
I didn't have a clue that system logs were so hard on the micro SDcard. But according to that OSTechNix article as well as the GenMon Wiki, it appears that they might be.
I would really like to get opinions from @cmc0619 and @Katodude and see what they think about this. They know way more about all of this than I do, so I would be interested to get their take.
Hey, thanks very much for sharing. This info may be very beneficial to us running Raspberry Pi's for pool automation, sensor and chemical control purposes.
r.
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