power setting on AutoPilot

[brent.roberts]

the water temp cycles between 82 and 88 daily on a solar system.

The autopilot has nothing connected to it put the pump. The solar system has a separate pump and controller. No interconnect at all.

[Poolsean]

Brent,

This is the temperature compensation feature adjusting the output automatically. I think what's happening is that the higher water temperature directly from the solar panels are increasing the output. To check this, observe what the Pool Pilot is displaying the water temperature to be when the purifier % increases.
I've heard other people say that the difference in the inlet vs outlet water from the solar panel can be up to 20 degrees split! That would certainly affect the temp compensation.
The water temperature as measured in the pool may seem steady at 82 - 88 degrees, but the solar panel will dump alot of heat directly out of the panels.
Regardless of what the temperature compensation is fluctuating the purifier % to, make your adjustments from what the display shows.

Hope this explains it.

[brent.roberts]

thnaks for the responses. The solar discharge is about 5 degrees warmer than the pool water. It is taken from the pool and discharged back into it through independant plumbing. No mixing. The intake for the filter/chlorinator is unaffected by the solar discharge. The temp on the Autopilot is always within 2 degrees of the actual pool water temp. So for practical purposes we can ignore the solar system. The only effect is the slow climb in temps through the day and cooling at night.

[Davenj]

Mine swings from low 20's in the morning to mid to high 40's during the day. If the pool goes into the upper 80's the output goes to the low 50's. Power level 2 with a 48 cell also.

[semenzato]

My Autopilot output level also varies quite a bit with temperature changes. It's easy to notice because when the pump starts, the temperature of the water in the pipes varies between 75 (water standing in pipes in the shade) to 90 (water that has been sitting in the solar panels)---a 15F change or more is not uncommon. You may have a similar effect at startup time. If the output swings wildly with small temperature changes (and you may read the temperature directly on the unit) then I would worry about it, otherwise this seems normal.

One thing that I would like from Pool Pilot, however, is the ability to set the output level consistently when the temperature changes. Suppose for instance that I want to turn off the unit for a while (chlorine too high). I check the level, say it is 30% at 85F, and bring it to 0 (I don't know of other ways of turning it off). Later I want to put it back to where it was, but now the temperature is 92F, and I can only guess. Sean, would you be able to post a chart that shows how output levels and temperature are correlated? Surely this is not proprietary information---your customers could find it out for ourselves, but you could save us the work.

Thanks!

[Poolsean]

I'll get that information to you if someone can tell me how to attach a document.

[brent.roberts]

never tried to attach a document.

if it's on the autopilot web site, just point us in that direction.

[semenzato]

It doesn't seem too difficult. Click on "Go Advanced" (next to "Quick Reply") at the bottom, then click on "Manage Attachments" at the bottom. There is a maximum file size but it's sufficiently generous for a small table. I attached a random picture from a visit to a power plant (the water chemistry lab, of all places...). A PDF document would be best. Putting it on the Autopilot web site would be even better.

Thanks!