Pentair Intellilevel - Feedback?

[Gorilla83]

Hi all,

I'm looking at picking out an autofill for our current build and my builder said he recently came across this new pentair unit but has not used it yet:

Pentair’s IntelliLevel Water Leveling Monitor is the pool and spa industry’s best water level for new construction with automation. - Pentair

Has anyone used this? My initial gut reaction tells me to go 'old school and simple' with a basic toilet valve setup like the pentair T40.

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[kimkats]

That looks interesting but kind of scary in that how much does it sell for and how does it work? What happens when it stops working? Can you replace it with the old school ones?

 

[Gorilla83]

That looks interesting but kind of scary in that how much does it sell for and how does it work? What happens when it stops working? Can you replace it with the old school ones?

I haven't received any cost info yet. My PB seems to be pretty swamped with several builds in progress at the moment but should get some more info soon. I assume when it stops working you fix or replace, assuming they still make a similar model. I assume pricing would be similar to the electronic "Levalor" that' out there - around 350-400 for the kit.

https://www.florida-sunseeker.com/p...th 100-Feet Sensor and 1-Feet Valve | $318.99

 

[Phoenix14]

I do pool service and just looked it up. My wholesale cost is 444.07. They do not stock them yet in this area.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Looks like a really complicated solution in search of a problem. I suppose if you were a real stickler about not having an autofill pot in your pool deck OR if your pool was built without an autofill, then this is the answer. Beyond that, the unit is a compilation of pressure transducers, switches and valves all of which can and will eventually fail. I’d hate to have to troubleshoot the “micro valve assembly” that allows the suction side pipe to be vented...standard autofill pot with a toilet bowl float valve works flawlessly for 99.9% of the pools out there.

 

[ChadJ]

Looks like a really complicated solution in search of a problem. I suppose if you were a real stickler about not having an autofill pot in your pool deck OR if your pool was built without an autofill, then this is the answer. Beyond that, the unit is a compilation of pressure transducers, switches and valves all of which can and will eventually fail. I’d hate to have to troubleshoot the “micro valve assembly” that allows the suction side pipe to be vented...standard autofill pot with a toilet bowl float valve works flawlessly for 99.9% of the pools out there.

I agree. Another creative option I've seen to avoid having the autofill pot and cover in your pool deck is to run the PVC fill line over to somewhere near your equipment pad or other less obtrusive location, and locate the whole assembly there. As long as the run is unobstructed and the mounting height of the unit is correct with the waterline height, it does not matter where the pot and float assembly are located. The one I saw was around the side of the house a good 35' or more from the pool edge. Pool is now around 8 years old and it still works flawlessly.

 

[fredpamm]

I've been testing this for Pentair for about a year. It works great and keeps my Florida pool filled during the dry season. It is a great piece of equipment.

 

[Gorilla83]

I've been testing this for Pentair for about a year. It works great and keeps my Florida pool filled during the dry season. It is a great piece of equipment.

Thanks for the feedback! It's been hard to find anyone here using one.

 

[Jeffnhelen]

Is this just too new? I don't see it for sale anywhere. Don't really want to pay the PB marked up prices.

 

[Gorilla83]

Is this just too new? I don't see it for sale anywhere. Don't really want to pay the PB marked up prices.

Certainly hard to find. Since we switched PB's and not wanting to test/R&D it we'll be sticking with a manual/valve based autofill.

 

[hotwater9]

We have a different auto fill product that has worked flawlessly for the 12 years we have had our pool. I will post a picture of it when I get home. I would not have a pool without it.

 

[hotwater9]

 

[Jeffnhelen]

We have a different auto fill product that has worked flawlessly for the 12 years we have had our pool. I will post a picture of it when I get home. I would not have a pool without it.

I've seen the Jandy/Zodiac Auto-fill, but figured since I'm going all Pentair products that I would keep it in the family. I found that Sunplay has the IntelliLevel on their website now for $399, but they only sell it for local pickup right now. The Levolor is closer to $300 and has been out for years so not sure why Pentair thinks they have something that is worth almost $100 more. If it was more than just automated and actually intelligent and interfaced with the EasyTouch or IntelliTouch to let you know how many gallons of water it was or wasn't adding each day so you can set up alerts for possible leaks then Im sure that would justify the price difference. But alas, it's just another Pentair Intelli product thats not very smart at all.

I'm actually thinking of adding another valve to my smart irrigation controller and let it determine how much water to add based on it's evaporation logic and hyperlocal weather forecasts. $40-$50 for a good valve and a few feet of extra pipe and I'm done.

 

[Mickey Moose]

...

If it was more than just automated and actually intelligent and interfaced with the EasyTouch or IntelliTouch to let you know how many gallons of water it was or wasn't adding each day so you can set up alerts for possible leaks then Im sure that would justify the price difference. But alas, it's just another Pentair Intelli product thats not very smart at all.

...

Seems smart to me. From https://pentairpool.com/en/products/automation/intellilevel water leveling monitor...

* Simple to set up and use
* Communicates current water level
* Monitors both fill amount and time
* Notifies if fill fails
* Indicates flow rate deviation and pump activity
* Works to reach desired level in a single fill
* Eliminates jumper settings

To be fair, maybe the page I linked didn't contain the detail I quoted when the previous post I responded to was made. And, sure, "alerts for possible leaks" may be missing but that's a real challenge as how does the system determine leak vs evaporation vs draining. Leak vs evaporation, for example, could be different based on geography. I am in Texas and have a lot of evaporation relative to somebody in Canada. And here lately, due to highly excessive rain, I've had to drain water a number of times which is way out of the ordinary.