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Controller calibration & pulsing

Dolly

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derby
I have just purchased a brand new v11 spring controller and shurflo pump with pressure switch but I am having problems . It won't auto calibrate as it comes up with p5 & error . I can calibrate it manually and the flow rate adjusts up & down ok but when it's on de I can hear my pump trying to start every 4 seconds which will probably use my battery if not switched off . I thought that once it was on de it shouldn't keep trying to start . I don't have any leaks anywhere and any ideas why it won't auto calibrate . I have changed my hose to different size as well but with no luck . Any help much appreciated as its doing my head in . I changed from a manual controller to a digital as was told they were a lot better and didn't leave pressure in your hose .

 
The electronic pressure switch is what it causing the controller to check every 4 seconds to see if the pressure in the hose has dropped. It's the way it all controllers with electronic pressure switches work. It sends out a pulse to start the motor to sense whether the pressure in the hose has dropped or not.

 
The electronic pressure switch is what it causing the controller to check every 4 seconds to see if the pressure in the hose has dropped. It's the way it all controllers with electronic pressure switches work. It sends out a pulse to start the motor to sense whether the pressure in the hose has dropped or not.
 
Hi spruce and thanks for the reply. Do all electronic controllers do this and wouldn't it use the battery more if left switched on and not used. Also any idea why mine won't auto calibrate. I set it to 30 as the instruction manual says and then go to auto calibrate and the pressure switch i think kicks in and then it says p5 error and thats as far as it gets. I am on just to test it 30mtrs of 6mm internal hose.

 
I changed from a manual controller to a digital as was told they were a lot better and didn't leave pressure in your hose .
I don't understand what your issue is here. When you switch your tap off the controller will pressurise the hose and keep it pressurised ready for you to switch the water back on to clean the next window. The controller will test the pressure every 4 seconds and if the pressure in the hose has dropped (because you opened your tap) then it will start the pump.

A manual controller relies on the manual pressure switch in the pump to switch the pump off when it reaches the pressure the pressure switch is set to; usually 100 psi although adjustable. All a manual controller does is slow the motor down which reduces the rate the pumps works at and hence reduces the flow at your brush head.

If you have correctly calibrated your Spring controller then the electronic pressure switch will cut off at the optimized pressure you want your system to work at. Lets say that it sets the pump to kick out at 65psi. This means that your controller is saving you battery power as the pump draws more current to reach a higher cutoff pressure. So what little bit is being used when the controller pulses the pump to check that the pressure is still there has been more than saved to begin with.

Overall, your pump will draw less current a day that the same pump working with a manual pressure switch and simple manual controller will.

 
I don't understand what your issue is here. When you switch your tap off the controller will pressurise the hose and keep it pressurised ready for you to switch the water back on to clean the next window. The controller will test the pressure every 4 seconds and if the pressure in the hose has dropped (because you opened your tap) then it will start the pump.
A manual controller relies on the manual pressure switch in the pump to switch the pump off when it reaches the pressure the pressure switch is set to; usually 100 psi although adjustable. All a manual controller does is slow the motor down which reduces the rate the pumps works at and hence reduces the flow at your brush head.

If you have correctly calibrated your Spring controller then the electronic pressure switch will cut off at the optimized pressure you want your system to work at. Lets say that it sets the pump to kick out at 65psi. This means that your controller is saving you battery power as the pump draws more current to reach a higher cutoff pressure. So what little bit is being used when the controller pulses the pump to check that the pressure is still there has been more than saved to begin with.

Overall, your pump will draw less current a day that the same pump working with a manual pressure switch and simple manual controller will.

Ok Thanks, I just presumed that once my tap was turned off that it wouldn't use any battery. Didn't realise that it would pulse every 4 seconds to check but if I save on battery against a manual one then thats fine. On the calibration issue, have you any idea why my controller won't do the auto calibrate as it just says p5 err after trying. I have contacted the supplier of this but haven't had a reply.

 
Hi spruce and thanks for the reply. Do all electronic controllers do this and wouldn't it use the battery more if left switched on and not used. Also any idea why mine won't auto calibrate. I set it to 30 as the instruction manual says and then go to auto calibrate and the pressure switch i think kicks in and then it says p5 error and thats as far as it gets. I am on just to test it 30mtrs of 6mm internal hose.

They all do. I don't have a V11 controller, but I do have a Varistream (4 actually), and they do exactly the same thing.

The difference between the Spring and the Varistream is that ours doesn't have auto calibrate. We have to set ours manually.

We do this by running the pump at the flow rate we prefer and then set the calibration to cut out just above that flow.

Ian Sheppard from Spring has a wealth of info on how to calibrate these controllers. [email protected]

Varistream controllers were introduced to overcome the problem most Shurflo pumps had in the early days of burnt out pressure switches.

If the pump was left switched on for days on end, then yes, you would use battery current, but I wouldn't like to guess on how long it would take for it to flatten your battery. You wouldn't do that anyway. But leaving it on for 1/2 an hour won't make much difference - it never has done with ours.

We use 2 pumps most days with a 110 amp leisure battery. With the controller set at the flow we use our pump draws between 3.5 and 4 amps, which is much less than they would using the pump's pressure switch. I was watching the amp meter gauge we have across the leisure battery the other day and most of the time the 4 second pulse was so fast the gauge didn't pick the current draw up.

 
Many thanks Spruce , I'm sure I will get to the bottom of it and thanks again for all your advice .

Many thanks Shaun

 
@DollyWhat Spruce says is correct. Your controller is working as normal.

Click on this link and scroll down to your controller for how to collaborate it

Hi jimmy , I have done that and for some reason it won't auto calibrate . It just goes to p5 err

 
Further to this Dolly, I will try to explain how an electronic pressure switch works.

If you take our Shurflo pumps and run them with a very low flow with very little resistance in the water line, our pumps may draw around 2 amps. As we increase the flow the pump has to work harder and in doing so, uses more current. If you switch the tap off then the pressure in the water line will continue to build until it reaches 100psi. The manual pressure switch will cut the power to the pump motor and switch the pump off. But to reach 100psi that pump will probably have drawn 7 to 8 amps.

We have found that we can successfully work with a pressure of a little less than 65psi. So our calibration is probably around that figure - I tested it once but that was a long time ago. But as the controller reaches that cutoff pressure of say 65psi the motor is only drawing about 5 amps. So here is the saving of battery power. The pump doesn't have to work as hard and so the pump should last longer. (We have one pump 9 years old and the second is 8 years old, both in everyday use.)

So you aren't actually setting an actual pressure with your calibration. You are telling the controller at what current draw you want the pump to stop at, which translates into a pressure setting.

 
Further to this Dolly, I will try to explain how an electronic pressure switch works.
If you take our Shurflo pumps and run them with a very low flow with very little resistance in the water line, our pumps may draw around 2 amps. As we increase the flow the pump has to work harder and in doing so, uses more current. If you switch the tap off then the pressure in the water line will continue to build until it reaches 100psi. The manual pressure switch will cut the power to the pump motor and switch the pump off. But to reach 100psi that pump will probably have drawn 7 to 8 amps.

We have found that we can successfully work with a pressure of a little less than 65psi. So our calibration is probably around that figure - I tested it once but that was a long time ago. But as the controller reaches that cutoff pressure of say 65psi the motor is only drawing about 5 amps. So here is the saving of battery power. The pump doesn't have to work as hard and so the pump should last longer. (We have one pump 9 years old and the second is 8 years old, both in everyday use.)

So you aren't actually setting an actual pressure with your calibration. You are telling the controller at what current draw you want the pump to stop at, which translates into a pressure setting.
Hi, what I could do with then to try and set it correctly is a pressure gauge . Would I just put the gauge in the end of the hose ? . Sorry for all the questions only this is new to me and want it setting up to the most efficient it can be .

 
Hi, what I could do with then to try and set it correctly is a pressure gauge . Would I just put the gauge in the end of the hose ? . Sorry for all the questions only this is new to me and want it setting up to the most efficient it can be .
Everybody's system will be different. We use minibore hose. Someone else using microbore will have to set their calibration slightly higher as more pressure or force will be needed to push the water through a smaller orifice. In the winter you will need a higher pressure setting due to the coldness of the water.

If you are working at height you will again need a higher pressure setting.

Our system was working fine, but out of curiosity I put the pressure gauge on it. For our setup 65 psi was the cutoff pressure at that particular time.

As we get into winter I automatically raise the cutoff of the controller higher and lower it in the summer when the water is warmer so this figure of 65 psi isn't a given.

 

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