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Any way to control 20amp plugs for pool circulator

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Posted

We have these two outdoor plugs. One has a switch controlling it for the Polaris pool jet booster cleaner. The other has a mechanical timer for the pool circulator system. 
 

Will there be any Insteon or other hardware with which I can control these very large appliances.?

 

Additionally there is an oil heater that has a knob to turn it on to a variable level and off. Not sure what I could do there. 

491EDE0D-63C5-4B52-8A6A-92F23FEE0CE4.jpeg

107118DB-2598-4A70-ADE8-4A7C6BE85C8F.jpeg

Hard to tell what the other end of that plug looks like, but I'm guessing it's a 120 volt appliance and you could a regular outdoor plug. Depends on the draw of your booster pump.

If it is more than 120 volts you could use something like:

https://www.insteon.com/load-controller

But this needs to be installed in a weatherproof box.

Or if you have zwave this comes in its own box:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Z-Wave-Plus-Direct-Wire-Indoor-Outdoor-40-Amp-Lighting-Control-Smart-Switch-14285/306643391

 

Standard Insteon switchlinc on/off switch is rated for up to 1hp motor.

The Insteon 240V Load Controllers {NO and NC} are now marked as Unavailable. So they may not be an option at this time.

Looks like a twist lock plug, I can't tell which NEMA configuration.  Is it 240V or 120V?  240v 20 amp grounded is likely NEMA L6-20.

if that's the case you could utilize a definite purpose contractor (big relay) with a 120v coil and then use the Insteon on/off device of your choice to power the coil.

5 hours ago, MrBill said:

Looks like a twist lock plug, I can't tell which NEMA configuration.  Is it 240V or 120V?  240v 20 amp grounded is likely NEMA L6-20.

if that's the case you could utilize a definite purpose contractor (big relay) with a 120v coil and then use the Insteon on/off device of your choice to power the coil.

I did that with a few X10 Appliance plug-ins to run a big old 50A 240Vac mercury wetted solenoid I had hanging around. Worked great until I tried to turn it off. I am not sure which X10 Appliance model exploded on the first and which exploded on the second trial. A 20Kj MOV lolipop across the coil and another X10 Appliance module has been working for years now.

You may want to consider using a MOV across any inductive coil fed by a contact. I am not sure how serious Insteon's hp rating is for their OnOff module / Appliance module. It can;t hurt either way for about $2.

  • 3 weeks later...
  • Author

Got a voltage meter.  There are two motors.  One is 3/4HP the other is 1HP.  They are both 240v 20 amp.  The First 3/4HP motor is the main pool circulator.  The second 1HP motor is the booster for the polaris pool cleaner.  There is a timer that controls both.  Then additionally, the Polaris has an manual on off switch.  There also looks to be a low voltage wire that goes from the timer to the pool heater which runs on oil.  

image.png.c53294fc906cc75ba3dabf8ae751ea73.png

I am by no means an electrician.  So, looking at the suggestions, I assume I will need to remove all that is here and employ three insteon on off switches that will control relays for each of the three devices.

Would definitely need a really nice outdoor project box for this.  Would be great to have a separate compartment for the on off switches so that there is no exposure to the other wires.

Edited by uffy

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