Programming email alert

[GaryM7]

How do I program email alert to notify me if any of my pumps (return, GFO, UV) quit for some reason? Thanks

[zombie]

Do you have a 2016 apex? If you don't there isn't a way, but you can if you have a 2016 apex.

You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.

[Etoimos]

To know if a pump is not working (not just that the outlet it is plugged into is turned off) would require the use of the Flow Monitoring Kit correct?

[zombie]

To know if a pump is not working (not just that the outlet it is plugged into is turned off) would require the use of the Flow Monitoring Kit correct?

Yes and no. You can indirectly tell from electrical current draw. Low current means pump failed completely. High current means pump has stalled.

You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.

[RussM]

Your user profile here doesn't list any EnergyBars, but since it does say you have an Apex 2016, I'll assume you do have an EB832. You can set low and high alarm triggers for EB832 AC outlets using the Inputs page in either Apex Local or Apex Fusion. Setting triggers for watts is usually better than setting them for Amps.

If, for example, your return pump normally draws 55 watts, you might set the low and high alarm triggers for 50 and 60 watts respectively.

[zombie]

Setting triggers for watts is usually better than setting them for Amps.

That seems counterintuitive for AC pumps, are you sure about that?

Under locked rotor (stall) conditions, current draw is 3-6 times normal levels but wattage draw increases only slightly. Under no-load conditions both wattage and current drop significantly.

The exception I see where wattage would be the only good option is if the current is 0.2A or under and precision is limited to 0.1 per step. Otherwise current tells you a lot more about the health of a motor than wattage.

You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.

[GaryM7]

Thanks Russ. Yes, I have the Apex 2016 & related Energy Bar with Fusion on my iPhone. I tried programming Email Alarm notification for each of my pumps to send an email if any of my pumps went to OFF(wore out, etc), but got an error message saying pumps are not on the list of acceptable items for Email Alarm programming. Seems odd and hope that's added in a future update. I'll try your wattage alarm trigger approach, unless someone has a better idea. Could I program each pump to trigger alarm if it went to OFF and then have email notify me, rather than simply programming only the Email Alarm? My goal is to find out if I need to replace a pump.

[RussM]

There is no error message that says specifically that. What you saw was probably due to you using the incorrect syntax. It's helpful if you post any actual error messages verbatim along with the program statements you tried to use.

Use the alarm triggers - it's the best way, and requires no programming statements.

[Etoimos]

Yes and no. You can indirectly tell from electrical current draw. Low current means pump failed completely. High current means pump has stalled.

You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.

How would you code this? My return pump is called "Return_Pump" and is on outlet 2_7.

[RussM]

How would you code this? My return pump is called "Return_Pump" and is on outlet 2_7.

No programming required. Go to the Inputs page in Apex Local or Apex Fusion and select the Watts input for that outlet to configure the desired low and/or high Watts trigger values. The Watts input will be named Return_PumpW

[Etoimos]

No programming required. Go to the Inputs page in Apex Local or Apex Fusion and select the Watts input for that outlet to configure the desired low and/or high Watts trigger values. The Watts input will be named Return_PumpW

Thanks, that was much easier... I even setup the one for Amps while I was there.

[RussM]

In general, there's little or no value in setting alarms for both Watts and Amps for the same outlet.

[zombie]

In general, there's little or no value in setting alarms for both Watts and Amps for the same outlet.

Except for high amps on AC pumps. High watts says next to nothing about the pump but high amps can indicate stalls.

You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.