Pool pad automation/monitoring

[uraceulose]

Test kit showed up today:

8.2 ppm FC
7.8 PH
120-130 alkalinity
530 CH
80 CYA

Nice to have a good kit finally and not have to go to Leslie’s twice per week!

 

[ajw22]

You have high CH and high TA which is going to give you a high CSI.

Turn on CSI tracking in PoolMath and have it calculate your CSI. You want to keep your CSI below +0.3 which will probably require running a lower pH until your TA reduces.

 

[ajw22]

Can anyone tell me based on these photos if I can add a swg to that existing open relay slot?

Can you identify which wires go to the pump?

And can I add intelliconnect or do I need to go to a full on IntelliCenter in order to go automated?

No it will not. I answered that in post #60.

 

[uraceulose]

CSI is .54

I added 40 oz of muriatic per the pool nothing else so far.

Okay one pair of the green/yellow wires run from the pentair data cable at the pump to the intellicomm box.
The other pair are going to the heater.

The hot/neutral/ground wires run into the breakers.

There is a metal junction box where the booster pump wiring and primary pump and heater power all tie in.

The blue wires in the photo run from the 7/8 slot on the intellicomm box to the transformer in the aqua switch box where there is 3 relays as well one for heater, one for pump and one for booster pump. The other bigger wires (red/black) that are clearly/cleanly visible in the intellicomm box photo run to the booster and primary pump transformers over in the aqua switch box.

So it seems to go power directly from breaker to accessories then power wire from transformer to relay then control wire to intellicomm box then back to pump, heater and booster.

What doesn’t make sense to me is that there seems to be no control wire from the intellicomm box to booster pump There is power going to it but no green/yellow small (low voltage?) wires running to the booster although the pressure side vacuum kicks it right on

 

[uraceulose]

Referring to the photos in post #78

 

[uraceulose]

Are these photos and descriptions helpful or not enough?

 

[ajw22]

Okay one pair of the green/yellow wires run from the pentair data cable at the pump to the intellicomm box.
The other pair are going to the heater.

The hot/neutral/ground wires run into the breakers.

There is a metal junction box where the booster pump wiring and primary pump and heater power all tie in.

The blue wires in the photo run from the 7/8 slot on the intellicomm box to the transformer in the aqua switch box where there is 3 relays as well one for heater, one for pump and one for booster pump. The other bigger wires (red/black) that are clearly/cleanly visible in the intellicomm box photo run to the booster and primary pump transformers over in the aqua switch box.

So it seems to go power directly from breaker to accessories then power wire from transformer to relay then control wire to intellicomm box then back to pump, heater and booster.

Please take this text and annotate photos with what wires connect to what.

It becomes difficult connecting the text with the pictures you have posted.

Do we see a picture of the metal junction box where the booster pump wiring and primary pump and heater power all tie in?

What doesn’t make sense to me is that there seems to be no control wire from the intellicomm box to booster pump There is power going to it but no green/yellow small (low voltage?) wires running to the booster although the pressure side vacuum kicks it right on

The booster pump is not a VS pump.

The Intellicomm will only control one VS pump, which it is doing.

Do you understand how the Intellicomm works in translating analog relay switches into the digital RS-485 commands the VS pump needs?

 

[uraceulose]

Thank you. I will pull heater panel, junction box cover and annotate with arrows.

 

[uraceulose]

On the 4 thumbnails below...from the intellicomm box in the 4th photo...there are 2 pairs of green and yellow wires. One pair runs into that RS-485 connector that plugs into the pump and the other pair runs into the heater...(on the heater) the green wire runs straight to the ground there, the yellow wire coming out of the intellicomm box is wire nutted into the black/yellow wire inside the heater then runs up to the back of the pool heater thermostat and then there is a black/yellow wire that also jumps over out of that same wire nut to the "TH" terminal on the heater control.



On this junction box below is where the pump, heater, booster pump all tie in and run back up to their respective breakers in the aqua switch box/power center.



On these 4 photos...from the intellicomm box in the 4th photo...the 2 blue wires are running from the intellicomm box over into the transformer and I cannot tell if those are the wires for the booster pump or the main (VSF) pump but of the blue/red/black pairs in the intellicomm box...one of each pair runs to the relay for the heater, VSF main pump as well as the heater. The first photo is where the timers for the booster pump as well as the heater/pump ramp up connect to the relays. It is looking from the rear of the photo of the front of the aquaswith box where the 3 out of 4 slots are taken up and labeled as relays.



If this is still a bunch of gibberish, please let me know and I will start shutting off breakers and pulling wires completely out to hopefully make it more clear.

 

[ajw22]

from the intellicomm box in the 4th photo...there are 2 pairs of green and yellow wires. One pair runs into that RS-485 connector that plugs into the pump

The yellow/green pair from screws 11/12 on the Intellicomm are the digital speed comm cable to your Intelliflo pump.

and the other pair runs into the heater...(on the heater) the green wire runs straight to the ground there, the yellow wire coming out of the intellicomm box is wire nutted into the black/yellow wire inside the heater then runs up to the back of the pool heater thermostat and then there is a black/yellow wire that also jumps over out of that same wire nut to the "TH" terminal on the heater control.

That connects the heater to screws 9/10 Program 4 on the Intellicomm so the Intellicomm knows when the heater is running to change the pump speed.

On this junction box below is where the pump, heater, booster pump all tie in and run back up to their respective breakers in the aqua switch box/power center.

So there are four conduits going into the box but you don't tell me where each conduit runs to.

You talk about the respective CBs but have never shown a clear picture of the CBs in the Aquaswitch nor labeled what each CB powers.

On these 4 photos...from the intellicomm box in the 4th photo...the 2 blue wires are running from the intellicomm box over into the transformer and I cannot tell if those are the wires for the booster pump or the main (VSF) pump

The blue wires trigger 7/8 Program 3 speed on the Intellicomm.

but of the blue/red/black pairs in the intellicomm box...one of each pair runs to the relay for the heater, VSF main pump as well as the heater.

The red wires trigger 5/6 Program 2 on the Intellicomm.

Nothing is connected to 3/4 Program 1 on the Intellicomm.

The black wires connected to 1/2 on the Intellicomm power the box.

I suspect that the blue wires and red wires connect to the relays in this jumble of wires. You need to follow the wires and show exactly what screws each wire connects to.

The first photo is where the timers for the booster pump as well as the heater/pump ramp up connect to the relays. It is looking from the rear of the photo of the front of the aquaswith box where the 3 out of 4 slots are taken up and labeled as relays.

I see 3 relays in the picture above but you don't tell me which relay the heater, filter pump, or booster pump are connected to with which wires.

When you show me a snippet view like below I cannot orient what I am looking at with what the manual shows.

Please show me entire boards.

If this is still a bunch of gibberish, please let me know and I will start shutting off breakers and pulling wires completely out to hopefully make it more clear.

What are you looking to accomplish with this exercise?

What are your questions?

 

[uraceulose]

Okay so yes, the when the heater kicks on..it runs program 4 on the VSF pump then runs on program 2 for a cool down period or until the timer clicks over and then it reverts the pump to program 1 which runs 24/7 if nothing else kicks on as the schedules program is always overridden by any manual programs kicking on.
The booster pump is what runs on program 3.

The conduit runs to the 1) booster pump, 2) heater and 3) VSF pump then the 4th piece runs back over to the breaker box to power everything up.

The blue and red wires do run up over to the relays and the blues must be the booster pump.

The red wires must be the "heater cool down" as that is the only time that program 2 ever comes on. The way that whoever wired it is set where there is a light switch up in the house living room where if the timer (Intermatic Pool Spa Timer 120v 24hr PB913N66) is set to come on AND the heater switch is flipped AND the on/off switch on the heater itself is ON...the heater will automatically come on and automatically kick off per the Intermatic timer AND the VSF pump will ramp up the RPM to 3000 (program 4).

If the light switch in the house is flipped OFF AND the Intermatic timer is still set to trip the heater/pump on/off...the VSF pump will kick on to program 2 but the heater will not come on. If the light switch in the house is flipped OFF AND the intermatic timer is set to run where it does NOT come on...the pump will just run program 1 on the 24/7 schedule.

I always keep the other intermatic timer set to run the pressure side vacuum from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM which is program #3 (blue wires) which kicks the booster pump on AND the VSF pump to run the vacuum.

My goal is to find out 3 things...

1) Am I able to add a SWCG into the 3/4 program 1 slot and everything still run copacetic?

2) What would I need to add in order to run the SWCG AND the Pentair PH dosing pump/reservoir system?

3) What would a good choice to run if I want to convert over to an automated system with WiFi capability to control from my phone?


From my understanding I would be able to add the SWCG but NOT the PH dosing system unless I change hardware to a box/controller capable of controlling 5-6 accessories in case for example the SWGC or PH Dosing system needs the booster to come on with it?

 

[ajw22]

The booster pump should only be coming on when the cleaner is running. It has nothing to do with adding a SWG or pH system.

You can add a SWG by wiring a SWG to wherever the pump gets its power from. I still cannot say exactly where that connection point would be and you need to figure that out.

Your system is really not compatible with a pH dosing system.

If you upgrade to a modern automation system like the Pentair IntelliCenter I suggest the Aquaswitch and Intellicomm be removed as well as all the creative wiring and your Intelliflo VS pump, booster pump, heater, lights, etc all be wired to the new system.

 

[uraceulose]

Ok thank you sir

 

[uraceulose]

About to pull the trigger on an IC-60 SWCG...with my setup (not going automated)...do I need the Pentair or aftermarket "power center" or can I use my existing aquaswitch box or wire it direct to provide power for the SWCG to run?

Thank you,

Donnie

 

[ajw22]

About to pull the trigger on an IC-60 SWCG...with my setup (not going automated)...do I need the Pentair or aftermarket "power center" or can I use my existing aquaswitch box or wire it direct to provide power for the SWCG to run?

Thank you,

Donnie

The IntelliChlor Power Center is required to power the cell.

 

[uraceulose]

Should I be wiring anything from the SWCG to the intellicomm box or just tie into pump power (I don’t know if my pump is wired for 220 or 110 but I’ll figure it out) and run the pump 24/7 like I have been?

I see the power center has the RJ45 port but right now I have one that runs from the intellicomm box to the RJ45 (green/yellow wires) to the pump and another port that runs to the heater using the green/yellow wires).
It’ll probably make more sense when I have the ic60 with the instructions/wiring diagrams in hand.

 

[ajw22]

Tie the Power Center power into the same circuit that powers your pump.

It is RS-485, not RJ45. You do not connect that to the Intellicomm or pump.

 

[uraceulose]

Sorry about that. Thank you, will do.

 

[uraceulose]

And then you would just turn swg to
0% when doing a filter change with it wired like this correct? Pump is wired 220. Going on salt generator tomorrow

 

[ajw22]

And then you would just turn swg to
0% when doing a filter change with it wired like this correct? Pump is wired 220. Going on salt generator tomorrow

0% would be OFF.