Anks329 Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Hi All, I'm looking to control my pool heater through Control4 and I've got a couple of options that I wanted to spitball and get opinions on: High end - Get the Pentair Intellicenter installed and control the heater through the Pentair driver integration in C4. This is going to be roughly 3k for parts plus installation. Thermostat - Get a C4 thermostat; use the remote temperature sensor terminals to connect to temperature probe in the plumbing, and use the C and R terminals to close the fireman switch on the heater. In C4 apps, it looks and functions like a thermostat turning on a single stage heater based on the temperature set point I give it. I would power this via batteries. Is there I can power this from an outlet? Z2IO - Use an existing Z210; connect the Thermistor pins to temperature probe in plumbing, and use a single throw relay to close the fireman switch on the heather. Can I use a thermostat driver in C4 or do I need some other driver? This would be plugged into an outlet. According to the heater's manual, I can remotely turn on the heater with the fireman switch: Connect wires between the Fireman’s Switch terminals on the heater and the relay. Connect wires from the controller or timer to the Fireman’s Switch. Controller, timer or relay should be sized to handle 24VAC at 0.5 Amp (because it will be completing the 24VAC control board circuit on the heater as shown in Figure 28). DO NOT apply line voltage to the Fireman’s Switch terminals. So, based on that, both the thermostat and z2io should be able to close the fireman switch on the heater to turn on it. I'm thinking the thermostat might be best solution that doesn't involve a ton of cash for this simple automation, but would love thoughts on anything I'm not considering here. Thanks! WisC4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Africa C4 user Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 If all you want to automate is the pool heater then your solution will do the job. In fact, my pool heater was automated in this way for a good few years despite me having Pentair for everything else to do with the pool. Most pool heaters have their own thermostat and heat setpoints so I’m not even sure if it is worth including the thermostat. You can set and forget the heater and then use the fireman’s switch control as an on/off override. The beauty (strength / purpose) of Pentair is that you can control and monitor everything to do with your pool and spa (pumps, heaters, lights, water features, bubbler, temperatures etc.). WisC4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anks329 Posted May 20, 2023 Author Share Posted May 20, 2023 That's a good point. I can just use the z2io as the on/off control of the heater, and let the heater manage the temperature itself based the setting I give it. Just use a simple button for it to turn on/off the whole thing. Thanks for the suggestion! Completely agree with the bigger/broader use of pentair's automation. But I only really have the heater and one pump on the pool and nothing else (no lights, water features, bubblers, etc) so I'm not sure if the entire pentair system is worth it right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Africa C4 user Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 1 hour ago, Anks329 said: That's a good point. I can just use the z2io as the on/off control of the heater, and let the heater manage the temperature itself based the setting I give it. Just use a simple button for it to turn on/off the whole thing. Thanks for the suggestion! Completely agree with the bigger/broader use of pentair's automation. But I only really have the heater and one pump on the pool and nothing else (no lights, water features, bubblers, etc) so I'm not sure if the entire pentair system is worth it right now. Much as I love my Pentair system, I do think that it is overkill for your setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olichops Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Here is my 2 cents, I have a Pentair system with the intellitouch panel. All you need from this point is this driver https://bnet4solutions.com/portfolio/bpentair/ for much cheaper than the ilink Pentair has and way more control of the system that pentair allows. The driver is great as you can add icons to all the C4 Touchsceens and monitor the pool chemisty if you have have the ichem, control all aux relays, etc! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WisC4 Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 On 5/20/2023 at 1:13 AM, Anks329 said: That's a good point. I can just use the z2io as the on/off control of the heater, and let the heater manage the temperature itself based the setting I give it. Just use a simple button for it to turn on/off the whole thing. Thanks for the suggestion! Completely agree with the bigger/broader use of pentair's automation. But I only really have the heater and one pump on the pool and nothing else (no lights, water features, bubblers, etc) so I'm not sure if the entire pentair system is worth it right now. Is there any way to utilize the temperature sensor on a z2io for an external water probe or it simply measures ambient temp and humidity? I like the simplicity of this solution, but I'd want the readout of current water temp from a probe in the piping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anks329 Posted May 23, 2023 Author Share Posted May 23, 2023 12 minutes ago, WisC4 said: Is there any way to utilize the temperature sensor on a z2io for an external water probe or it simply measures ambient temp and humidity? I like the simplicity of this solution, but I'd want the readout of current water temp from a probe in the piping. Yes, you can connect an external temperature sensor to the z2io. I’m using this sensor from Amazon that I’ve plumbed into the piping before my heater. It’s working pretty well so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WisC4 Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 15 hours ago, Anks329 said: Yes, you can connect an external temperature sensor to the z2io. I’m using this sensor from Amazon that I’ve plumbed into the piping before my heater. It’s working pretty well so far. That's great news. My pool equipment is fairly basic, and I'm really just looking for mobile operating control and readout of the current heater temp. I'd love to see pictures if anyone has how they wired up the z2io for outdoor conditions (type of box) and then how to wire the z2io to the firemans switch on the heater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anks329 Posted May 24, 2023 Author Share Posted May 24, 2023 Here are some pictures of my setup: I've connected the external temp sensor and wires for the relay to Z2IO here: The z2io is placed in a little waterproof box. I've got a shed where all the pool controls are located, so not aiming for 100% water tight seals: I am using this box from Amazon. It comes with an adapter to create a better seal for wires, but the USB connector was too larger, so I opted to not use it. This is the other end of the temperature senor plumbed into the system This is the sensor from Amazon, and it matches the temperature on the heater, so accurate enough for my use case. I don't have the heater connected yet, aiming to get that done this weekend, and will share a picture of that when it's in place. This is what the C4 interface looks like (ignore the hot tub temp as that's a WIP) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WisC4 Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 On 5/23/2023 at 1:23 PM, WisC4 said: That's great news. My pool equipment is fairly basic, and I'm really just looking for mobile operating control and readout of the current heater temp. I'd love to see pictures if anyone has how they wired up the z2io for outdoor conditions (type of box) and then how to wire the z2io to the firemans switch on the heater. Anks329 - can you repost the photos? Maybe it's just me but I can't see the images. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anks329 Posted May 25, 2023 Author Share Posted May 25, 2023 Attached the pictures here to this post. WisC4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WisC4 Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 On 5/22/2023 at 10:13 PM, Anks329 said: Yes, you can connect an external temperature sensor to the z2io. I’m using this sensor from Amazon that I’ve plumbed into the piping before my heater. It’s working pretty well so far. How's it working? Heater connected now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WisC4 Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 On 6/1/2023 at 9:01 AM, WisC4 said: How's it working? Heater connected now? Any update? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anks329 Posted June 11, 2023 Author Share Posted June 11, 2023 Tried getting it set up yesterday, unfortunately the way the heater was installed I have no easy access to the control panel. So wasn’t able to get into it and find the connections. It’s in the plans to add a salt cell next year and I’ll get the intellicenter setup at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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