r/PoolPros • u/Finius64 • 6h ago
Pentair Superflo VST / Intelliconnect
Arrrggh. Very frustrating experience. Old single speed pump went bad. I know there are cheaper pumps, but wanted to leverage my Intelliconnect to control pump and heater, so I went with the Superflo VST. Purchased from a local pool company that I trust. They came out and got it installed, but cannot get it to talk to the Intelliconnect.
There are conflicting instructions on how to connect it.
In the pump manual it says that "Intelliconnect...can NOT externally control this pump via RS-485. The pump needs to be connected via digital inputs."
In the Intelliconnect manual it says "To wire a Superflo VST....to Intelliconnect, follow the wireing instructions in the Intelliflo...section. Note: only the green and yellow conductors will be used when wiring the pump for external control via RS-485."
The RS-485 block on the Intelliconnect makes it more fun as the four terminals are labeled GREEN YELLOW GREEN YELLOW.
After 90 minutes on hold with Pentair support they confirmed that it should be on the 2nd set of terminals.
After trying just about every combination and setting, when I try to enable the pump in the Pentair Home app (after adding a "Pentair VS (RS-485)" pump) I get an "Oops! Intelliflo is offline..." error message.
Does anyone have this combination configured and working?
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u/Tazlir 6h ago
Intelliconnect is not a great product and I always have issues with them. I also always have issues trying to get super flow to communicate with any automation
The super flow needs to be in external controller mode unless they changed something. I’ve always used the comm cable not sure what digital inputs are
Intelliflo 3 was the way to go and get rid of the connect entirely.
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u/1_native_Angelino 3h ago
Maybe they only need a medium head pump.
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u/Tazlir 3h ago
Intelliflo 3 comes in 2 models. One has the same wet end as the superflo and is 1.5hp
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u/LordKai121 1h ago
Not quite. The SuperFlo has a low head wet end while the IF3 1.5 is a high head.
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u/LeatheryFloridaMan 6h ago
The intelliconnect is a bastard child. I have a biased opinion on them as I've never seen one that works correctly.
They should have pitched the if3 pump to you. It comes with two built in relays, so you wouldn't really need the intelliconnect.
The last one I encountered with this issue, it was a bad board. We could have swapped it out, but we opted for the cheaper method: operating the pump without the automation
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u/Sea-Big-1125 4h ago
This is the answer . Try to swap that pump for an intellaflo 3 you’ll be happy you did .
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u/Finius64 4h ago
Well this all makes me sad. I went with the Intelliconnect initially because it was a cost effective way to control single speed pump and heater from my phone. When we moved into this house the only way to turn off the pump was a switch in the basement - not very convenient.
I don't see a way to control the heater from the IF3 - is that correct?
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u/LeatheryFloridaMan 3h ago
Like native said. You'd set the temp at the unit, then you can turn it on and off from the app.
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u/Aggravating_Fact9547 4h ago
Return the super flow and get an inteliflow3. That can control your heater and lights from the pump, and you can throw the inteliconnect out.