Will Intellicenter 5P work for my setup??

[LA 3W]

Looking for some help in trying to determine if the Intellicenter 5P will cover my needs or if I need to find an 8? I have a gunite pool with a raised overflow spa. I moved in to this house about 3 years ago and have had to replace a few items and now need to replace the chlorinator. My thought is that while I'm replacing the salt cell and generator that I just spend more money and upgrade with automation. I had to replace my main pool pump in year 1 - replaced with a Hayward Super pump variable speed 1.65HP pump. My spa jet pump is an old Hayward super 2 that burned up last year (I upsized the motor and impeller to get a little more out of the jets and just went to a single speed motor). I replaced The pool/spa heater with a Hayward heater because the old one was totally destroyed and was only being used to house rodents....
So, my question is, will the 5P cover my bases as far as being able to swap between pool and spa mode, control my 2 pumps and my heater. I do also have pool lights but nothing fancy, just need to be able to turn those on and off. I also do not know if the 5PS bundle with the Intellivalves is worth the expense?
Honestly, I would likely just spend a few extra dollars and get the 8 to ensure I was covered and for any future additions but it was out of stock where I was looking. I was digging into this many months ago and was trying to find a Hayward equivalent automation system but they appeared out of stock and still look to be unavailable.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

You need a PS system, not a P, if you have a spa.

A 5 will control two pumps and one light circuit, if that is all you have. No air blower on the spa?

Note that the IntelliCenter not be able to control the pump speeds of your VS pump. So you will not have a lot of the magic of automation of ramping pump speed up when running the heater or using the spa.

I think you either need to wait until you can get a Hayward OmniPL system or change your pump to Pentair IntelliFlo and sell your existing Hayward pump.

 

[Jimrahbe]

La,

Do you plan to buy Pentair pumps? I am not at all sure that the IntelliCenter will control Hayward pumps.

If you are going to buy automation, it needs to be able to "talk" to any VS pump as well as any SWCG.

We normally suggest that the Automation, any VS pump, and any SWCG all be the same brand.

That said, the difference between the 5P and the 8P is just the number of relays. You only need relays to control external items that you control by turning their 120- or 240-volt power on or off. VS pump are not included in that number as they are normally controlled by an RS-485 cable. (Note that just because something has an RS-485 connection does not mean that it can communicate with another brand's equipment.)

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[LA 3W]

Welcome to TFP.

You need a PS system, not a P, if you have a spa.

A 5 will control two pumps and one light circuit, if that is all you have. No air blower on the spa?

Note that the IntelliCenter not be able to control the pump speeds of your VS pump. So you will not have a lot of the magic of automation of ramping pump speed up when running the heater or using the spa.

I think you either need to wait until you can get a Hayward OmniPL system or change your pump to Pentair IntelliFlo and sell your existing Hayward pump.

No, no air blower as currently configured. It appears that there was once one in place. The Previous homeowner had let all equipment break (one pump, old DE filter, heater all non functional when I bought the place). So, I just kind of got things going as I had funds in the first 18 months. I'm not partial to the hayward equipment so I can go either way (had pentair on my last built and liked it, controlled my lights and water feature, slide, etc). Is the OmniPL any good and have I just not looked in the right places? Thanks again!

 

[ajw22]

Is the OmniPL any good and have I just not looked in the right places? Thanks again!

OmniPL seems to be fine. Hayward came out with it in 2020 right as the world shutdown. So not a lot of them got into the wild. As the supply chain catches up it should become available and popular.

You need to decide if you want to go down the Pentair or Hayward paths. Either can work but mixing is not optimal.