Installation Guide
For Sensors With Lock Nuts
Safety Warnings
Serious injury or death can occur if you do not follow all instructions and warnings.
You will need to turn off all power to the pool equipment, and in some cases, you may need to open/close valves and/or drain the plumbing.
Do not turn the power back on until you have finished the installation and ensured that the sensor or plug is properly installed in the fixture.
Getting Started
The following tools and materials are required before proceeding:
Saw for cutting PVC
PVC Primer and Glue
Crescent Wrench
The following additional items are required before proceeding:
Mobile App installed on a compatible mobile device
Activated Crystal Pro Account
SSID and password for the on-site WiFi
Pump Schedule
What’s In The Box
The Inline Crystal Water Monitor is to be installed directly into the plumbing. Familiarize yourself with each part, ensuring that you have all the parts. If any parts are missing or damaged, please contact support@crystalwatermonitor.com before proceeding.
WiFi Connectivity
Setting up a Crystal Water Monitor requires a compatible WiFi network at the installation location. If a strong, reliable WiFi network is not available, we recommend installing an outdoor WiFi extender or a cellular Wifi bridge.
You will need to have the WiFi credentials:
SSID (WiFi network name)
Password
Supported WiFi Technologies:
2.4 GHz (Crystal, like most battery powered internet devices, does not support 5 GHz WiFi)
IEEE 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n
WPA, WPA-2, WPA2-Enterprise, WPA3-Enterprise, WPA-3 Personal
Mobile App Setup
The mobile application is required to complete the setup. After setup, the mobile app will show the current state and history of all of your pools.
Install the Crystal Mobile App from the appropriate app store for your device.
crystalwatermonitor.com/download
Create or Sign-In to Your User Account
Each Crystal Inline Water Monitor that you set up will be billed to the Pro Account that you use to set it up.
If you already have a Pro Crystal Account, sign in with the same credentials.
If you do not have a Crystal Pro Account, create or sign-in to a regular Crystal account and convert it to a Pro account.
Go to Account Settings in the Main Menu.
Scroll to the bottom and tap the “Are you a Pro who services pools and hot tubs?” button.
Follow the steps to convert your account to a Crystal Pro account.
Installation Location
You must choose a suitable location for the inline fixture to ensure the longevity of the sensor and accuracy of the readings. The diagram below details a couple of acceptable locations and as well as a couple of unacceptable locations.
1. After the filter, before the heater - this is the ideal location to install the inline fixture because the water is the cleanest it will be and the pipe temperature represents the pool temperature.
2. After the pump, before the filter - this is an acceptable location to install the inline fixture but the sensor may experience increased wear due to abrasives in the water.
3. Before the pump - this is NOT an acceptable location because the sensor will experience increased wear and the chamber may experience turbulence due to being on the suction side of the pump. This may result in incorrect readings.
4. After the heater - this is NOT an acceptable location because the temperature readings will be wildly wrong when the heater is running.
Inline Fixture Orientation
Ensure your target location will allow the Inline Fixture to be oriented properly.
The Inline Fixture can be installed in a horizontal or vertical section of pipe. In most cases, diagonal sections of pipe will also work but you should ensure that the sensor chamber will hold water when the pump is not running.
The Flange on the Inline Fixture must be installed such that the flange is perpendicular to the ground (see figure below). This ensures that the sensor will be installed vertically with the correct angle. Failure to orient the flange correctly may result in erroneous water readings and shortened sensor life-time.
The Sensor Chamber can be installed onto the flange in 4 orientations. Select the orientation that keeps the top of the sensor (cable end) as vertical as possible. The sensor cannot exceed a rotation of more than 20º to the left or right or else the chamber will not be able to capture water when the pump is not running.
WiFi Considerations
The Crystal Water Monitor uses a 2.4 GHz WiFi radio to communicate with the WiFi router. Metal objects and large bodies of water positioned along the line-of-sight between the Monitor and the WiFi router can significantly reduce the quality of the radio signal. If this is the case, consider relocating the Monitor or the metal objects or install a WiFi Repeater.
NOTE: The Crystal Water Monitor should never be installed in a metal enclosure or the radio signal will be completely blocked and the Monitor will not function properly.
Installing the Fixture
Turn off all power to the equipment pad and ensure that all equipment is powered off
Consider draining the plumbing depending on the equipment pad
Make a plan that ensures a proper installation and reduces the amount of plumbing that must be replaced. If you are installing into 2” plumbing be sure to leave additional room for the 2” Reducer Bushings. You may need to use an additional slip fitting and/or cut away and replace other plumbing parts in order to ensure that the fixture is installed and oriented properly.
Cut away any plumbing necessary to install the fixture.
Test fit all plumbing before priming and gluing.
Use PVC primer on the glue surfaces to ensure a proper seal.
Apply PVC glue to the primed glue surfaces and ensure that the pipe is fully inserted.. Failure to properly prepare and glue the plumbing may result in leaks and/or failures when pressurized.
Rotating the Chamber for Vertical Installation
Remove the nuts from each of the 4 bolts on the flange making sure not to lose the flat and split washers. Set the bolts, nuts, and washers aside.
Remove the chamber from the tee being careful not to damage or lose the o-ring.
Rotate the chamber to your desired orientation and place it back on the tee while ensuring that the o-ring is properly seated, not twisted, or pinched in any way.
Replace each of the 4 bolts: bolt ➜ flat washer ➜ through flange ➜ flat washer ➜ split washer ➜ nut.
Tighten each of the nuts in a criss-cross pattern to 23 inch lbs.: 1 then 3 then 2 then 4.
Installing the Crystal Water Monitor onto the Crystal Tee
Attach the monitor to the Tee with a quarter turn to lock it in place.
Installing the Crystal Sensor
Remove the Plug from the Sensor Chamber if it is installed and set aside.
Remove the Storage Cap from the Sensor. It’s safe to dump any sensor storage solution from the Storage Cap onto the ground. It is a concentrated salt solution to preserve sensor life. Leave the Sensor Lock Nut near the sensor flange.
Insert the Sensor into the Sensor Chamber and position it so that the arrow near the label on the sensor points to the arrow on the Sensor Chamber. The flat spot on the flange will also line up with the flat spot in the Sensor Chamber socket when correctly aligned.
Thread the Sensor Lock Nut onto the threads on the Sensor Chamber and hand tighten. Do not overtighten or you risk damaging the sensor and/or the chamber.
Connect the Sensor to the Monitor. Press the connectors together until you hear a click and they cannot be seated any further.
Stow the cable under the fixture using the provided Cord Tie and loop under the fixture.
Thread the Plug onto the Sensor Storage Cap.
Snap the Sensor Storage Cap with the Plug installed into the Storage Clip on the bottom of the Inline Fixture.
Check the System Before Re-Powering the Equipment
Once the PVC glue has dried enough to be waterproof, perform a visual inspection to avoid leaks before powering up any equipment.
Ensure that:
The Crystal Tee is installed and glue has thoroughly dried.
The Crystal Sensor Chamber is installed onto the Crystal Tee with all four (4) of the supplied bolts, and all four bolts are tightened to the correct torque.
The Crystal Sensor is in the chamber, and threaded in with PTFE tape (threaded sensors) or the Lock Nut is hand-tightened onto the sensor flange (sensors with lock nuts).
When the above conditions have been met, power up the equipment pad, start the pump on the lowest power required to fill the Crystal Inline Fixture and check for leaks
Check all glue plumbing for leaks.
Check the flange on the Crystal Fixture for leaks.
Check the Sensor on the Crystal Sensor Chamber for leaks.
Address any issues and repeat the leak test with the pump at full power.
Set Up the Monitor in the App
Ensure that you are signed into a Crystal Pro account.
Open the Crystal Water Monitor App and add a new pool from the main menu. Follow the instructions in the app to create the pool, set up the monitor, and enter the pump schedule.
If you do not verify the pump schedule on the pump and/or controller, you may find that you see incorrect readings when the pump is not running. To avoid this, verify the pump on/off times before setting up the pool in the app.