Web-based interface to control/configure my pool functions

[abarclay]

I am sure this has already been addressed somewhere in the forum, but I am a new user and the search function in the forum has been disabled until I post a new thread.

Here goes. I am a hands-off pool owner. I moved into my house 18 months ago and just continued with the pool service that the previous owner has used. I feel like an idiot because when things go wrong (which they often do), I have to call in the pool service to fix them.

Examples of things that have gone wrong since I've owned the pool.
-2 of the controllers on my valves have gone bad and needed to be replaced (symptom was the spa emptying completely when the pool was on).
- gas heater stopped working (I believe they replaced the thermostat)

A few weeks back, I came to the conclusion that my controller was never routing water to the solar panels. I called out the pool guy. He looked at the panel and found that the temp on the roof was registering as 9 degrees F. He said the temp sensor was probably bad. I decided to do the replacement myself. I purchased a replacement sensor and, after much troubleshooting, determined that the wire was actually broken and the sensor was fine. I re-ran a new wire and it is now working.
(of course, while up on the roof, I noticed there is a pretty big leak in one of the solar panels).

Which brings me to the purpose of my post. I don't like the interface to the easy touch. I want to be able to control the pool and configure the settings from my a nice computer interface or from my android phone. I am thinking about ordering the "screenlogic2 interface kit" and I'm wondering what the forum thinks about it. I'm not sure which kit to order. I 'think' I need the 520500. Should I run a cable to the protocol adapter, or should I buy the wireless kit?

Any info would be appreciated.

[PoolDoc]

Hi Andy;

I'm not sure how much info you'll be able to get. The stability of pool industry software and firmware is low. My own experience suggests that most of it never rises above beta-quality level. More significantly, it's constantly under revision, so there is little synchronicity among various user experiences, even when they all share the 'same' electronic product.

You could get lucky though, so it may be worth a try. However, I'd *strongly* suggest you try to get through to the people at Pentair coding and maintaining that beast. Answers from any other source are likely to really low in quality. It may not be as hard to reach them as you'd think. A control program that costs around $400, that has a 90+ page manual (http://www.pentairpool.com/pdfs/screenlogicUG.pdf), and that is utterly incomprehensible to most pool industry members is not going to be widely sold, and is going to be even less widely used. (I've encountered many electronic control and management systems on pools, over the years. I have *NEVER* encountered one that was working as intended; more then half have been turned off or disconnected.) The team at Pentair may be eager to deal with someone techy enough to try their product, and return valid user information that they almost certainly will never receive through channel.

BUT . . . Pentair has recently begun dinking around with warranties when applied to DIY sales. Be careful before you buy.

Good luck!