Serial 220v devices -Will this work?

[mitch236]

I came up with a way to control both my pool pump and the pool heater using Insteon and the ISY. Currently, the timer that controls the pool pump also controls the heater. When the timer is Off, there is no power to either. When the timer is On, the pump turns on and the heater will turn on if the water temp is below the setting on the heater.

 

My plan is to replace the timer with the Switchlinc 220v and run the program from the ISY. Then I thought, I only need the water heated on Friday and Saturday so we can swim on the weekends. So why not use a second Switchlinc 220v in series to feed power to the heater. That way, there could never be power to the heater unless there is power to the pump and I could turn the pump on without turning on the heater (for the weekdays). This morning, I had a concern. If the second Switchlinc doesn't have power, will it lose its programming? It would be powerless for about 16 hours a day. I don't have to run the two switches in series, I could power each unit seperately since the heater also senses water flow and won't turn on unless there is water flow, I wanted the extra security.

[Brian H]

Insteon modules should remember their links and scenes as the settings are in an EEPROM and needs no power to keep the settings correct.

 

Heck I have Appliance Lincs with old data in them for months unplugged.

My SwitchLinc relay also had no problems after my 22 hour power loss a few weeks ago.

 

You do have a Neutral Power wire available for the 220 Volt Switchlinc as the control part is 120 volts.

[mitch236]

You do have a Neutral Power wire available for the 220 Volt Switchlinc as the control part is 120 volts.

 

I won't know until I dissect the box. I hope so! I plan on taking pictures and posting them to the "How To" forum when I'm done.

[NJ_Mark]

Before you place you order take a close look at your current timer, in most setups the heater is shut down via a "fireman switch" which is a small set of low amperage contacts that open a few minutes prior to the timer killing the main power to the pump. This allows the heater to cool down prior to the flow being interupted. This is important to the longevity/warranty of your heater.

 

On my heater that circuit is 110 volt and could be controlled by a switchlink via a program. If you go that route I would still kill the power to the heater by wiring it to the pump relay just to ensure that the heater get shut down in the event of a com failure.

 

Even if you do go the 2 series relay route you will want to set up your programing to kill the heater a few minutes before the pump shuts down.

[mitch236]

Mine is not set up that way. Once the timer turns off the pump, the heater turns off too. Maybe that's why I always have problems with my heater? But I don't see how it could work any other way? The timer doesn't know when the pump will turn off until it happens. Do you have the mechanical type timer with the yellow 24 hour time wheel and the red manual lever?