Replacing an Aqualink with an IntelliCenter

[ajw22]

This thread is for me to work out what I do in upgrading my 20 year old pool equipment. Jandy RS8 automation, 1.5HP SS Pentair pump, Pentair Mastertemp 400 NG heater, IC40 SWG, typical pool/spa combo with spa spillover, Pentair JVA actuators on suctions & return Jandy valves, 1HP pump for spa jets, Polaris 380 pressure cleaner with booster pump, air blower, control panel in house and by spa.

@MyAZPool Please confirm that the Pentair Intellivalves that come with the Intellicenter are just actuators and just bolt on the top of Jandy valves? They are not real valves that you need to plumb into.

My thinking right now is to replace the Jandy RS8 with the Intellicenter and my pump with the Intelliflo 011028.

I think I will get the Intellicenter 8 - I8PSIC60 - bundle that includes the Intellivalves and the IC60. My IC40 is a few years old and undersized for my 35K pool. So I can drop in the IC60 and have the IC40 as a spare. I will also get the Indoor control Panel and the Spa Command Controller.

My relay setup will be:
1 - Filter Pump
2 - Spa Jet pump
3 - Air Blower
4 - Polaris cleaner pump
5 - Pool Light
6 - Maybe equipment pad light

I need the Comm Port expansion board to connect to:
- 2 Intellivalves
- SWG
- Mastertemp heater
- Intelliflo pump

Current Jandy panel and pump pic is below.

Existing Jandy RS8 Panel

• ajw22
• Apr 17, 2019

Jandy RS8 Panel Circuits

• ajw22
• Apr 17, 2019

Pentair 1.5HP SS Pump

• ajw22
• Apr 17, 2019

 

[MyAZPool]

This thread is for me to work out what I do in upgrading my 20 year old pool equipment. Jandy RS8 automation, 1.5HP SS Pentair pump, Pentair Mastertemp 400 NG heater, IC40 SWG, typical pool/spa combo with spa spillover, Pentair JVA actuators on suctions & return Jandy valves, 1HP pump for spa jets, Polaris 380 pressure cleaner with booster pump, air blower, control panel in house and by spa.

@MyAZPool Please confirm that the Pentair Intellivalves that come with the Intellicenter are just actuators and just bolt on the top of Jandy valves? They are not real valves that you need to plumb into.

My thinking right now is to replace the Jandy RS8 with the Intellicenter and my pump with the Intelliflo 011028.

I think I will get the Intellicenter 8 - I8PSIC60 - bundle that includes the Intellivalves and the IC60. My IC40 is a few years old and undersized for my 35K pool. So I can drop in the IC60 and have the IC40 as a spare. I will also get the Indoor control Panel and the Spa Command Controller.

My relay setup will be:
1 - Filter Pump
2 - Spa Jet pump
3 - Air Blower
4 - Polaris cleaner pump
5 - Pool Light
6 - Maybe equipment pad light

I need the Comm Port expansion board to connect to:
- 2 Intellivalves
- SWG
- Mastertemp heater
- Intelliflo pump

Current Jandy panel and pump pic is below.

ajw22
Allen,
Correct. Just the actuator. They bolt on to the valve just like any other actuator. BUT, please see my thread: Valve Actuator Mounting SOS. When re-plumbing, don't make the same mistake I did. I dodged a bullet there but had to do some McGivering on some of the Jandy Valve Diverter Splines.

That will be a nice setup and looks like you have done good research.

Might as well get the Serial COM Port Expansion board. You will need anyway it to take advantage of the RS-485 capabilities of the IntelliValve when the update is released, and it gives you some more serial and COM port connectors as well.

Ping me or PM me if you have any specific questions.
r.

 

[ajw22]

ajw22
Allen,
Correct. Just the actuator. They bolt on to the valve just like any other actuator. BUT, please see my thread: Valve Actuator Mounting SOS. When re-plumbing, don't make the same mistake I did. I dodged a bullet there but had to do some McGivering on some of the Jandy Valve Diverter Splines.

Rob, I saw that about your valve problems. I sort of understand the problem. I did not intend to make any plumbing or valve changes. Below is my actuator setup. Does it look like Intellivalves will be a problem?

Return valve pool/spa

• ajw22
• Apr 17, 2019

Suction valves

• ajw22
• Apr 17, 2019

 

[MyAZPool]

Rob, I saw that about your valve problems. I sort of understand the problem. I did not intend to make any plumbing or valve changes. Below is my actuator setup. Does it look like Intellivalves will be a problem?

Allen,
1. I don't think it will be a problem with the Return Valve - Pool/Spa. But that vertical is close. If you want to give me a measurement from center mass of the valve housing to the edge of the vertical pipe, I will measure it for you and let you know.
2. Same with the suction valve nearest the pump. Measure center mass of the valve housing to the edge of the pump basket lid.
3. Give me a measurement (center mass) from the valve that is labeled "MAIN DRAIN" and the one labled SPA SUCTION.
4. And the same from the valve labeled "MAIN DRAIN" to the "SKIMMER" valve.
If you give me those measurements, I'll use my IntelliValves and see if you will be okay.
Lastly, I am assuming that you are automating all 4 valves right?
r.

 

[ajw22]

Lastly, I am assuming that you are automating all 4 valves right?
r.

I was just planning to replace the two existing actuators.

I don't see any benefit in automating the main drain shutoff or the skimmer selection valve. Do you?

 

[MyAZPool]

I was just planning to replace the two existing actuators.
I don't see any benefit in automating the main drain shutoff or the skimmer selection valve. Do you?

Allen,
Let me put it like this. If I were utilizing any other automation system, probably not. With IntelliCenter you have 32 Feature Circuits and 100 schedules. There are all kinds of ways that you can use the added features of IntelliCenter to control those valves and I can sit and probably think of 5 to 10 right off the top of my head. Each valve will be it's own FEATURE CIRCUIT. You can schedule those FEATURE CIRCUITS any number of ways. You can run an hour from one skimmer another hour off the other skimmer or any combination of the two once you have five (5) preset valve positions to work from. You can run some of your cleaning cycle programming from the main drain and some from the skimmers or again any combination of the two. And all from one simple command. All kinds of various programs can be achieved because of the greater number of FEATURE CIRCUITS and SCHEDULES. And don't forget you can tie them all together using the macros (CIRCUIT GROUPS) (of which you have 16 maximum). Lot's of possibilities!
Let me know what you decide and on those measurements if you want and I will check it out for you.
r.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Or.... you can just swim in your pool...

Jim R.

 

[MyAZPool]

Exactly!! And now with my latest "High Tech Swimming Pool AutoPilot System" (and of course, some of your good advice Jim), I spend a lot less time maintaining and I have much more time to now. Thanks!!
r.

 

[ajw22]

Let me know what you decide and on those measurements if you want and I will check it out for you.

Rob, pics with measurements are below.

I could take the two existing Pentair actuators and move them to the Main Drain valve and Skimmer valve, if they fit. I am not sure they will fit and I am not going to move pipes around for that. I can figure that out at installation time.

Will the Intellivalves have any problem fitting where the two existing actuators are?

Thanks for your help.

Pool/Spa return actuator measurement

• ajw22
• Apr 18, 2019

Main Drain valve to Skimmer valve measurement

• ajw22
• Apr 18, 2019

Pool/Spa suction actuator to Main Drain valve measurement

• ajw22
• Apr 18, 2019

Pool/Spa Suction actuator to Pump measurement

• ajw22
• Apr 18, 2019

 

[MyAZPool]

Rob, pics with measurements are below.
I could take the two existing Pentair actuators and move them to the Main Drain valve and Skimmer valve, if they fit. I am not sure they will fit and I am not going to move pipes around for that. I can figure that out at installation time.
Will the Intellivalves have any problem fitting where the two existing actuators are?
Thanks for your help.

ajw22
Allen,
Yes, you could use your two existing Pentair actuators if they fit. Just remember, that they will have degraded capability compared to the IntelliValve's capabilities, when the anticipated update is released.

Installing an IntelliValve at that 3-way just prior to the pump will be close. You will need a minimum of 5.5 " from center mass of the valve housing to the end of the IntelliValve (including about 1/4" to bend the cable around. Same with the Pool/Spa actuator. Very close.

Here are two illustrations. This first one shows the measurements of the IntelliValve. I think it better for you to just take this info that I have provided and then you can determine what will fit where in your existing plumbing layout.



This one shows four of my six IntelliValves. The only IntelliValve in the illustration that is actually mounted correctly is #3. The other three are mounted opposite from their normal mounting positions due to not having enough room to mount them properly. #4 would not fit because of #3. #1 would not fit properly due to a vertical pipe just to the left of it. #2 would not fit because of #1. They were all very close but just not enough room. I had to modify three of the four valve diverter splines as I spoke about earlier, just to get them to fit within my plumbing layout.



I hope this helps you out a bit.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
r.

 

[ajw22]

Thanks for the picture. I think they will fit as is. Since I will be replacing the pump with an Intelliflow I can move the pump back a bit to ensure the Intellivalve fits.

I laugh at your description of “degraded capabilities” for using the Pentair actuators. I hardly know why I will automate those valves at all let alone why I would need the advanced capabilities on those two.

Next step is getting some pricing for installs or deciding if I want to take on the install.

 

[ajw22]

I finally got around to wiring up the CBs in my IntelliCenter. It is replacing a 20 year old Aqualink panel.

I plan to lift off the Aqualink panel and drop in the IntelliCenter panel and wire the equipment to the new relays.

Below is the wiring I have done. I always like QC checks and if @Jimrahbe @MyAZPool and others can let me know if I messed up any wiring.







Pic of old Aqualink Panel...

 

[Jimrahbe]

Allen,

Just too darn neat you show off.. Very nice!!

I assume that the IntelliCenter system transformer is supposed to be wired for 120 VAC. Using the EasyTouch manual it is wired for 220 VAC. The IntelliCenter may be different, but please double check before you power it up.

The SWCG transformer is correct.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Allen,

My EasyTouch's manual shows how to wire both the SWCG and System transformers for 120 or 240 volts.. I don't see that in the IntelliCenter manual. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right one.

In any case, I doubt that you are wrong, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Just for my future use, please send me a good pic of the diagram on the inside of the cabinet door..

I found a different IntelliCenter manual and it shows the system transformer as Black is hot, Violet is Neutral and Yellow is capped off, just like the EasyTouch.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Poolbreh]

Allen gets to answer all those intellicenter questions now. Looks clean brotha.

 

[ajw22]

Jim Saves the day. Have to swap yellow and violet on IC transformer.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Allen,

Thanks for the pics.. I thought it would have been stupid of Pentair to use a different wiring diagram for the IntelliCenter. But then again, it is Pentair.

Glad you caught it early.

Jim R.

 

[ajw22]

Fixed violet wire..,

 

[ajw22]

Allen,

Thanks for the pics.. I thought it would have been stupid of Pentair to use a different wiring diagram for the IntelliCenter. But then again, it is Pentair.

Glad you caught it early.

Jim R.

I think I had just hooked up the SWG to the relay which uses the yellow wire for 240V and still had yellow on my mind.

That’s why I double and triple check my work.

I have someone working with me for the panel swap to have two sets of eyes and at least one brain engaged while doing it.

Thanks.

 

[ajw22]

So thinking out loud here and comments welcome..

Posting the new and old panel in this thread gave me an opportunity to study the small differences between them. You would think swapping panels would be simple but a few differences make more work.

First, is that the knockoffs and their sizes are in different locations. The existing conduits are not going to line up with the IntelliCenter knockoffs and their different sizes. Just going to need to figure out how to align things when the old panel is off.

Second, The ground bar on the Aqualink is mounted at the bottom of the cabinet while on the IntelliCenter it is mounted in the middle. It does not look like most of the nine ground wires will not reach up to the IntelliCenter ground bar. I doubt there is much slack to pull wire up.

I think I am going to buy a separate ground bar and mount it in the bottom of the IntelliCenter.

Third, I have been questioning the best grouping of devices on circuit breakers.

Aqualink panel has:

• 240V - filter pump, SWG, cleaner, pump, heater
• 240V - spa jet pump, spa blower
• 120V - Lights
• 120V - Aqualink

I wired the IC for:

• 240V - filter pump (Intelliflo VSF) , Intellichlor SWG
• 240V - spa jet pump (2 HP Whisperflo)
• 240V - cleaner pump (PB4-60), Spa Blower
• 120V - lights
• 120V - Intellicenter

Which of the three 240V breakers should I put the heater on?

On the Aqualink panel if the filter pump CB trips it turns off the SWG, cleaner pump, and heater. All of which you don;t want running if the pump is off.

However if you notice my 20 year old panel is grandfathered and does not have GFCI CBs for the pumps or heater. The new panel will fix that.

I am more concerned that a GFCI trip caused by the cleaner pump or heater does not shutdown the pool. And the Intelliflo pump can be 11.8 amps while the PB4 pump is 6.4 amps which is pushing a 20 amp CB. Although the VSF pump is not pulling anywhere near 11.8 amps at the speeds I run it at even while cleaning.

I also think failure modes where the VSF pump fails and does not trip the CB are more likely then CB trip failures. That used to not be the case with SS pumps where most pump motor failures will trip the CB. With a VSF pump we see more drive failures where the pump doesn't run and the CB does not trip. Do I really accomplish much by loading up the filter pump CB with all four devices?

I would rather keep the other pumps and heater on separate CBs so if they trip the GFCI the pool continues to run and it is no big deal. I can fix things at my leisure.

The cleaner and the spa blower will never run at the same time. I will probably add the heater onto that CB.

Do I care that the MasterTemp heater has continuous power and is not switched by the filter pump relay load side? I don't think so. It is controlled by the firemans switch and has the water pressure switch as a backup. It would take multiple failures for the heater to run without the pump running and the IC demanding heat.

My risk in wiring it this way is if the filter pump CB trips while the cleaner is running the cleaner pump can run dry for up to 3 hours. And if it trips while the heater is running hopefully the water pressure switch in the heater will do its job and shut it down.

Although the MasterTemp Installation manual says:

Any switches in the pump circuit (including circuit breakers) that can disconnect the pump must also disconnect the heater.

Which has me rethinking on which CB to put it. Although the manual does not differentiate if the heater also has automation control from the firemans switch which gives a secondary safety.

Thank you for listening and if you think I missed anything let me know.