Question on heating pool and spa via app and schedules

[seattlemags]

Hi,

I just purchased a house with a pool and attached spa. It has a single gas heater that does either the pool or spa, but can’t do it at the same time.

I’m trying to figure out how it works, and I think I’m doing things wrong based on what I’m reading in these forums.

I’d like the pool to start heating at 3:00 AM and then continue heating until 10:00 PM. I want to be able to turn the heat to the spa in the evening on an ad hoc basis. For example, I’m leaving a restaurant and want to remote turn the spa on so that it can heat up by the time I get home. Then when it is done, I want to turn the heat back to the pool.

I’ve been doing that by going into the ScreenLogic app and pressing pool and then pressing the pool button on the top.

I think I’ve discovered through these forums that doing that screws up my schedule (which is what I’m experiencing).

I’m new to this, and am trying to figure out how to do it, but I might just call in a pool service company to show me (they are booked far out and a house call was a little pricey).

I have the Easy Touch that does the 4 schedules. I believe I only have 3 schedules, since my egg timers are set to 12 hours (although im not sure what the pool 0 egg timer is for).

So I guess my question is what is the best way to heat the spa and then go back to heating the pool, without breaking my schedules.

Thanks very much for any info!

 

[1poolman1]

If, when in "pool" mode your spa overflows, the spa will heat along with the pool and may get hotter than the pool.

If you have both the "pool heat" and "spa heat" enabled, the spa will heat to spa temperature when you turn it on and the system will revert back to pool temp when the spa shuts off.

 

[seattlemags]

Yes the spa overflows into the pool when the pool is on.

So it sounds like I should never have to turn the pool on and off if I have a schedule set for the pool? I just turn spa on and off? I didn’t realize that it would go back to the pool mode by turning the spa off. I’m assuming it must kick the pool back on due to the schedule?

Since I don’t mess with pool, that means it won’t get thrown off it’s schedule?

Thanks for the info!

 

[Jimrahbe]

Mags,

Your pool egg-timer is set to zero, so it counts as a schedule. You need to set it to 12 hours.

Egg-timers are used when you manually turn something on, but it will automatically turn off when the egg-timer times out.

You can schedule temperatures.. See below and you can see where I schedule different temperatures at different times.

Spa heater set up1.png

• Jimrahbe
• Dec 16, 2022

Because you have a "lite" version of the EasyTouch, you will have to make sure you don't have more the 4 schedules. Keep in mind that ScreenLogic will allow you to enter a bazillion, but only 4 will work.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[bradgray]

Yes the spa overflows into the pool when the pool is on.

So it sounds like I should never have to turn the pool on and off if I have a schedule set for the pool? I just turn spa on and off? I didn’t realize that it would go back to the pool mode by turning the spa off. I’m assuming it must kick the pool back on due to the schedule?

Since I don’t mess with pool, that means it won’t get thrown off it’s schedule?

Thanks for the info!

Yes!

Spa should be a temporary and manual mode overlayed on 24/7 pool schedule, based on how you've said want to use it.

Create a 24/7 schedule for your pool at a lower RPM like 1400-1600. 8AM - 7:59AM is my go to. I've seen issues with 8AM-8AM.*

The heater should be happy with that given a clean filter. Your cost to run that should be around $20 a month. This means your pool is always the default mode and your spa will always at least match the temp of the pool.

Enable the Spa mode temporarily by tapping that icon within the main landing screen inside the "spa menu" (where the big temp dial shows up). Optionally, you can set your egg timer for the spa to less than 12 hrs for this if you're never going to use it that long, to save money on heat if you forget to disable it.

Once you're done with spa, "unclick" the spa icon via the same spa menu screen and it should revert back to pool. You can open the pool menu if you want to be sure the Pool icon is green again.

*Also, if you do have the PSL4 and you're not worried about warranty, there are some really interesting threads on getting more features out of it (like changing scheduling limitations). Then you can do more schedules to pick it up again and ensure the system never accidentally gets stalled for very long.

 

[seattlemags]

Thanks all - this is super helpful.

I’ve set three schedules and put the spa egg timer at 90 minutes.

I’ve lowered the RPM for the pool down and have it running from 3:00 am to 10:00 pm. I think this should be just what I was looking for!

If I wanted the spa to heat up quicker when I turn it one, would increasing the rpm help accomplish that?

 

[bradgray]

If I wanted the spa to heat up quicker when I turn it one, would increasing the rpm help accomplish that?

There's debate about an inconsequential difference. Short answer is no.

But I do run the pump at 2100-2300 during spa mode for our spas. It just seems to create a better spa experience since most users expect visible turbulence even without dedicated jets.

 

[seattlemags]

Ok good to know.

Last question - for now! Does the default 12 hour egg timer mean that if the pool is turned on manually, or the pool/spa lights are turned on manually, does that mean that after 12 hours they would go off? Or, since it doesn’t count as a schedule, does it also not count as a valid egg timer (and is ignored)?

I appreciate all the info and help from everyone!

 

[Jimrahbe]

mags,

All the egg-timers set to the default of 12 hours still work, they just do not count as one of your 4 schedules.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[seattlemags]

Thanks everyone for the help. The schedules and egg timer are working perfectly now!