Controlling your Hayward SuperPump remotely

Controlling your Hayward SuperPump remotely…

Tested on the SP2603VSP model.

  

So you purchased a Hayward SuperPump to filter your pool quietly and efficiently. You did your research and found that these variable speed pumps are programmable and have multiple timers to allow you to get top performances when filtration or backwash is needed and quiet moments when you enjoy your pool. But now that everything is setup, you want to trigger these timers without going next to your filtration system every time; you want to turn that thing on and off remotely when you vacuum the pool without asking your kids to go press that little button off and on when you want to connect your gear to the skimmer. The problem is, you already spent all your money on the pump itself and even if Hayward would like to sell you additional gear to control it with their app, you can’t afford it.

That was my case, but when I did my research, I saw in the manual of my SP2603VSP model that it is possible to interface the pump in multiple ways. I will present you today one way, the easy one, supporting integration with today’s automations systems such as Vera, MQTT, Home-assistant, etc… I’m working on a second way, using the RS485 port but I’m still having issues with it so that will be another tutorial, hopefully before next summer!

**Disclamer** : This tutorial is from my personal initiative and is not supported anyhow by Hayward. Still, it shouldn’t void your warranty since no hardware or software modification is done on the pump itself.

So you will need:

-1 Hayward SuperPump. I have a SP2603VSP.

-1 Sonoff 4 relays module. (25$cad). I got the R1Pro but the others should work too, find pinout online…

-1 Sonoff Remote. (5$cad). Not required but a nice addition.

-1 USB to TTL converter to program the Sonoff only (12$cad).

      Flashing the Sonoff:

The Sonoff 4 relay module device can be flashed to take all advantages of the ESP8286 chip with Espurna firmware, allowing the device to connect your Wifi network and been controlled from its own web interface without using Sonoff proprietary software. At the same time, the module relays can be controlled from a remote directly via RF 433MHz signal. To flash the device, you will need a USB to TTL converter. I won’t go into details here on how to achieve that since it is already well described online but you will find below 2 videos that should help you.

-Install / solder wires to program the module,

-Put the module in flash mode,

-Flash it J (I used Espurna)

-Configure it via its web interface.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOFvbdYkOII

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDnNI5wkNNY

Once done, you need to set the module in order for each relays to run individually without allowing multiple of them to be triggered at the same time. This can be done easily by setting the switch on the board as follow. (Don’t forget to turn the board off before)

Sonoff Dip switch photo to come...

Hooray, most of the work is done!

Now you need to sync your remote with the module directly and then attach it to the pump.

      Sync your remote:

To sync your remote with the module, first, power the Sonoff module on. I assume you already did all the configuration to make sure it connects to your wifi network as described in the earlier Espurna tutorial. Wifi is not required since the RF remote can talk with the module directly but you still need the unit to boot up before pairing them. (The boot process takes a few second and the blue wifi led will blink repeatedly once connected and ready). To pair your remote, you will have to program each button separately. To do so, press 2 times on the first relay button on the module; then press the remote button to assign it to this relay. The relay led on the module will blink green meaning that pairing was successful. Repeat for the 3 other buttons.

      Wire the Sonoff module to your pump:

-Remove power from the pump. (Hey, its 230v… you don’t want to burn yourself!)

-Remove the power from the module. We won’t need it anymore as it will be powered by the pump itself. (Yep, no additional power module needed)

-Unscrew the 2 screws holding the display of the pump as described in the (Manual pages 12-14)

-Unscrew the 3 screws to access the drive board. (Manual pages 12-14)

(Note that the dip switch in the manual diagram is the opposite of what it should be, at least from my comprehension of the diagram):

SW1 should ON and SW2-3-4-5 set to OFF). SW1 controls the display interface and need to be kept ON because later the interface will have to be set in “Relay operation mode”.

Based on the diagram found on pages 15 to 18, this is how the Sonoff module should be attached to the pump.

I used 3 speeds and kept the 4^th relay as a security stop. The security stop is not required as we can set the timer 1 to be at 0 rpm (meaning off…) but still, the option is here so why not using it. Also, I used shielded Cat5 for that, nothing fancy since this is all low voltage.

-The relays are connected to the “Digital Input” connector

-Keep the display interface connected to the RS485 connector as the drive still need to talk with the interface in that mode but keep in mind that the way your pump is set to run in relay mode, none of the interface button will work. (The interface send a signal repeatedly to the drive allowing it to be controlled by the relays.

-With the interface connected to the RS485, jump the COM and ICOM ports together. This is required in order to power the Sonoff from the pump. Also, wires will run from the COM and +12V to the Sonoff to power it and send signal to each relay.

-Note the X on the High voltage ports of the Sonoff. Do not connect anything here as you will fry your pump ( I suggest unsoldering this connector – That’s what I did, in order to limit the risk). You can also unsolder the Sonoff power connector since it will be powered directly from the pump.

On a side note, you could set more than 3 speeds but it would be painful to use the remote in that case since multiple relays have to be set on simultaneously. That’s why, for convenience I only used and programmed Timer 1 : 0rpm(off), Timer 2 : 800prm(quiet), Timer 3 : 1600rpm(filter) and Timer 5: 3450rpm(backwash) based on the table below. (Manual page 16)

     Program your pump interface:

-The Timer 1 is the only one that can be set to 0rpm (off). All the others have a minimum speed of 600rpm, I don’t know why but that how they designed it. Meaning that when no relay are triggered, the pump will be off based on my connexion setup; great, that’s what I want!

-As mentioned before, in order for the relays to work, the interface needs to be set to run in Relay mode. See manual page 21-22 “Remote Control Mode”

-I’ve set Timers 2,3 and 5 to run at a specific date and time (they can’t be off) in order to specify their rpm speed only. Even if you program them to run at a specific time and day, the system won’t care and won’t run them since the pump is set to run in Relay mode so no worries, your pump will only run based on the relay status, not the timers…

A cheaper option could be to use a 1 relay only Sonoff module, attach it to the OVDR port and use the pump internal timers. With that option, you leave the pump remote control in “Stand alone” mode (Manual page 21-22) so the pump will use predefined timers but will still listen for the port OVDR. When the relay turn on, the pump goes off and displays a yellow led saying that Override was triggered.

That’s it J You can now control it remotely without using Hayward fancy controller at a cheaper price and enjoy easy integration within your domotic network. As for all your IoT devices, I would suggest that you firewall them and allow access to it only via your home network and to control them remotely either connect to your network using a vpn connexion or via a trusted gateway such as a Vera or HomeKit.