VGreen motor VL100 Automation

[ligiman]

Good day. Long time TFP follower, first time post-er.

I wanted to give some update on anyone considering the VLink Wireless Motor Interface (VL100)as well as post a question for members that have found various workarounds.

First, I just purchased the VL100 to interface with my VGreen 165 VS pump. I am also in the process of converting to a SWG with the CircuPool U40 system. I thought I could both have more and easier programming of my pump to finetune my chlorine generation, as well as get rid of the large mechanical timer that is basically a duplicate function that the VGreen can do, and use the space to put the CircuPool control panel. (Also getting rid of my pressure side cleaner and booster motor as the motor has a leak and the off-brand cleaner doesn't do a good job, so I am going to try a wired robot cleaner for the first time...)

Anyway, after installing the VL100 correctly and spending hours over the weekend trying to connect it successfully, I then reached out first to the dealer I purchased it from, and then to Regal Rexnord (manufacturer of Century) who after initially telling me they don't really have tech support for the VL100, then arbitrarily gave me a phone number and email, saying if I call, I will "probably" get someone that doesn't speak English (no kidding!). After trying both ways (they DID speak a little English!), I was ultimately told via email that "they are experiencing firmware update issues from the server side, and that it could be weeks or months to re-initiate the communication back to normal." So basically new installations of the VL100 are not possible for the forseeable future (not sure how this affects VL100 owners that already have installed (maybe no changes to programming???)

So that is the PSA.

Now my question to those super smart members that have programmed/coded or found some workaround: Before I try to return this VL100, is there a way to program it to work differently with the VLink app or some other similar app, or is there some other way to have some wireless control of this motor using this or some other reasonably priced modules (I do not desire to purchase a $1K plus automation module that would be overkill for me, as I only have one body of water, no heater, light has a separate wireless controller...)

Thanks in advance for any insight or suggestions. I am not a programmer, but with good instruction, I am sure I can follow them and successfully resolve this if there is a fix for this, rather than waiting for a tech team in China to do this at some point, if ever...

Chris
Marble Falls, TX
15K gallon PebbleTec pool only with flagstone coping
Century VGreen 165 VS pump, sand filter, CircuPool Universal 40 SWG

Moved from here.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

@1poolman1 has experience with the VGreen products.

 

[1poolman1]

Welcome to TFP.

@1poolman1 has experience with the VGreen products.

Never installed that product, sorry.

 

[MSchutzer]

The Vgreen 165 does have four digital inputs that can be controlled by any 3.3 volt or 5 volt logic signals. You can program the control panel on the Vgreen 165 for four different speeds and then trigger those speeds via the digital inputs. There is also a priority to the digital inputs so you can make your filter/pump speed 1 (input 1) which is the lowest priority. Then make speeds 2, 3, and override higher speeds and use them for your cleaner, and other features that need faster speeds.

The digital inputs are optically isolated so you can hook them up to any low voltage source to trigger them.

I controlled my Vgreen 165 via the digital inputs and extra auxiliary outputs on my Aqualink system before I figured out how to enable the Jandy RS-485 protocol on the Vgreen 165.

 

[ligiman]

Mark,

thanks for that input. So I will pose this question to you and anyone else following: I found the Jandy IQPUMP01 Control For Jandy Variable Speed motor, and in another thread I read that the Vgreen 165 is physically identical to the Jandy FloPro VS 1.65 hp pump, and so I wonder if this wireless controller can be wired to the Vgreen (via digital inputs or the RS-485 port) and recognize it/function properly.

How did you figure out how to enable the RS-485 protocol on the VGreen?

Thanks in advance.

Chris

​

 

[MSchutzer]

Chris,

See this post and thread for info on enabling Jandy’s RS-485 protocol on the Vgreen 165 motor.

Post in thread 'Century (Regal) VGreen motor automation'
Century (Regal) VGreen motor automation

While I used the motor with with an Aqualink RS system, you should be able to just change the settings of the motor’s first two DIP switches to set it for the PumpIQ controller rather than the Aqualink RS automation.

The key is enabling the one configuration location that enables the Jandy protocol, once enabled DIP switch 5 selects either the Jandy protocols, or the native Modbus protocol.

 

[ligiman]

Mark,

Thanks so much. I had seen that post before, but a) was kind of intimidated by it initially , and b) not sure if it applied. But after reading it more thoroughly, it is not as intimidating as I thought, thanks to the work you did, so thank you so much for that. I have purchased the USB adapter and about to purchase the IQPUMP, and will be doing working on this once I get everything. I will update to confirm no issues with the IQPUMP so any other members can know as well. (Like you said, the only difference in the instructions would be to change the DIP switches).

Thanks again.

 

[ligiman]

Mark,

I wanted to let you know that I DID successfully link the Jandy IQPUMP01 to my Century VGreen 165 VS with the instructions you put together in the post referenced above. There were a couple of hiccups (had to close and re-open the Terminal program after restarting motor to re-establish communication, and some operator error, also), but overall it went pretty smoothly. As mentioned, the dipswitches are set slightly differently for the IQPUMP01.

Anyway, thanks again to you and everyone who contributed to this effort long ago! This control was very much want I wanted to do.