ISY 994i Reporting Capabilities

[aviatordave]

Hello,

 

I've had my ISY for some time now but haven't had time to play with it much. (Raising kids) I've recently found myself in a situation where I need to know how often and how long my well pump and two geothermal furnaces run.  I'll be adding a third geothermal furnace down the road and need to know if my pump has the capacity to carry all three.  (Simply matching GPM demands and deliveries is tricky because the well pump's rated GPM is based on being 80' deep. Mine is at about half that and so the actual GPM delivered will go up. I may be right at a point where adding a third furnace will still be within limits . . . Or just out of reach)

 

So, a couple questions:

 

1) Does anybody know of a current sensor I can hook directly to an I/O Linc? I just need on/off sensing. I'm not concerned with how much current the well pump is drawing. 

 

2) Can the ISY keep track of on/off status and cycle duration over a period of time? I'm looking to be able to let the system run for a few days (weeks?) and look at a report/history log/etc. (export a .csv file to Excel to draw some graphs?) to get a picture of how long the pump runs every time it cycles on and to know how frequently it is cycling on. 

 

I'd like to repeat this setup with each geothermal furnace and be able to compare the reports with respect to time to see how well pump run times correlate to furnace demands.  (Will I need a bigger pump with the addition of a third geothermal furnace?)

 

I've entertained thoughts of the Synchrolinc but am not thrilled with it due to needing to tap into one leg of each of the three 220v circuits (2 furnaces and 1 pump) for the sole purpose of wiring in a plug to connect to the Synchrolinc.  I'm capable of this but would prefer the current sensing solution inquired about above.  Plenty of current sensors out there. Don't know if I can just hook one up to an I/O Linc. 

 

There are some nifty little inexpensive current sensors out there with 3.5mm jacks built in but they report milliamps and I think the 3.5mm jack on the I/O Linc is for open/close sensing only, yes?

 

 Thanks for wading through the long post!

-Dave

 

[stusviews]

1. Any dry contact switch can be used as an I/O Linc sensor.

 

2. The ISY can send you a message each time the sensor turn on or off. The time is included in the message.

 

There are more sophisticated recorders. Teken will most likely post..

[jerlands]

You don't need a current sensor but could simply wire a relay in line.  As for logging run times the concept used in this thread might give insight and continues to develop further into the thread.

 

 

Jon...

[Brian H]

The CT-800 mentioned in this how to monitor an appliance should trigger an IOLinc if you want to go that route.

There is also a version of the sensor that has a snap opening so you don't have to remove a wire to slip it over.

http://cocoontech.com/forums/page/articles/_/tutorials/home-automation-tutorials/how-to-monitor-the-status-of-your-appliances-using-current-sensors-r58

[mwester]

I blew the fuse in a synchrolinc that was monitoring a lift pump (startup current eventually proved too much for the fuse).  So I replaced it with an IOLinc and a current sensor instead.  I used a surplus (old)j Neilsen-Kuljian D150-1A for the job -- it does not have "dry contacts", but the semiconductor they use triggers the IOLinc very reliably (as long as you wire it the right way around to the IOLinc -- polarity matters!).

 

The lift pump has a filter on the output side, and initially the ISY's job was to monitor run time and report via text message -- if the run time increased about 25% over the baseline, the filter needed cleaning.

 

At this point in time, the setup logs all run times to an external device, which has a web page that allows me to track run times historically.  The ISY program has been extended so that if the run time is double the baseline, it powers off the pump for 30 minutes, then re-applies power -- thus cycling the pump, which in addition to ensuring the pump cools, often seems to disturb the filter enough that after a few cycles it shuts down normally, buying me some time (very helpful when I'm out of town).  Another watchdog program on the ISY checks to make sure that the power to the pump is not shut off for more than an hour at a time -- thus avoiding any malformed logic or GUI clicking mistakes to effectively disable the pump altogether.

 

As for the pump power, that used to be an On/Off unit (the new ones; the old ApplianceLinc can't handle the current), but it was replaced with a Functional Devices high-current relay controlled by the IOLinc -- it's set up so that the normally-closed side is wired to the pump so that the IOLinc has to be enabled to power off the pump.

 

Finally, I distrust all extra devices -- and my paranoia was justified when the Syncrolinc fuse blew.  That problem was easily detected because I wired a bright blue LED panel indicator into the junction box downstream from all the relays and sensors.  When the tank high-level alarm (independent of all ISY/Insteon stuff!) sounded, a quick check in the basement showed the LED was off -- checking the panel, the breaker was on -- unplugging the line to the pump from the Syncrolinc to a normal outlet resolved the problem in about 15 seconds, without any need for the person doing this to know anything at all about my Home Automation.  That's really important; never ever assume that you'll be around, armed with a functioning computer and the ISY password, when something goes wrong!

 

I picked up a box of the current sensors on eBay -- this summer they'll go on various lines inside my Geo unit, on both primary and backup well pumps, and on the water heater.  Cheap, reliable, and they don't introduce a fuse or anything else into the wiring... I'm sold on these devices.  Oh yeah - I'll also dump my Syncrolincs on eBay... when I replaced the fuse, I became VERY unimpressed with the design.  Non-critical, low-power loads ONLY...

[larryllix]

I use my only SynchroLinc on my dryer and it has worked very well even with the motor starting load of the dryer.

 

Of course the dryer motor may be a much lower surge startup design than a pump motor. This sounds like some research in the internal fuse is required to replace what you have with an appropriate fuse using dual element time delay to handle your motor inrush as well as still protect your electronics in the SynchroLinc.

 

These fuses cost a bit more and possibly the cheapies were used for your units, or maybe all units produced. This is a common problem with people not understanding overcurrent protection devices..

[Brian H]

This is from a V1.1 Date Code 1044 SynchroLinc. I have no idea if anything is changed in the present units.

 

If it is completely dead. There is a 5mmx20mm fuse with leads. Covered In shrink tube. Connected in series from the AC Line Input prong to the PCB AC Line Input Pad. I can't read its value.  As it is covered with shrink tubing.

 

The actual load current is read on the Neutral feed to the outlet socket. White wire from the Neutral connection on the input side of the PCB to a fairly heavy PCB run near the output. Then a heavy shunt is soldered to the PCB where the input white jumper wire is. On the other side of the shunt is another heavy PCB run, To a short white wire jumper connected to the output socket.

[mwester]

That's exactly what mine looked like as well - and it's relatively new (purchased last fall).  The fuse replacement was easy (it's a 15 Amp, slow-blow fuse - T15AL250V) as long as one is comfortable doing some soldering.

 

The pump draws about 12 - 13 amps, with the startup current being well above that, of course.  It was only a matter of time before that fuse blew.  

[Brian H]

Thank you for the information

I will have to add the fuses value a dn part number to my notes.