Feature Egg Timer not working as expected

[shinerblue]

The Problem I’m Facing

I’m trying to use the "Quick Clean" feature I created to run my pump at full speed for a short period. When I turn on "Quick Clean" manually, the pump ramps up to the expected speed, and the egg timer, which I set to 1 min or 1 hour in the Features tab, starts counting down. I can see this countdown displayed on the panel, which is exactly what I expect so far.

However, the problem is that when the egg timer reaches zero, the "Quick Clean" feature doesn’t turn off like it’s supposed to. The pump keeps running at the same speed, and the feature stays active. I expected the feature to be disabled automatically after the 1-hour duration, and for the pump to revert to the current feature or schedule (like "Daytime" if it’s between 7:00 AM and 10:00 PM, or to stop if no other schedule is active), but that’s not happening.

What I’ve Tried

At first, I thought the issue might be a conflict with my "Daytime" schedule, which runs from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM every day. I figured that since "Quick Clean" sets the pump to a higher speed, maybe the "Daytime" schedule was interfering when the egg timer expired. To test this, I went to the Schedules tab, unchecked the "Disabled" box for the "Daytime" schedule to disable it, and saved the change. Then I tried turning on "Quick Clean" again. The egg timer started counting down as before, but even with the "Daytime" schedule disabled, the "Quick Clean" feature still didn’t turn off after the timer reached zero. The pump just kept running at the same speed. I reviewed Egg Timer Not Behaving as Expected #948 and I think there is something similar going on.

My Setup

Pumps Tab: I have a single pump, the "Main Pump," Type IntelliFlo VSF model (actually IntelliPro VSF pump but we don't have that as a choice). It’s set to Port: Primary, Address: 1, with a minimum speed of 450 RPM and a maximum speed of 3,450 RPM. Controlled via RS-485. The flow settings are 15 GPM minimum and 130 GPM maximum. I’ve assigned three pump circuits:
Overnight: 1,500 RPM
Daytime: 2,100 RPM
Quick Clean: 3,450 RPM

Features Tab: I’ve set up a few features, including:

• Overnight: Generic type, egg timer set to 12 hours, shown as a feature.
• Daytime: Generic type, egg timer set to 12 hours, shown as a feature.
• Quick Clean: Generic type, egg timer set to 1 hour, shown as a feature.

Circuits Tab: My circuits are configured as:

• Pool Cleaner: Generic type, egg timer 4 hours, with freeze protection enabled.
• Waterfall: Pool type, egg timer 2 hours, freeze protection enabled.
• Pool: Pool type, egg timer 12 hours, freeze protection enabled.
• Pool Lights: Light type, egg timer 12 hours.

Schedules Tab: I have several schedules running:

• Overnight: 10:00 PM - 6:00 AM, every day.
• Pool Cleaner: 7:00 AM - 9:00 AM, every day.
• Daytime: 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM, every day.
• Pool Lights: Sunset to Sunrise, every day.

System Info:
njsPC: Version 8.1.0
dashPanel: Version 8.1.0
Panel: Master, Module: Nixie Single Body, Firmware: P/N: NXP 1.0.0.
Counts: 4 circuits, 3 features, 2 valves, 4 schedules.

[tagyoureit]

Can you attach a packet capture with the 1 min egg timer set? Start the capture (make sure to NOT reset the settings) before you turn on the circuit, let it run the whole minute and fail to turn off, and then stop the capture. Upload it here.

However, I think the only bug here might be that the circuit doesn't turn off. It won't change the pump RPM's back. The only purpose of an egg timer is to turn off a circuit after a specified time. It doesn't add any additional logic beyond that.

If you have the pumps off (no schedule running) and start the feature for 1 minute, I'd expect it to turn on the pump at 3450, run for a minute and turn the pump off.

But when a schedule is running, I would expect the circuit/feature to turn off but the pump to continue running at 3450 just as if you had manually changed it.

What you more likely want is to have the Quick Clean as part of the schedule. This should adjust the RPMs back to the regular schedule when it finishes.

I also know you likely want to run this 'on demand' and for that you would need something more like a macro: set the pump to 3450, wait a minute/hour, set it back to X. This could most easily be done via an external app or home automation system.

[shinerblue]

Thank you for the detailed feedback and suggestions. I’ve captured the packet log as requested and detailed my analysis below. I’ve also added some additional observations and context about the Egg Timer issue, my goal with the "Quick Clean" feature, and a workaround I found using a Circuit Group, which further highlights the Egg Timer bug with features.

Packet Capture Analysis:

• I started the packet capture at 18:00:00 on 2025-04-13 without resetting the settings.
• At 18:00:10, I manually turned on the "Quick Clean" feature (ID 131, 3,450 RPM, Egg Timer: 1 minute).
• I waited until 18:01:30 (1 minute and 20 seconds later), confirming that "Quick Clean" did not turn off and the "Dashboard" still displayed "<1m".
• The Main Pump remained at 3,450 RPM during this time.
• I stopped the packet capture at 18:01:30. I can upload the log file if needed, but my analysis showed no packets indicating an automatic turn-off of "Quick Clean" around the expected expiration time (18:01:10), aligning with the feature remaining on.

Additional Observation on Egg Timer Issue:

I also created a random feature to test the Egg Timer functionality, and the Egg Timer on that feature never turns off the feature either. This suggests the Egg Timer issue isn’t specific to "Quick Clean" but affects features in general.

Goal with "Quick Clean":

My goal is to replicate the "Quick Clean" setting on my IntelliPro VSF Pump (side note: is it possible to add IntelliPro VSF to the pump choices?), which I like to use but can’t when the pump is controlled by Node.js Pool Controller. I thought I could add it as a feature in Node.js Pool Controller and let it time out using the Egg Timer. I can think of a few ways to work around this, including using Home Assistant (which I have integrated), but if we can track down the Egg Timer problem or bug, that would be great too.

Workaround Using a Circuit Group:

I found a workaround by creating a Circuit Group called "Quick Clean (CG)" with one circuit, "Full Speed (F)" (ID 135, also 3,450 RPM), and set the Egg Timer to 1 minute. This Circuit Group times out correctly after 1 minute and reverts the pump RPM from full speed (3,450 RPM) to the current schedule’s speed (e.g., "Daytime" at 2,100 RPM). This further indicates there’s an Egg Timer bug specific to features, and it also demonstrates that the pump RPM does revert to the scheduled speed when the feature or group turns off, contrary to the expectation below.

Clarification on Pump RPM Behavior:

You mentioned that when a schedule is running (e.g., "Daytime" at 2,100 RPM), you’d expect the Egg Timer to turn off "Quick Clean" after 1 minute, but the pump should continue running at 3,450 RPM, as if the speed was manually changed. However, our observations differ:

• When I manually turn off "Quick Clean" (e.g., at 11:50:51 on 2025-04-13, as seen in consoleLog), the pump reverts to the "Daytime" schedule speed of 2,100 RPM. This is confirmed by the packet log at 11:50:52, where the pump speed changes to 2,100 RPM ([8,52]).
• Similarly, when the "Quick Clean (CG)" Circuit Group times out after 1 minute, the pump also reverts to 2,100 RPM, as set by the "Daytime" schedule.
• This behavior suggests that the pump speed is tied to the active feature/schedule, and when "Quick Clean" (or a Circuit Group) is turned off, the "Daytime" schedule reasserts its speed (2,100 RPM), rather than the pump continuing at 3,450 RPM as a manual override.
• The primary issue remains that the Egg Timer fails to turn off "Quick Clean" after 1 minute, as evidenced by poolState.json (the endTime of "2025-04-13T11:51:55.423-0500" has passed, but "isOn": true at 11:53:01).

Additional Test Without a Schedule:

Per your suggestion, I can test the scenario with no schedule running (pumps off) to confirm the expected behavior: turning on "Quick Clean" should run the pump at 3,450 RPM for 1 minute and then turn it off (0 RPM). However, given the Egg Timer isn’t turning off "Quick Clean", I expect it will fail to turn off the pump in this scenario as well. I’ll perform this test and report back if needed.

Thoughts on Workarounds:

• Circuit Group Workaround: As mentioned, using a Circuit Group ("Quick Clean (CG)") with an Egg Timer works correctly, turning off after 1 minute and reverting the pump speed to the scheduled value. This is a viable temporary solution but doesn’t address the underlying bug with features.
• Macro for On-Demand: For on-demand use, a macro to set the pump to 3,450 RPM for a duration and then revert to the scheduled speed makes sense. Since I have Home Assistant integration enabled, I can create an automation there to achieve this. However, I’d prefer to resolve the Egg Timer bug so I can use the feature as intended within Node.js Pool Controller.

Next Steps:

• I’ve provided the analysis from the packet capture above and can upload the log file if needed.
• I’ve also adjusted the log level to debug in config.json to capture more details, but the previous logs (info level) didn’t show Egg Timer events. I can provide updated logs if needed.
• Please let me know if you’d like me to test the no-schedule scenario or provide additional information.

Thanks for your help!

[EPiSKiNG]

Just wanted to bump this, as I also can't seem to have egg timers work properly to shut off after the time has expired. Following the thread to see if there is any progress.

Thanks!

[tagyoureit]

If this is still an issue, please do attach the actual packet capture. That's what is needed.

[EPiSKiNG]

It appears to be working properly. Probably something I wasn't doing right. User error. :)

Thanks!

[Hect0rG]

I am not sure if this is the same thing that is happening above but I have been playing with the egg timers a bit to understand how it works. Here are a few observations.

I have a pool Schedule that keeps my daily pool pump run at 1500 RPM. The Type is set to Pool

If I create Other Aux Cirtcuits and utilize the same "Pool" type, the pump will react odly. At imes it turns the pump off completley and then come up tp the speed on the Feature, Some times it ramps up correctly ( I think its a timing thing). If it has an egg timer that stops or is stopped manually, then the large Green Bubble on the main screen beside the Pool Temp will get disabled ( most of the time), and my chlorinator is also disabled when this happens even though there is still time left on my daily schedule. I believe that selecting the "Pool" type has both the daily schedule and the Feature compete with each other and there is no telling who will win.

If I however change the type on my other Features to "Generic" it all functions just as I expect it should. If my Schedule is running my pump normally runs at 1500 RPM. If I click on a feature that increases the speed, the speed will go up until either the egg timer has elapsed or I manually turn off the timer. Once this feature is off, the pump continues on its regular schedule.

Now from Home Assistant, I can click on the feature (Quick Clean) and the egg timer on njspool takes care of turning off the circuit. Once its done, njs pool controller returns to the schedule if its on a scheduled time. The timer here is just an HA timer, its not coming from the pool controller. Just a visual indicator that does nothing. If the feature is disabled, I created an automation that cancels the timer on HA so its always in synch.

I am not really sure what the type has to do with it but I suspect that this is also what was happening to @EPiSKiNG.

[tagyoureit]

Ya, don't use a 2nd pool (or spa) circuit type. I did add a fix to guard against that but that would be the problem.

njsPC also has an end time that you can use instead of a local HA timer. Look for endTime in the mqtt circuit/features topic.