Pentair IntelliFlo VS-3500 (011013) Pump Drive Control Board

[vsrubar]

Hi all, I've been a member for ten years and the forums have always been super helpful so this is my first time to post for assistance. Our IntelliFlo VS-3500 pump quit working last week so we had my brother-in-law who works in medical equipment electronics repair over to troubleshoot it. He found that water had gotten in one of the two top screw holes from the cover being left open when it rained and the control board has shorted out. He can install a new board if we can locate one so I'm hoping someone on here can point me in the direction of an online source? The pump was installed in 2011 so we have eight years out of it but due to too many other repair expenses around the house the past few months we're really hoping to get a few more years out of it if possible. I did find a post in the forum with a link to the board for the 011018 pump but not sure if it would be backwards compatible with the 011013 which only has a touch pad without the display screen?

In the meantime, with the scorching days and nearly daily downpours of rain in our area south of Houston, the pool is well on it's way to a nice shade of green. My husband will be picking up jugs of liquid bleach this afternoon and is wondering if a couple of sump pumps would be of any use in circulating the water...or would those be a waste of time?

Thanks!

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to posting!

Add the liquid chlorine -- target 10 ppm FC worth. Use your brush to push the water around and do use the sump pumps.

Most of the time from what I have seen the drives on the Intelliflo pumps are not worth repairing.

Lets ask @ogdento and @JamesW if they can provide you some guidance.

 

[vsrubar]

Thank you! I'm in sticker shock looking at the new pumps...thinking as much as our pump cost in 2011 we could try and repair it but I don't want to invest as much as I've seen the replacement drives listed for, not to mention that I haven't found one shown as definitely fitting our 011013 model. I've seen other posts where folks have had their pumps go out in much less time than the eight years this one has lasted...iyo what would be considered a realistic average lifespan for this type of pump?

 

[mknauss]

In your climate, you got a reasonable life out of yours.

I do not see an automation system. You can get lower priced VS pumps. Check out Inyopools or Circupool for what they offer.

 

[vsrubar]

Okay, thanks...I hoped we'd eventually get an automation system but it's probably not in the cards anytime soon. I followed a link to the Inyopools site last night, how important is it to get a pump shown as being designed for a saltwater pool? I never really thought about that with the Pentair...

 

[mknauss]

All pumps are designed for salt water pools. There is no difference, but marketing speak. Some of the Inyopools pumps have a relay in them that you can wire your SWCG through so it will only be powered when the VS pump is running. Great feature.

 

[vsrubar]

Thanks for that info, I suspected as much. So I noticed there are VS pumps with different HP motors to choose from on the sites you suggested...how do I determine what HP would be best in a replacement pump when 3 HP was the only option back when we put the IntelliFlo in? Is it based on the size of the pool?

BTW, the sump pump and liquid bleach is working well so far...I know we need to get a pump going asap though.

 

[mknauss]

Stay with the 3 hp VS pump. No significant savings in going smaller hp. A Pentair 011028 will plumb in where your existing pump does.

 

[ogdento]

Hi guys,
There are two boards inside the pump - one in the keypad/display and the other that does the variable frequency drive/vfd. the vfd board is "potted" into the housing with epoxy and is not intended to be removed. the keypad board might be replaceable - i'm not familiar with which ones work with which pumps though.
Here's a post from another member I was chatting with - he had a few failed pumps and was able to disassemble and repair them... it might be of some use!

Pentair Intelliflo 011018 _ Water inside the display

I have a 2015 Pentair Intelliflo VS variable speed pump 011018 in which water got inside the poorly designed display. The pump is still running but on the last programmed low speed only. The display is blank and I can't run or program the pump to any other higher speed. A fix would be to...

www.troublefreepool.com

-Tom

 

[vsrubar]

Hi guys,
There are two boards inside the pump - one in the keypad/display and the other that does the variable frequency drive/vfd. the vfd board is "potted" into the housing with epoxy and is not intended to be removed. the keypad board might be replaceable - i'm not familiar with which ones work with which pumps though.
Here's a post from another member I was chatting with - he had a few failed pumps and was able to disassemble and repair them... it might be of some use!

Pentair Intelliflo 011018 _ Water inside the display

I have a 2015 Pentair Intelliflo VS variable speed pump 011018 in which water got inside the poorly designed display. The pump is still running but on the last programmed low speed only. The display is blank and I can't run or program the pump to any other higher speed. A fix would be to...

www.troublefreepool.com

-Tom

Thank you for that info Tom! I'm pretty sure it's the keypad board since that's where the water appears to have leaked in at. Doesn't look like Dr. Bill ever came back and replied on that post at least not that I can find. I searched online for the Danfoss model LCP 102 he mentioned but I'm not confident enough one would be workable for my older model pump at this point to take a chance on ordering one.

 

[ogdento]

Hey you're welcome... as far as the Danfoss replacement goes, Danfoss may very well produce those board but I'm not sure what firmware it would be loaded with if you were to buy one. With that said, what is yours doing (or not doing) specifically... does the lcd show anything at all? do any leds light on the panel? can you run the pump at all by pressing buttons in the right sequence without the lcd?

 

[vsrubar]

Hey you're welcome... as far as the Danfoss replacement goes, Danfoss may very well produce those board but I'm not sure what firmware it would be loaded with if you were to buy one. With that said, what is yours doing (or not doing) specifically... does the lcd show anything at all? do any leds light on the panel? can you run the pump at all by pressing buttons in the right sequence without the lcd?

The IntelliFlo model 011013 we have doesn't have a lcd disply, it only has led lights...it was checked and confirmed to have power coming in but is completely unresponsive to the buttons being pressed. I noticed one of the three bolts going into the top of the touchpad part is covered with a white powder about 1" up from the bottom, when attempting to screw it back in place it no longer goes all the way flush so I suspect whatever the white powder is fell off into the bottom connector space. We recently replaced the spider gasket in the multiport valve after it developed a leak, it's possible the saltwater dripped down from the valve onto the drive and with someone leaving the lid open was able to seep down onto the electronics and short the board out. This could explain the white powder as being evaporated salt water right?

I think it's time to bite the bullet and replace the pump, then we'll have all the newer bells and whistles this one doesn't have.

 

[peterl1365]

I think it's time to bite the bullet and replace the pump, then we'll have all the newer bells and whistles this one doesn't have.

Just want to say that I think you're making the wise choice. You're not likely to find the correct Danfoss board for sale in the US, and there's little guarantee that replacing the interface board will solve your problem. The LCP-102 boards that I see for sale seem to be for Danfoss' industrial products. They adapted these for use in the Intelliflo line, but they almost certainly have a different firmware for different applications. The industrial version will have an entirely different set of menus and control parameters.

 

[vsrubar]

Just want to say that I think you're making the wise choice. You're not likely to find the correct Danfoss board for sale in the US, and there's little guarantee that replacing the interface board will solve your problem. The LCP-102 boards that I see for sale seem to be for Danfoss' industrial products. They adapted these for use in the Intelliflo line, but they almost certainly have a different firmware for different applications. The industrial version will have an entirely different set of menus and control parameters.

Thanks, going that route was really just not worth the risk. I found a really good price on a new 011028 model and ordered it this morning! ?

 

[ogdento]

Hey that's great, let us know how the swap goes!
Tom