Why I believe Pentair IntelliConnect is a pain in the Rear.

[berniedp]

Hi all,

My saga of trouble with the Pentair IntelliConnect continues - so I decided to do a write-up of the entire thing... Enjoy

April 2020:

Had Intelliconnect installed (alongside an IntelliFlo pump & iChlor) to replace some old kit that was installed at the home I bought a month earlier.

May 2020 till April 2021:

• Link2O app issues every now and then making it unusable
• Pentair replaced this with Pentair Home (massive improvement, imho)

July 2021:

• 28th: Was impacted by the OTA firmware upgrade rendering the thing useless
• 30th: Contacted Pinch-a-Penny – they opened a case with Pentair
• 31st: Pentair reached out to me directly via email acknowledging the issue

Aug 2021:

Pentair came to my house to flash the motherboard making it functional again

Jan 2022:

• 23rd: Faced an issue / bug with the Intelliconnect freeze protection settings where the temperature settings became messed up while trying to adjust the RPMs
  • See: Weird issue with Intelliconnect Freeze protection temperature settings
• 23rd: Raised the issue with Pentair
• 27th: Pentair reaches out to investigate the issue:
  • They perform reset
  • Issue remains the same
  • Technician defines it’s “app related” and puts in an inquiry to see when the app update will be released
  • Haven’t heard from them since

Feb 2022:

• 15th: Am contacted by Pinch-a-Penny who tell me “We finally got the motherboard from Pentair to fix the issue from last year” – yes, the case they raised with Pentair in July 2021 . I explained that this was already fixed but thought that this would obviously fix the freeze protect issue! So, hey, yes, let’s do this…
• 17th: Motherboard is replaced with a PNRA1 version running the controller software from June 2020.

The good news: my freeze protection is working again…

The bad news: my pump now restarts every 15 mins… Intelliconnect restarts Intelliflo VSF every 15 minutes

All in all, I know this was a cheap-ish solution compared to the more expensive pool automation systems but knowing what I know now, I wouldn't buy it again... While past performance isn't necessarily an indicator for the future, I'm not convinced at all Pentair has a good grip on this one...

Bernie

 

[Jimrahbe]

Bernie,

See this link.. Intelliconnect restarts Intelliflo VSF every 15 minutes

Talks about not using the PRNA1 board..

Jim R.

 

[berniedp]

Bernie,

See this link.. Intelliconnect restarts Intelliflo VSF every 15 minutes

Talks about not using the PRNA1 board..

Jim R.

Hi Jim,

I did see that (I referenced it as well in my post) - but honestly didn't realize that on Thu when they put it in... It's surprising that Pentair would be sending out replacement parts for their partners (Pinch-a-Penny in my case) to install that have a fault like this...
I know about the worldwide semiconductor shortage so I get it up to some point but am curious how this will get sorted out...

Bernie

 

[berniedp]

Just for posterity - after raising another case with Pentair as well as my local pool provider (who installed the latest Intelliconnect motherboard), I got a visit from a local Pentair representative and they did a software upgrade of the IC. That fixed the pump recycling!