PH/Redox measurement with Blue Connect now available!

Introduction

In this article we will deal with two things: Once with the Blue Connect Go water analyzer itself and once with the connection of it and the adjustments in the Poolarino® Raspberry Pi pool controller to it. Via the table of contents you have the possibility to comfortably start with the topic you are interested in first. Have fun reading and if you have any questions: Post them in the forum!

PH and redox measurement - a topic in itself

After here the last few weeks has been a little quiet and we (privately) have successfully moved towards the end of the year, I have the last few days again in detail with the topic of PH and ORP measurement. Many of you had wished for this feature and no question: A pool control without these measured values, is also only half finished ;). However, it is not so easy to add PH and ORP measurement to a Raspberry Pi based pool controller. I had thought about ordering different sensors and connecting them to the Poolarino® Raspberry Pi pool controller, but always failed because of the complexity. In the end, the system has to be as easy as possible to manage and handle by the user. Soldering wires or laying 10 or more meters of cable to read out the sensors? That just didn't fit! So while researching on the web, I came across the Blue Connect Go* from the company Fluidra. A smart water analyzer with an app that does exactly what the Poolarino® Raspberry Pi pool control is missing: measure PH and ORP, transmit everything to an app, and then (as the icing on the cake, so to speak) recommend a course of action - what more could you want? But what is the Blue Connect Go* and how does it work? We'll take a closer look at all that in this article!

Blue Connect: The smart Wateranalysator

To kick off the topic, let's first start with a detailed overview of the Blue Connect Water Analyzer!

Blue Connect Go - visual first impression

The Blue Connect comes in modern packaging and makes a very high-quality impression for the price. In addition to the device itself, the box also contains a rubber cap with openings, which is mounted on the underside of the Blue Connect Go when it is in active measurement mode. According to the instructions, the sensor should not be exposed to free air for too long. So if you winterize the pool, replace the permeable rubber cap with the pre-mounted tight cap.

After mounting the permeable cap, the Blue Connect Go is connected to the app by shaking it once briefly. A short beep sounds and you can establish a connection with the app. Of course, you should have created an account in the app beforehand. You should also make sure to fill in the correct values for your pool (water volume, pool type, etc.), because the Blue Connect Go will recommend actions based on this data. Before we go into the details of the app, we will first clarify the differences between the Blue Connect Go and the Blue Connect Plus.

Differences between the Blue Connect Go and Blue Connect Plus

The Blue Connect is available in two different versions: Once with the name Go for about 250€ in the color gray and once with the name Plus for about 350€ in the color blue. However, as the price already suggests, there is a bit more to it than just a different color. The Blue Connect Plus sees itself as an "extended" version of the Go and offers the possibility of PH and ORP analysis as well as the measurement of salinity. Pool owners with a saltwater pool must therefore use the Plus version in any case. We have prepared a small table with features for you to compare:

The Blueriiot - Blue Connect App Initial Setup

So let's move on to a core topic of the Blue Connect: The mobile app! The mobile app is needed to set up the Blue Connect and connect it to your account. After the setup is complete, you can log in to the Poolarino® Raspberry Pi pool controller with the credentials from the app and get all the information from the app directly in the pool controller interface. Now let's put the whole thing into operation:

1. In the first step we have to register. To do this, we click on "Register with e-mail". 2. In the registration form we enter our e-mail address and our desired password. Then we click on "Register". 3. In the next step we enter our personal data. 4. Here we can now enter all details about our pool. Important: Fill in everything as accurately as possible 5. Once we have created the pool, we now connect our Blue Connect to the app. 6. Clicking on "Add water analyzer" starts the setup process. 7. And as soon as we have scanned the QR code, shaken the device and changed the cap, our water analyzer is ready for use.

8. If the setup was successful, we can look at the measured values in the app.

Other accessories for the Blue Connect - Wifi Extender and Fit 50

Wifi-Extender for Blue Connect

In addition to the actual water analyzer, there are also some accessories. Although the Sigfox network is very well developed, it can still happen that there is no reception and the determined measured values cannot be transmitted automatically. This is where the GRE 7015C004 - Wifi Extender for Blue Connect comes in. It looks like a small access point and connects your Blue Connect to your WLAN network. It does not matter whether you are using the Blue Connect Go or the Blue Connect Plus: Both work with the Wifi Extender.

Fit 50 for measuring in the water circuit

Normally, the Blue Connect is simply unpacked for measurement, set up and placed in the pool. There it then continuously performs its service. However, if you don't want to have a floating something in the pool all the time, or are worried that the Blue Connect could get lost, you can also integrate the device into your pump house with the Fit 50 accessories.

The Fit 50 accessory is a hose clamp with 50mm diameter. This can be conveniently used for the existing 50mm piping and the Blue Connect can thus be integrated directly into the water circuit. In addition to the clamp itself, the seals, screws for mounting and even a winter cover are of course included.

Things to know: What is the Sigfox network?

I've already mentioned it several times in this article, but some of you probably don't even know what it is: the Sigfox network. The Sigfox network comes from a French telecommunications company that has set itself the goal of connecting smart Internet of Things devices to the Internet. These are, for example, humidity, air quality or level sensors. Or our Blue Connect! The network coverage is now quite good, and the network is being consistently expanded through the constant construction of new wireless stations. If you don't have Sigfox network coverage, you can alternatively use the GRE 7015C004 - Wifi-Extender*. Attached is a photo of the current network coverage. For more information, please visit http://www.sigfox.de.

Die Karte zeigt, wie gut das Sigfox Netz aufgestellt ist. Hellblau markierte Flächen zeigen an, dass dort Sigfox empfangen werden kann.

Poolarino® Raspberry Pi Poolsteuerung goes Blue Connect

Now that we've covered the Blue Connect in detail, let's get into what adjustments have been made to the pool controller and how we connect the Poolarino® Raspberry Pi pool controller to Blue Connect.

Adjustments in pool control

New setting options for the connection

So that the values read out by the Blue Connect are also displayed in your pool control, I have adjusted a few things in the system. In the settings, you now have the option to log in to the Blue Connect server under the item "Blue Connect PH/Redox". To do this, you use the combination of user name and password that you set during registration. If the connection was successful, the access data will be stored in the system and automatically used for later retrievals of the data. You can delete the access data from your system at any time by clicking on "Logout".

New menu item for displaying the measured values of the Blue Connect

If the connection was successful, the system reloads and after a short wait you will see a new menu item in your pool control. After you have clicked on this menu item, you will receive all the information transmitted by the Blue Connect in your pool control. Both the values measured by the Blue Connect and the recommendations for action are clearly displayed in your system.

Conclusion

As they say: Good things come to those who wait! It took a moment until the PH and ORP values were now displayed in the Poolarino® Raspberry Pi pool control. And even though this is now not directly done via a separate implementation, I still believe that we have reached our goal. No question: The Blue Connect is not a particularly inexpensive solution. But with the variety of expansion options, the accessories and the great app, the price is definitely justified!

If there are questions, suggestions or criticism: Gladly into the forum with it!

You haven't had enough yet? Here you can find more reading material:

• How do I install the Poolarino® Raspberry Pi pool controller?
• Our pool construction: How the planned 1,500€ became almost 7,000€.
• What is Poolarino® actually?