Ports to connect on The Attendant: BUS1 – BUS4 or Heater H1 – H5
Ports to connect on The Attendant Mini: BUS1 – BUS2 or Heater H1 – H2
These devices should only be powered directly from the power center or breaker panel. Do not run electricity through a relay as The Attendant will control the device to turn on/off by using the communication cable.
Pentair MasterTemp heaters can be controlled using either a fireman switch (dry contact) or RS-485 serial communication.
Dry contact control allows The Attendant to turn the heater on or off based on a target water temperature. RS-485 provides the same functionality, with the added benefit of reading and reporting error codes from the heater.
Poolside Tech recommends using RS-485 whenever possible for enhanced diagnostics and communication, but it is not required. If your MasterTemp heater does not include an RS-485 communication port, please follow the dry contact instructions below.
Serial RS-485 BUS Connection (Recommended)
Disconnect power to the heater from the breaker panel.
Remove the four corner wing nuts that secure the top panel. Lift the top panel upwards to remove the top panel.
Use a 2 or more conductor 18-20 gauge cable to connect to the RS485 port on the heater control panel circuit board. Be sure to route the cable away from the exhaust. Connect the other end to any open BUS port on The Attendant.
Connect the cable to one of the “Bus” ports on the attendant.
Turn the heater power back on at the breaker panel.
NOTE
The MasterTemp heater defaults to an address of 1. This address can be changed by using the local LCD panel on the heater on newer heaters.
Once the heater is controlled via The Attendant the local heater LCD will display “RS485 Control.”
Dry Contact / Fireman Switch Connection
- Turn off power to the unit
- Open the control box cover
- Remove the factory installed jumper from the Fireman’s Switch terminals
- Connect 18awg wire to Fireman’s Switch terminals
- Connect both conductors of the wire to one of the heater ports on The Attendant
- Turn the heater on and set its temperature to the maximum allowable limit. The Attendant will handle turning the heater on and off based on the settings in the app, overriding the heater’s internal set points.
Troubleshooting
If you’re connected through the BUS port and experiencing communication issues, make sure the JMP1 jumper is set to ‘Disable 3-Wire Control’.
