Need guidance connecting Helio Temp Controller

[xyzner]

New to Hydros and I have the X4 Pro Pack.

I want to integrate the IM Helio Controller and its two 300 watt heaters to my Hydros system, but the logic is going over my head. I saw a previous post from 2022 about setting the Hydros up as a back up to the Helio by setting the turn on and turn off on the Hydros to be 3 degrees higher than the Helio settings. However, I can’t even turn on the Helio unless I have the outlet “On” on my XP8. This I’m afraid also eliminates the option of having the Hydros do the lifting for temp control. It would just constantly reset the Helio…

Would it make sense to have my Hydros settings be: “Turn on at 74” and “Turn off at 80”? Then I’ll set my Helio for 77 or 78?

My logic is that I need the Hydros outlet for the Helios to be powered on unless there is a failure… otherwise I can’t even get power to turn on the Helio. The Hydros would then be a safety measure if the tank heats up past 80 due to faulty heaters/Helio.

This was long winded but hopefully makes sense to someone!

 

[oorob00]

I have my inkbirds setup similar to that. I have the XP8 Outlet setup as a Heater to turn on at 76 and off at 79, then have the inkbird setup to heat from 77 to 78. I will get two notification if the heater fails, one from Inkbird being offline and another from Hydros for temps being out of range on the temp sensor.

 

[thom_smith]

Did you cable the controls together via command bus AND configure a collective? Did you create a Heater output that goes into Fallback state? Check these out...

HYDROS Control - Adding to Collective

Here is an easy to follow how-to add your WaveEngine to your existing HYDROS Collective.

www.coralvuehydros.com

HYDROS Control - Add Temperature Sensor

This is a simple how-to add a Temperature Sensor to your HYDROS Control

www.coralvuehydros.com

HYDROS Control - How To Add a Heater

Here we will show you how to add a Heater to your HYDROS Control

www.coralvuehydros.com

 

[thom_smith]

By default your Helio should heat to 77°. Set your Hydros output something like this and it'll never go off unless your Helio goes wonky.



After you configure, flip it to ON for a few moments then to AUTO. Otherwise it'll be off for a bit until your tank drops to 76.5 when it'll turn on and remain on while Helios will manages the temp at 77.

 

[xyzner]

Thank you so much for the help! I will try to copy the above when I get home from work. I do have the collective set up and my temp probe configured. Just became stuck trying to figure out the Helio and heater setup.

 

[thom_smith]

Thank you so much for the help! I will try to copy the above when I get home from work. I do have the collective set up and my temp probe configured. Just became stuck trying to figure out the Helio and heater setup.

The only thing you are going to find is you won't be able to depend on XP8 power monitoring with this config. The Helio will be turning the element on and off so the XP8 power range will be a couple of watts with Helio only to 300+ watts when Helio is running the heater. XP8 doesn't communicate with so doesn't know if the element is on or off and what wattage should be. Just knows what it is. Not a huge deal because you've got your temperature sensor and can set a safe range with notification if it gets low.

 

[xyzner]

Yes - definitely a bummer about not getting the power monitoring. I bought the Helio a year ago and at the time didn’t know much about Hydros. In hindsight, I would have just bought two jager heaters, let the Hydros take control, and called it a day. I’m all set up and working now though! Thanks again for your help.

 

[thom_smith]

Yes - definitely a bummer about not getting the power monitoring. I bought the Helio a year ago and at the time didn’t know much about Hydros. In hindsight, I would have just bought two jager heaters, let the Hydros take control, and called it a day. I’m all set up and working now though! Thanks again for your help.

I have Helios also. They're good controls and maintaining accurate and consistent temperature. If power notifications are important, you can change your logic such that Hydros manages temperature and Helio is a few degrees higher. Helio would never get up to temperature and turn off because Hydros is preventing it. But when Hydros has the output on it would always be 300+ watts.

 

[xyzner]

Wouldn’t that constantly turn the Helio on and off though? I set Helio to 78 since that room tends to run a little warm as well. I worry about the Helio constantly being turned on and off + it defaulting back to 77 each time Hydros powers it back on. I’m all ears if you have any thoughts on that!