[OBSOLETE]Intermatic PE653 Pool Control System

Devices & Integrations Community Created Drivers
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607

Hi, @mswlogo. I can’t answer your questions, but I’m in the exact same situation (even the same configuration) and have been running this for almost three years. Working with the Intermatic implementation of Z-Wave seems like black magic. With the coming rewrite by @KeithR I’d suggest you wait to do any more until that’s available.

P.S. I do have my 953 paired to ST, but it does nothing and I don’t know if it’s supposed to have any purpose. It is still paired to the 653 and performs all its normal remote functions directly.

608

For what it’s worth, yes, you can have the 953 paired a will as smartthings, as @CAL7 said. The instructions to do this are in post 238 of this thread.
I don’t have the same setup as you guys, but I do have a booster pump on 3, and it has similar logic to yours, except #3 is never supposed to run WITHOUT #1 running. So if you start 3 by itself, 1 comes on with it. And if you stop 1, it will kill 3.
I can tell you that, though there are settings for this in smartthings setup, it is ignored. HOWEVER, in my case, once I re-paired my 953 and reprogrammed those settings on my 653, they are working again as normal.
Seems like you’re could be the same way, though I don’t want to contradict cal7’s experience, as he’s been around way longer.
But definitely give it a try! Get your remote working again, which you’ll need to program your timers (which is what we bought an Intermatic switch for anyway, right?), and re-set up your switch 1-2 logic, as your 653 currently has no idea, since you had to wipe it during the pairing process.
Good luck! Eager to see what @KeithR has cooking, though I can say what I already have working is basically what I’ve had for years plus smart phone/voice control. Hard to be dissatisfied with that!

609

I knew something new was coming but didn’t know it was a “rewrite”.

I’m not to surprised 953 did nothing on ST, I don’t think there is a device handler for it.

Are you using ST now or just the 953 to manage the 653?

Thanks for your quick response.

610

LOL. Time ≠ wisdom. But, thanks.

Yes, sort of… I use ST for non-essential functions, e.g. pool light on/off, checking temps. But the reliability has never been enough that I’m willing to trust the pump, or even pump speeds, to ST. For those, I use the 953 to program the 653 and rely upon that.

611

I don’t really care if the 953 is on the ST.

But are you guys saying I can have both the ST and 953 paired to the 653? I’ve been assuming it’s one or the other that can control it. Not both.

If I can have both, how?

I did notice I still had to use the 953 to remove the 653 from ST. So I know both can be talking to 653 to some extent. But once I paired ST, the 953 didn’t do much except allow me to tell 653 to drop the ST when I needed to.

Non essential stuff on ST would be great right now.

Thanks.

612

Take a look here:
https://community.smartthings.com/t/intermatic-pe653-pool-control-system/936/239?u=cal7

If memory serves, that is what I did.

613

Thanks man. Sure is convoluted. But if it all works, I’ll be a happy camper. I’d don’t expect it to be perfect.

I was looking at some of those old posts and wasn’t sure what is applicable to firmware 3.4.

Do you know if it’s necessary to pair the 953 to the ST, does that buy you anything?

I just want the filter to reliably (and safely - one speed ever) run on schedule (from the PE653).

And be able to monitor things from my phone when I’m away and possible override things. Like run the filter extra hours so more chlorine goes in, if it gets super hot or super rainy.

When I’m near the pool I don’t care if I use my phone or 953.

614

Not for me. Unless, and I don’t know, it has to be paired with ST to keep it functioning as a secondary controller for the PE653. Since I’m still relying upon the PE953 to make programming changes, that’s a must for me. BTW, I’m on v3.4.

Our equipment and use cases are the same. The only difference is I ploughed through this more than two years ago. I didn’t really understand it then, and even less so now. I tried to follow the pioneers. I’m hoping @KeithR’s next release makes it easier.

615

CAL7,

That procedure you linked didn’t work for me. But I found a procedure on the Vera forums that did work. ST is a bit shaky but useful and usable.

Copied from Vera forums.

This worked for me. Substitute ST for Vera.
Sometimes he says 653 when he meant 953 or the reverse.

This was with 3.4 firmware.

I’m so glad I bought the 953 with the 653.

So, you did it. You got firmware 3.3 on your PE953 MultiWave pool controller. Congratulations!
(If you didn’t, see here: http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,24371.0.html)

Now, you have to connect Vera, the PE953 pool controller (the hard wired part) and the PE653 (the handheld part). For those who did this with MultiWave firmware 3.1, you certainly remember having to remove the batteries from the handheld PE653 after pairing. The geniuses at Intermatic (usikeman on this forum) fixed that problem somewhere after 3.1 and up to 3.3. No more unscrewing the battery cover to reset the PE653.

Let’s get into it. The gist of this comes from dkeefe. Thank you dkeefe and thanks to everyone for assistance getting this to work.I just got sick of looking for pg 8 of the 20+ page forum to find the core post!

This is Vera interface UI5 (Vera firmware 1.5.622). The Z-Wave firmware (Setup | Z-Wave Settings) is 2.78L:1.

Note: I have not tried this process with Z-Wave firmware 3.20.

RESET EVERYTHING
Wake up the PE953
Press and hold P/S and ENTER for a few seconds
Bring the PE953 near the PE653. (don’t worry about where Vera is) Choose #2 - RESET DEVICE
On the PE653, press The BUTTON (inside the screwed door). Expect to see SUCCESSFUL
On the PE953 Re-enter the config screen. Choose #1 - RESET CONTROLLER
Choose #1 - RESET NET AND CFG

PAIR (include) the wired PE653 controller with VERA
Bring Vera near the PE653.
Press the Vera Zwave button. Zwave LED will flash
Press The BUTTON on the PE653. It should flash a bit, then the ZWave LED should flash a bit.
Press the Vera Zwave button again. Wait until the Zwave LED turns on and remains on steady, then return Vera to her home.
Look at Vera’s devices. You will now have six devices. Five are the contacts, one is the controller.

PAIR (include) the PE653 to Vera
Start Vera looking for new ZWave devices
Bring the PE953 handheld close to Vera and get to the config screens again. Specifically, the CNTRL OPTION page.
Choose #2 - RECEIVE NET ONLY. (Happy days! No battery pull needed!)
End Vera looking for devices. She will add a seventh SCENE CONTROLLER device now.
Wait! The PE653 now shows OUT OF RANGE. The calamity! Hold on to your britches, son.

PAIR (include) the PE653 and PE953
Get the PE653 and PE953 close together.
On the PE953 handheld, get to the config screens. Specifically, the LEARN MODE page.
Choose 3 - INCLUDE DEVICE
Press The BUTTON on the PE653. You’ll see some flashing and you’ll see SUCCESSFUL on the PE953 display.
Get to the config screens again. Specifically the CNTRL OPTION page.
Choose 1- PRIMARY SCREEN SEL.
Set the PRIMARY SCREEN SEL to PE653 (not ZWAVE).
Press ENTER and ENTER to exit the configuration.

You now have the PE653 and PE953 linked with VERA!

Please let me know if I made mistakes or oversights in this. Once it is in good shape, I will put it on the MIOS wiki for all to enjoy.

EDIT: Fixed the PE653/PE953 confusion. Thank you GWNorth and DBeck52 for the comments.
« Last Edit: April 08, 2014, 08:47:15 am by Ndemarco »

1 Like
616

Good info. It says, on Vera, that the PE953 handled pairs as a Scene Controller. What kind of device did your ST pairing give? And what is the answer to the perplexing question of its utility - does it do anything for you as an ST device?

617

It Maps to a Z-Wave remote that does nothing.
But I’m not gonna remove it because everything is working great.

I noticed that if the PE653 does something scheduled or I click a button on the PE653 it is not reflected in ST automatically. But if I hit the big Refresh button it syncs up with correct status.

But if I do something from ST on one phone it is reflected on another phone running ST.

618

I hate to clog this thread up with anything other than PE653/953 but I figure it’s a common challenge with the PE653 frequently far away from your ST.

My ST has been in my living and never had an issue. The PE653 is in a shed that is a good 100 ft or more away. It worked but was shaky. I moved the ST hub into the garage wall which might be 50-60ft and works good their. I prefer not leave ST in garage.

So I know most Zwave devices are supposed to act as repeaters. So I tried to put a Leviton zwave plus plug module in the same place in garage and put ST back in living. I saw zero improvement with the plug module in garage vs ST.

I don’t mind getting a repeater but they don’t seem much different from say a plug module that has it built in. It looks like a small zwave device that does nothing.

I’m curious what others might have used since I suspect it’s a common issue with PE653 owners.

Did you have to do anything to boost your signal and if so what did you end up doing?

Pointers to other threads are always welcome.

Thanks.

PE653/PE953 still running great. I can confirm it’s working by looking at whole house power consumption. I’ve been remote since I installed it :slight_smile:

619

The new 3.00 version of the PE653 Device Handler is now available for beta testing. The major features are:

  1. Change to “Composite” DTH since ST deprecated the Multi-channel SmartApp
  2. Improved VSP and Pool/Spa mode integration. No more schedules.
  3. Reorganized UI. Display Air temp, Heater on/off and Clock.
  4. Minor adjustments for Hubitat compatibility.

For more detailed information on the changes, see the README:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/KeithR26/Intermatic-PE653/master/README.md

For step by step installation instructions:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/KeithR26/Intermatic-PE653/master/Installation.txt

I have extensively tested this new version but every installation is different depending on the equipment and how it is installed. It is important to consider this a “Beta test” version until other users have reported back. If you are already using a previous version of the PE653 Device Handler I recommend you save a copy of the code you are running in case you choose to revert back for any reason.

Please report back your comments, concerns, issues or successes. I am excited about this new version and am enjoying the new features.

1 Like
620

I was just getting on to ask why Air Temperature wasn’t showing and saw your update, so I tried that first.

Update all went smooth. However I still don’t see Air Temp (just water temp). It does show “Air: 0 Degrees”

The PE953 is showing both Water Temp and Air Temp and I did nothing to make that happen and it just showed up. The Water Temp also just showed up using SmartThings, but no Air Temp on prior version or this version. Is there something I need to configure on PE953 to get Air Temp to show up.

There are 3 pairs of screws on PE653 I have Air Temp on the set on the right. Water Temp is on the middle pair.

One new problem the old version didn’t have is the Dashboard Shortcut is “stubborn”. It used to work with a tap on the old version. The new version (3.00) tap no longer works. If I long press it just right I can get in. Going through “My Home” comes up fine.

I’m configured as Pool Only, 2 Speed Pump, No Heater, No Boost Pump.

What do I need Switch Child Device for, does you Device Handler Reference it? I did install it, but I didn’t map it to anything.

One suggestion. Can you add custom names to the 1-5 Switches

Thanks for all your work.

621

@KeithR I’m rely looking forward to running this. Thanks for the perseverence! A couple of questions before I dive in…

One of the long-standing issues has been the interface of the PE953 Remote after the PE653 has been paired to ST. Mine is a secondary controller, configured using the Vera instructions from way back, and is fully functional as a remote. It shows up as a device in ST but does nothing.

When upgrading your code in ST, should I leave the PE953 device alone or delete it?

Should I delete the multichannel app?

My plan is to upgrade ST to v 3.00 then try pairing it to Hubitat.

622

@CAL7, leave the 953 remote as is. I have the same setup and use both my ST App as well as the remote. I’ve gradually been trying to bring more of the 953 remote capabilities to the SmartThings app, and version 3.0 continues that trend with the addition of the air temperature, clock and heater displays. That said, I don’t expect to ever completely retire my 953 remote.

It does seem odd to see the 953 remote listed in the “things “list, but it really does not appear that there is anything that SmartThings can productively do with it.

Yes, delete the Multi-channel App. It is deprecated by ST and no longer supported by my DTH either.

Best of luck, I look forward to your feedback.

623

@mswlogo, I see the issue. On my system I have the air temperature connected to the left most pair of terminals and nothing on the right most. Do you have a solar installation? If not is there any reason not to connect your Air temperature to the left terminals? I may also try moving my sensor to the other terminals just to see if I can identify a separate a temperature reading for those as well.

I did not notice any change in behavior on the dashboard. From what I can see, a single tap initiates the primary switch function for most devices. In other words, if it’s a switch a single tap will toggle the switch. A long touch opens the details of the device. That said, I did make a change so that the primary control is now the temperature display so that you see that in the dashboard and on the things list. It used to be the pool spa mode switch, which did not seem that useful as the primary control. Your feedback is appreciated.

The “child switch device” is the new composite device alternative to the old style multi – channel smart app, which was discontinued by SmartThings. It is not mandatory to install it, but it is simple to do so and enables many simplistic automations directly with in SmartThings. If you are using the CoRE rules engine or other smart app that can directly invoke the commands of the device handler, Then you may not need it.

If you do configure the “child switch device”, then after you configure the 653 DTH for the first time it will create the appropriate child devices. Following this, you are free to rename them and they will continue to function regardless of their name

Hope this helps…

624

No, I don’t have Solar. I just took a look at the manual again and see you can put it on Solar/Air (on the right) or Freeze/Air (on the left). I’ll move it tonight.

Thanks.

I tried the Dashboard thing on my wife’s iPhone 6s (iOS 11.4 official latest release) and it worked with a single tap once. But then the second time I had to do the push and hold to get details to show. It was like it wasn’t complete done “upgrading” yet). If you hold it for one certain length of time (and pressure) it does this pop up thing (I think that is the iPhone “3D” push thing) and when you let go it’s gone. If you hold it longer (and not as hard) then it goes in to the normal details.

My iPhone X is running Beta iOS 12. Does the same thing. Not a huge deal, but the old version didn’t have this issue, so something is slightly different. I did try removing it from dashboard and adding it again. Maybe if I completely remove and add it again (vs remap to new code).

I did not do anything with the Multi - Channel thing. It was mapped to some multi channel thing before (as per old instructions). And I did install the new “child switch” thing, but I did not remove or add anything around that, other than create the device and publish with that code.

I might write a smart app to add a schedule to one channel, Or I might be able to use something generic for that. But I want it to check that the pump is running when that channel goes active. I bought the PE653 to help automate Chlorine Dispensing system with a Stenner pump (I’m using a Pentair Tank and Pump).

So far overall everything is running great. I’m very happy. It’s great having the pool temp, that was a bonus. The Air temp was just a freebe.

625

FYI. I bought a Aeotec Range Extender 6 and it’s definitely helping.

With my Hub in it’s normal place (furthest from PE653) it barely worked.
With it in garage (closest to PE653) I think it worked as good as it’s gonna get.

With the Range Extender in the garage and Hub back to it’s furthest point it works 90% as good as Hub being in the garage. Not every command gets “reflected back” and might need a refresh to see status change. With Hub in Garage it was always in sync. With Extender it’s in Sync most times.

Commands seem to always go out though on first try.

I might try adding another range extender in the shed that has the PE653.

626

For reference, configuration is a 2-spd pump (Circuits 1 & 2), waterfall on Cir-4 and light on Cir-5. Solar heating. Android phone and tablet.

Just did the upgrade and (very) early results are super. First look says everything is showing right, but I need to spend some time testing every angle.

One question I have been doing my best not to ask - because I think it’s stupid - but here I go: How do I delete the multichannel app? I know I installed it from the Market years ago and all the switch endpoints are there but I don’t know what it’s called or how to find it to delete it. Do I first delete all the created endpoint switches or do they just go away when I find and delete the multichannel app?

You didn’t ask me, but I have all three: from left-to-right, Air, Water, Solar. Air & Water are giving correct temps. I don’t see the Solar temp in the DTH - if it’s supposed to be there, I’m missing it.

EDIT. One more thing that is not unique to this device, but I can’t use the ST vertical sliders to change temps. I get the screen, adjust the thermometer, but then there’s no way to save it. If I back out, it just stays at the prior temp. Any ideas?