Pentair Easy Touch 8 Automation System

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Aqua Pazza

0
Mar 31, 2017
3
Jax Beach, FL
Hi All! Been lurking here, absorbing lots of great information and seeing some seriously gorgeous pools. I cannot wait for mine to be done. We're in NE FL building an 18x36 freeform pool. We need to decide if we want to add the automation feature - it's a $3,400 option - the Pentair Easy Touch 8. Is that a good price? Is there any way to make it cheaper? Are you glad you installed this system?

We have a bubbler, a few pool lights and 3 spa jets in a bench - our builder recommends the 8 and I know from TFP, the more channels the better. I really would like to have it for the convenience and I feel like we'd use our options much more often if they were remotely controlled. Plus on resale, I feel like the pool would be a dinosaur without it - doesn't everyone go for this?

This cost is all in and includes electrical, installation, set up, etc...and took me by surprise. Yikes, isn't everything remote controlled these days? Why so pricey? I've asked our PB if there's any way we can bring the cost down - maybe by using an iPad and skipping the remote? Or using another brand? (I doubt he'd go for that, he's very loyal to Pentair) I haven't heard back yet.

Any advice, comments or suggestions are very welcome. At the very least, make me feel better about dropping $3k on this baby.

Thanks all!
 
AP,

Welcome to TFP... A Great resource for all new pool builders no matter what their "Beach" is called... :drown:

If I were to "loan" you an EasyTouch system for a month, I'd have to beat you with a stick before you would give it back to me... :p

The more equipment you have, the more important automation is... you did not say if you plan to have the IntelliFlo pump and SWCG, if so, then automation is for you..

I have a simple pool with no Spa and yet I still love my system. Below is my standard blurb about automation systems..

****
Many people have pools without automation and they work just fine. I do, however, think it is important to know the advantages and the disadvantages of having an automation system.

1. Automation will help you with pool maintenance, but it will not replace the need for you to test your water, understand what you are looking at, and then making sure your water is balanced. (Another reason you need the accuracy of the TF100 test kit.)

2. The main downside to automation is cost. So before going too far down this path, you might ask your PB what it's going to cost. That said, the best time to install automation is when the pool is being built, because all the connections to the system can be made without having to figure out how you are to get power across 50' of new deck. Also, the additional cost, when compared to the total cost of your new pool, will be miniscule.

3. Automation systems work best when the same brand is used because then the pieces can "talk" to together. So, in your case I would recommend the EasyTouch 4 (or 8) that has a built in power supply for the SWG and generally comes with the SWG and two valves. ScreenLogic2 is an absolute requirement if you want to be able to control things from your PC or Phone.

Here is a list of what I think the advantages are:

1. Appearance. Instead of having a bunch of different boxes hanging on your wall you have one, professional looking enclosure.

2. Circuit Breaker Panel. The bottom half of the enclosure is a circuit-breaker panel where the breakers for your pool equipment (Pumps, Heater, etc.) are located. This panel is also an excellent place to add surge protector, which is an absolute must if you have the Intelliflo pump. Even if you do not get the automation, make sure your PB includes a surge protector for the pump.

3. SWG Control. Without automation, your SWG will have to have a timer, synced to the pump timer so that it does not run when the pump is off. This function is built into the EasyTouch.

4. Spa mode and SWG output. Normally all the water flows through the SWG, so when in the Spa mode, the EasyTouch reduces the amount of chlorine the SWG produces, so that the Spa users are not subjected to high levels of chlorine.

5. Pool Lighting. The EasyTouch allows you to control your pool lighting from your PC and/or from a schedule. This is another reason to add the EasyTouch now. Once your pool light is wired to switches inside your house, it might be very difficult to get the wiring to any automation system.

6. Control of Spill-over and bubblers. Right now I'm sure you are thinking I want that spillover running 24-hours a day because it is so beautiful.. Well, after a few weeks of having your pH go through the roof, you'll appreciate the ability to only turn it on, when you want it on. The same with the bubblers. With the Easytouch, you can program them to run on a schedule for a few minutes a day to keep the everything properly chlorinated or when you want to "show off" to your guests..

7. Relay Control. The EasyTouch 4 has four (really three) relays that can be used to control other things, such as landscape lights. (The EasyTouch has 8 (really 7) relays.

8. Built in Valve controls. The EasyTouch has the ability to control 4 valves. Two work for switching between the Pool and Spa modes, while two others can be programmed to do whatever you might want, like bubbler control. I would note that a lot of bubblers are controlled by manual valves that cannot be automated. You need to be sure to tell your PB that you want Jandy style valves for your bubbler control.

9. Heater Control. The EasyTouch can control your heater.. So, you can be inside and tell your PC what temperature you want the Spa to be and it will tell you when it is ready.

10. ScreenLogic. ScreenLogic allows you to program the EasyTouch with various schedules. It lets you see most all of the inputs and output to the EasyTouch and lets you decide what you want on/off and in the case of your SWG, lets you adjust the % of output on the fly.

11. Pool pump speed... The EasyTouch can be programmed to adjust your pumps speed. So when running just the pool, it can run slow, but when running your waterfall, it will automatically increase the speed to make your waterfall or other water features look exactly how you want them to look.
******

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.
 
Thanks, Jim. My pool builder is saying that it's really either / or with EasyTouch and Screen Logic, i.e. either we get the remote or the iPad/Phone app - that doesn't make sense to me based on what you wrote and what I've read here. Can you shed any light here? He said that he had a hard time getting Screen Logic to work after installing Easy Touch, so he recommends one or the other.

Maybe he means either you use the remote or you use Screen Logic, I'll check.
 
ap,

The EasyTouch comes without remotes of any kind..

You can install an actual wireless remote which has an antenna at the EasyTouch and a Pentair remote control inside the house.

or

You can install ScreenLogic2 which has an antenna at the EasyTouch and it talks through a 'Protocol' adapter to your house computer network.

or you can install them both at the same time. You would then have two (different) antennas at the EasyTouch.

I can't think of a single reason to use the older remote system, but you can have both if you wanted.

With ScreenLogic you can control your pool with your PC, your Tablet, or your Phone.

Programming via ScreenLogic is about 10 x easier than when using the little 3" LCD on the remote or the main panel. I find programming via the PC to be better than the little buttons on the phone.

I am not an 'i' anything person, so I have no idea how it works with apple stuff, but I assume just the same as with regular PC and Android stuff...

Here is what happed to me yesterday... Wife and I were having lunch at a restaurant and we were talking about going shopping that afternoon or going home and using the pool. I have no heater so we are about at the end of our season. We generally don't swim when the water temperature is less than 84 degrees. Anyway, I was able to just look at my phone and see what the pool temperature was, so we could make our decision over lunch.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Aqua Pazza said:
Thanks, Jim. My pool builder is saying that it's really either / or with EasyTouch and Screen Logic, i.e. either we get the remote or the iPad/Phone app - that doesn't make sense to me based on what you wrote and what I've read here. Can you shed any light here? He said that he had a hard time getting Screen Logic to work after installing Easy Touch, so he recommends one or the other.

Maybe he means either you use the remote or you use Screen Logic, I'll check.
Click to expand...

Aqua Pazza, for what its worth we got quoted 2800 for easytouch 8 upgrade today and thats before adding screenlogic2 into the system. That should only add $250-300 I suppose, so thats not far off from yours...
 
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