Hello! I am in the middle of making my pool equipement a little “smarter” - I have the main pool pump figured out (using the Aeon Heavy Duty Switch) - but my cleaner needs to be on a timer too! I currently have a Leviton Double Pole Switch turning the pump on/off. I took a look and it has 2 loads going into and and 2 lines for power, and a ground (no neutral). The 2 loads go to blue - got that part - I just don’t know if ties the 2 line’s together to the black line on the controller is the best practice?
Also - The load is not tied to a neutral wire…but there is a neutral in the box…is that OK to use?
[quote=“oneskinnydave, post:1, topic:48487”]
I currently have a Leviton Double Pole Switch turning the pump on/off. I took a look and it has 2 loads going into and and 2 lines for power, and a ground (no neutral). The 2 loads go to blue
[/quote] You say you currently have a 240V toggle switch (Leviton Double Pole Switch) for manual on-off control that you want to replace with automatic control correct? You state you currently have 2 loads to to blue which is making it sound like the pump is not single phase 120VAC but two phase 240V? Can you confirm that because I am trying to understand what the two poles of the Leviton are being used for? Your application isn’t difficult to solve if we know exactly what it is we are dealing with and if I am correct the FS20Z-1 is not the correct device for you but you’ll need another Aeon Heavy Duty Switch like you used on the main pump.
Just take a look at the pump nameplate specs and take a picture and if you have a picture of the actual connection to the existing Leviton switch wiring would possibly be helpful along with any model numbers of the equipment. That is where the picture could be helpful capturing the info.
Sorry - I have not hooked it up yet, just trying to make sure I do it correct and don’t get any magic smoke/fire/sparks when I wire it up! Also re-reading I made it sounds a little confusing!
The pump is two phase 240 - so I have two 120 lines coming into the switch - and two 120 loads going out. The cleaner pump is rated with the following:
HP - .75 230 @ 6.4 Amps
Attached is a pic of the switch I pulled from the pool pump, but it is wired the exact same way as the cleaner pump is - two lines on the top, to loads on the bottom:
Let me know if that helps - or I’ve made it more confusing!
That was helpful. It was like I thought so it looks to me like you the FS20Z-1 isn’t going to work for you directly. Those two blue wires are nothing more than a set of dry contacts (single pole). You would need to have the FS20Z-1 power up a two pole relay contractor to control the pump. Another Aeon heavy duty switch (Aeon Labs ZW078-A) would work but be total overkill for the small cleaner pump.
Since you already have the FS20Z-1 you could have it switch this kind of a DPDT relay for example that would be wired to replace the existing Leviton switch, each pole of the relay would replace the function of each pole of the Leviton.
Here are the specs on this relay from the manufacturers website so this would work for your cleaner pump.
Ah…dang! I thought I read the specs correctly - but most have overlooked the whole 120v thing
So I thought the same thing about the Aeon heavy duty switch - way overkill! I guess I’m kind of stuck - I either do another Aeon HDS - or get the contact/relay (which is ~$70 anyway!) - are there any other 240 two phase products out there? I was eyeing up the Intermatic CA3750 but it’s out of stock everywhere (and discontinued I believe)…and I don’t think it will handle 2x240/two phase items anyway?
Thanks for the reply - I might just use the FS20Z in the pool room anyway - seems like my ST Hub can’t quite reach - I think I can wire it for the pool light and at least have that in there!
I haven’t use the CA3750 but based on the description it could have worked for you but it is seems it was nothing more than a relay contactor in an enclosure that a Z-Wave device (like the ZWN-RSM1S was added to… which is exactly what I was suggesting above in function but without the enclosure. I am not aware of another Z-Wave compatible device that does what you are looking for other than the Aeon Heavy Duty switch. Hey I just had a thought… can you verify back at your power panel that both the pool pump and the cleaner pump are on different circuits?
So where exactly is the cleaner pool pump switch located? Is it a wall mount inside? I am trying to think of options that could work for you.
FYI: even though the hub may not reach it you could get another device to effectively increase the distance to the pool room. It would be like a booster. I had to do that at my house to boost the signal into my garage I ended up installing a GE light switch that basically repeats the signal into my garage. It is one of the beauty’s of the zwave and zigbee networks to be able to mesh the network.
Yes - The pool pump and cleaner are on different circuits - I actually was using the breakers to turn on each device until I discovered (a week after I opened the pool) the hidden switches for everything!
Pool cleaner switch is located in a pool “house” (really just a nice shed tied to the house) but has no outlets in there. Just a breaker panel for all the pool equipement and a few lights (inside the shed, pool light, motion sensor flood lights) - it is just outside range of the hub inside my house…but if I move it along a wall near the pool house it works fine for the Heavy Duty Switch. I am getting a few plug/signal repeaters soon - got a great deal on some Schlage RP200 for $20! That should help out for sure - but maybe the FS20Z might reach as well (seems to have great range on most sites)
Do they make standard 240 relays for switching with 120 switches…or is that wishful thinking? I’m guessing by the time I but the other parts to fix this muffed purchase…I can just get another Aeon HDS…oh…that’ll be a good one to explain to the wife!
Could you take a picture of the pool house cleaner pump switch location? So since you have a little pool house you could easily mount a small enclosure panel to house the relay and the zwave switch.
There is plenty of room/access for wiring stuff up - everything is pretty much open in the area where the switches/wiring are which is nice…but I am guessing if the relay/enclosure is much more then the $40 it costs to get another Aeon HDS then to make things tidy I can just buck up and get another one!
Plus - it’ll tell me how much more energy I’m wasting to make my pool marginally cleaner
Thanks for the picture, that helped me visualize what you were dealing with.
You make an excellent point my friend! By the time you put the time and effort into building a simply control enclosure for the switch and relay it would be better and cleaner looking to get another Aeon HDS. I think you solved your problem …time to get another Aeon HDS and use the FS20Z-1 for your pool lights.
I say this a lot in the forums, so if you’ve seen any of the other topics on pool equipment you’ve already heard me say this, but two words: “galvanic corrosion.”
Electrical devices that are in the splash zone of a swimming pool need a different safety rating. Your local code probably requires this. It’s for exactly the reason you gave – – avoiding fires.
Switches and relays that work great inside your house or even around water heaters or pond pumps may not be rated for use with swimming pool equipment for this reason. I don’t believe the Aeon switches are rated for anything within a pool’s splash zone.
It’s possible that your pump switch is outside the splash zone. The size of the splash zone varies in different codes for different townships, you just have to check with your own to see.
If it happens that the controls are within the splash zone, then you need to get a networked relay which is rated for this environment.
There is one on the official “works with SmartThings” List which is designed specifically for pool equipment and is rated for that environment. However, it’s much more expensive than the others and it sounds like you may not be comfortable with that kind of budget. It’s about $180 for the dual switch. But It can handle up to 30 A. So it’s good to know that it exists.
On the other hand, if your pool controller is, for example, inside a shed so that it’s not in the splash zone then you can ignore all of this. But I did just want to mention it. We see quite a few DIY people who don’t have electrical experience who put non-rated equipment near a swimming pool and it can be a real safety issue.
Excellent Point - thanks for mentioning it! I had not seen the ZBMLC30 before - but that is kind of an interesting take on it - I really like the exterior buttons for manual on/off!
The shed is about 20ft away from the pool - based on the wiring in the shed (all romex, no aquatight anywhere except on pumps about 10 ft away on the other side of the room)…I think it’s OK…but then again I’m not 100% sure without checking county code…I’ll put that on my list! I just moved in and finding the history of the home was build by a custom home builder…and this was HIS house…so lots of weird/wacky/possibly-not-to-code things going on! I’m actually looking at getting some plasting housings for the Aeon switches as well for fear of weather - but I appreciate you pointing it out. Thanks!
But I did just want to mention it. We see quite a few DIY people who don’t have electrical experience who put non-rated equipment near a swimming pool and it can be a real safety issue.