Remote control for pump and heater

[izzi]

Just joined. Eager to learn on this forum.
Just got a house with a pool recently so I know very little about pools. I know something about home automation.

What I want to achieve

1. be able to remotely control 4 pre-sets on the pump
2. be able to turn the heater on/off and maybe control the temperature (not a must)

My equipment (a few photos attached):

• Pentair Intelliflo-VSF pump
• Pentair Sta-Rite Max-E-Therm sr333na gas heater
• Hayward Pro-GRID DE6020 filter

What I learned so far is that I can probably connect such a relay to the pump with a serial cable (will have to purchase) and use Shelly to control those 4 manual speeds.
No idea about the heater yet.

Looking forward to any suggestions to solve this. Thanks!

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Welcome to TFP Izzy,

There are many members here who have brewed up some pretty amazing automation systems utilizing various resources including Raspberry Pi and Arduino. That stuff is simply way above my head. You can take a look at my low-budget automation system, linked in my signature.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Sorry, I posted too quick, so I'll continue.

Check out this link and search tfp for this controller. As I said, it's way above my head.

GitHub - tagyoureit/nodejs-poolController: An application to control pool equipment from various manufacturers.

An application to control pool equipment from various manufacturers. - tagyoureit/nodejs-poolController

github.com

As for the Flo Buster interface, I don't know anyone that has used it. It does claim to provide the same function as the Pentair Intelliconnect II interface. I'm not sure I would trust it connected to the delicate Electronics of a Pentair VS pump.

For heater control, I used a Sonoff TH16 Wi-Fi switch with probe. I purchase mine from Amazon about 3 months ago, but they are no longer available. Looks like you have to wait for shipping from China now. The switch passes through input power to the relay, so you'll need a dry contact relay between the th16 and the heaters fireman's switch for control.

Jump in and get your feet wet. Let us know if you have any questions.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I know you just moved into the house, but look around for a stray cable for the VS pump. They're shipped with the pump, so maybe the owner left it laying around somewhere.

 

[izzi]

Thanks for your input @Rancho Cost-a-Lotta . Your setup looks great. Electricity is not my big friend, but I will be researching step by step.
Here is another post by PoolBoyDave I've found useful. Maybe he can add something too.

Remote Heater and Pump Activation using Shelly

First, a few pics of the re-plumbed equipment pad. I bought and installed the heater last month, which required rerouting the pipes, and I added a bypass, because, why not. If you ever find yourself needing to reuse a valve or 2, get a Reed Tool Extreme Ream. Gold. Then, I didn't like...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[izzi]

@Rancho Cost-a-Lotta do I get it right that the heater can be operated through the fireman's switch? Here is what I found in the manual about connectivity. There is some other interface too.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Correct. If you remove the jumper on the fireman's switch, it interrupts the heaters call for heat, but retains other functions. Replacing it with a dry contact relay provides the ability to open and close the circuit. The circuit carries its own 24 vac power. Check out this TFP Wiki article prepared by others much smarter than me.

Heater Control with Automation - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[izzi]

Ok, I got the flo buster, the communication cable, the 24vdc power supply, and the shellys.
I still need a box, a receptacle, and some wire. I hope someone will be able to answer my noob electric questions because my biggest electrical achievement is probably wiring an additional outlet from a light switch.

First off, I want to remove the mechanical timer. There is a switch below it so there is not much sense in having the timer, as far as I understand. Plus I need space for a larger box.
On the left are the pump wires, and on the right - heater's.
Now, can I wire power from the switch to a new outlet (which will be in the box) and use the outlet's terminals to wire the pump and heater? The outlet itself is for the power supply.

Here is what I am aiming for - Pool Heater Shelly.jpg

 

[izzi]

With a bit of help from the interweb I was able to complete this project. This is not an example for anyone because I an not qualified for any of what I did, but it works. Couple shellys for 2 pump speeds, flobuster instead of an intellicom, another shelly to firman’s switch on the heater. Plus a 24vdc power supply and a step down to 12v for flo buster just in case as it’s spec’ed up to 24.