Wifi Controller for Aquarite SWG

Jump to latest Follow Reply
P

Poolnewb105

Well-known member
Apr 6, 2019
127
Ny
Hey guys, I was wondering if you guys knew of any standalone device that can control the Hayward Aquarite Salt Water Generator (picture attached)? I see there is a light for "remotely controlled" but I have yet to see a standalone controller.

I do not have a pool automation system installed and am just looking for a way to switch the Aquarite to super chlorinate remotely. It looks like there are green, yellow, black, and red terminals under a RS-485 setting. Is there a way to switch this to super chlorinate using a wifi relay? From my understanding, the black and red wires are for a 10-15v DC power supply but I'm looking for something that can tell the Aquarite to do via the yellow and green terminals.

I currently have separate standalone wifi devices so when I remotely turn on the pool heater, the pump speed ramps up and the shed exhaust fan kicks on. Adding super chlorinate to that automation would be the icing on the cake. This feature would be handy to run when the heater is on since it can begin to ramp up chlorine production in anticipation of people entering the pool soon.

Thanks a lot!
 

Attachments

  • 20200608_122011.jpg
    20200608_122011.jpg
    532.1 KB · Views: 37
  • 20200608_125109.jpg
    20200608_125109.jpg
    247.4 KB · Views: 33
  • 20200608_125056.jpg
    20200608_125056.jpg
    414 KB · Views: 33
Last edited:
It looks like you may be able to do this with the OmniHub, see the quote below from the Hayward Aquarite website. I continue to be frustrated that pool system automation is very expensive and historically didn't always give you full integration. I think this have gotten slightly better but the way that it used to be that you would pay $1000 for "automation" that would allow you to flip a few relays, but you wouldn't be able to adjust temp, or SWCG adjustments, readings, etc. FYI - I am doing some automation with my Control4 system just using relays to control heater on and off and pump on and off. But I can't read temps, can't control SWCG, etc.

Smart Pool Control integration for existing or new AquaRite installations with Hayward OmniHub smart pool control that delivers anywhere access, control, and management of the entire pool pad through smartphone or via Alexa®.
Click to expand...
 
wayner said:
It looks like you may be able to do this with the OmniHub, see the quote below from the Hayward Aquarite website. I continue to be frustrated that pool system automation is very expensive and historically didn't always give you full integration. I think this have gotten slightly better but the way that it used to be that you would pay $1000 for "automation" that would allow you to flip a few relays, but you wouldn't be able to adjust temp, or SWCG adjustments, readings, etc. FYI - I am doing some automation with my Control4 system just using relays to control heater on and off and pump on and off. But I can't read temps, can't control SWCG, etc.
Click to expand...
Gotcha, ya that's a little expensive and seems overcomplicated. I just want to send a signal over the yellow and green wires.

I'm with you 100% on the automation frustration. These companies are trying to rip people off with simple relays.most of the time.
 
When you can buy a RPi that can do all of this on the hardware side for <$50 then it seems crazy that you pay so much for the pool controllers. Supposedly the reason for high prices this is that the market is quite a small niche.

In my ideal world you would be able to control Pool pump on/off, read and adjust pool temp, read salinity, adjust SWCG percentage. Nice to haves would include reading FC level (or ORP) and pH, and controlling lights or water features. But I have a HA system that can do lights, waterfalls, etc so that is of little benefit.
 
wayner said:
When you can buy a RPi that can do all of this on the hardware side for <$50 then it seems crazy that you pay so much for the pool controllers. Supposedly the reason for high prices this is that the market is quite a small niche.

In my ideal world you would be able to control Pool pump on/off, read and adjust pool temp, read salinity, adjust SWCG percentage. Nice to haves would include reading FC level (or ORP) and pH, and controlling lights or water features. But I have a HA system that can do lights, waterfalls, etc so that is of little benefit.
Click to expand...

I never really familiarized myself 2oth the Raspberry Pi unfortunately. I guess I'll just stick to making weekly adjustments in hopes of chasing the bather load.
 
PoolNewb2020 said:
I think you would need someone with the Aquarite and Omnilogic system to measure voltages across the RS-485 terminals with the superchlorinate function turned on.
Click to expand...
What we need is that every control device (pool heater, SWCG system, etc) would have wifi connectivity and an open REST API. That should be cheap to add but no one wants to do that as they (Hayward, Zodiac/Jandy, etc) want to make you pay $1000 for a closed system . You can buy light switch controllers that have Wifi and an API for $10 so this is feasible.
 
wayner said:
What we need is that every control device (pool heater, SWCG system, etc) would have wifi connectivity and an open REST API. That should be cheap to add but no one wants to do that as they (Hayward, Zodiac/Jandy, etc) want to make you pay $1000 for a closed system . You can buy light switch controllers that have Wifi and an API for $10 so this is feasible.
Click to expand...
For sure. Currently I control the shed fan, pump speed and heater with simple wifi relays and my smartthings hub.
 
wayner said:
What we need is that every control device (pool heater, SWCG system, etc) would have wifi connectivity and an open REST API. That should be cheap to add but no one wants to do that as they (Hayward, Zodiac/Jandy, etc) want to make you pay $1000 for a closed system . You can buy light switch controllers that have Wifi and an API for $10 so this is feasible.
Click to expand...

You are right, but it is what it is. It's the same with car infotainment systems. They are slow, clunky and plain bad when compared to an average iPad or android tablet. But they all want to milk as much money as possible with their proprietary systems.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
PoolNewb2020 said:
You are right, but it is what it is. It's the same with car infotainment systems. They are slow, clunky and plain bad when compared to an average iPad or android tablet. But they all want to milk as much money as possible with their proprietary systems.
Click to expand...
Right - but many cars now have CarPlay and/or Android Auto. So they have outsourced a lot of that other functionality to the phone. We need that with pools and other HA systems. And they should be open so that you can integrate into a wholistic system - such as Smartthings for Poolnewb105 or Control4 in my instance.
 
I suspect lack of competition is a key factor here. Auto sector is fiercely competitive yet it took them over a decade to provide a semi-good integration with smartphones. And I feel if Hyindai didn't start pushing it, it would've taken the rest even longer.

How many pool equipment manufacturers do we have, three, four that really count? Established players rarely go beyond the status quo.
 
Technically you would be sending an RS-485 signal to Yellow and Black on the Aquarite. You cant just measure a voltage and apply that there. I am actually trying to solve this problem now, but have not been able to get my system talking to the Aquarite.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Poolnewb105
miatawnt2b said:
Check out nodejs_poolController on GitHub. A raspberry pi and a $5 adapter will get you a full automation setup that will not only control the Aquarite, but pretty much anything else.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info but could you possibly share what's involved in setting one of these guys up? It looks like you need some programming know-how. Thanks
 
Poolnewb105 said:
Thanks for the info but could you possibly share what's involved in setting one of these guys up? It looks like you need some programming know-how. Thanks
Click to expand...

So that is the rub. You are looking for the hardware, software, and support, packaged into a consumer product that needs no know-how at a low price. And the pool automation market is small and seasonal.

Everything is out there if you want to spend the time being the integrator.
 
Poolnewb105 said:
Thanks for the info but could you possibly share what's involved in setting one of these guys up? It looks like you need some programming know-how. Thanks
Click to expand...

This will require some basic Linux knowledge and a little bit of programming wont hurt. If you have never done any of those things, then this might be a heavy lift.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply