I don't see in my manual anywhere what the hose length should be between the backup valve to the cleaner body.(just bought a new 10' d50 soft hose) I see it shows 2 floats before the valve and none after the valve to the cleaner,but no length info before or after the backup valve.Thats in advance for your knowledge.

Surely someone must have the 380 and can give me the leader hose lengths from the backup valve to the connector and from the connector to the polaris.
Thanks

It's very slow this time of year but I'm sure someone with 380 experience will be along soon to give you some info.

a quick google search would suggest 10 ft

Well, I wouldn't put the backup unit 10' from the Polaris. My manual has a diagram suggesting the backup unit is somewhere within the first 10' section, and I have about 1' of hose from the backup unit to the polaris itself.
--paulr

I know this post is late; however I thought I would answer the question based on my experience in case someone else comes across this post. You want to put the backup valve as far away from the Polaris as possible. How far back depends on the max depth of your pool. The total length of your leader hose should be equal to the max depth. Then you need two leader hose floats; one near the end opposite the Polaris and the second 2-3 feet after that. The backup valve should then go right after the second float. The reason you want the backup valve as far away as possible is so it doesn't interfere with the movement of the Polaris. If it's too close, I've found that the weight of the valve can make the front of the Polaris ride high and keep it from riding up walls and around the steps properly.

1.5'-3' from the cleaner itself

Yeah, DBfan is most accurate.
Polaris wants the backup valve 1-3' from the head. (For 180, 280, 360 & 380)

The "Leader Hose" used to be clear in color, and was made to the depth of the deep end of the pool,
but I don't think they are doing that anymore..

-B.

Thanks for everyone's responses.

Polaris is still recommending that the leader hose be equal to the maximum depth of the pool based on the current Polaris 380 manual available on their website here: http://www.polarispool.com/files/manual/PolarisManual380.pdf. Here is an excerpt of the manual that supports my initial theory that they want the backup valve right after the second floater:

This doesn't mean I'm right because they don't actually say where they want the valve. It's just implied by the diagram.

JettaGLi16v, how do you know "Polaris wants the backup valve 1-3' from the head"? I've been looking all over for more detailed instructions on how to configure the entire leader hose assembly because I'm about to redo mine. I was told by a guy at Leslie's that my valve was too close to the Polaris. We know how much water that recommendation holds and he also admitted he doesn't have a pool himself. Based on these responses I'd be more apt to go with DBfan's recommendation (supported by JettaGL) given that he's in the industry and probably knows this from experience. I'd just like to know for sure and wish I could see an official document from Polaris on the subject. It seems like Polaris is being purposely vague in the manual because they also state "For best results, the Polaris 380 should be installed by a pool professional."

On a related note, as JettaGL mentioned, the leader hose is no longer clear, it looks just like the feeder hose. What's the difference other than 10 feet of leader hose costs 50% more than 10 feet of regular feed hose?

The leader hose is just a slight bit more supple than the regular feed hose.
That is the only difference, to my knowledge.

As to backup valve location, if the backup valve is too far from the head of the cleaner, (say, 10')
it will drag the head of the cleaner along the bottom as it goes into backup mode.
With the B/U valve closer, it will lift the Polaris from the ground when it backs it up..

-B.

At last I have the answer. When I received my new back-up valve there was a instruction sheet included and it says to cut the soft hose 30" from the cleaner and the total lenth should be equal to the dept of the deep end of the pool.

Thanks for posting this. Hopefully it will help the next person who finds this post. I went with 2.5 ft so I guessed right!