Caretaker Infloor Cleaning Heads Questions

[jeremysm1]

I've taken over maintenance of my pool and have tackled so many issues to this point. I'm now focusing on my in-floor Caretaker cleaning system and trying to get it to work properly. I just replaced the valves at the pool equipment as I don't think they've ever been changed in 8-years. I then used the special tool to remove and inspect a bunch of the in-floor cleaning heads. Some had little rocks stuck in them so I picked them out and cleaned them. No apparent plastic damage and the grooves look in great shape. Here are my questions:

1. When I put the heads back into the floor, do they need to go in a certain direction? I'm guessing all the heads are working in unison to push the debris a certain direction at a particular time. Is this correct? Am I over-thinking this?
2. Should the system leave behind dirt in corners? It seems to on mine, but of course i just changed the valves and will see going forward.
3. How many hours per night do most people run their Caretaker unit?
4. Does the diverter in the skimmer have anything to do with the performance of this? I have 2 pipes in the skimmer, I believe one comes from the main drain (and/or) hot tub drain and the other returns to the pump.

Thanks!

 

[Melt In The Sun]

1. When I put the heads back into the floor, do they need to go in a certain direction? I'm guessing all the heads are working in unison to push the debris a certain direction at a particular time. Is this correct? Am I over-thinking this?
Yes - however, you do need to make sure that you didn't switch all the heads around, because the sizes of the openings are different. As long as you put them back in the same hole, you are fine. Even if you synchronized them, they will get out of sync quickly as people play with them.

2. Should the system leave behind dirt in corners? It seems to on mine, but of course i just changed the valves and will see going forward.
Yep, unavoidable really. There will always be a few places where stuff does accumulate, so you can either vacuum up those couple spots or just sweep the debris out and let the cleaner try again.

3. How many hours per night do most people run their Caretaker unit?
Depends on your pump and pool. Can you run the cleaner separately from the main circulation? If so, you can try adjusting the cleaner time until the pool is too dirty for your taste, then bump it up a bit.

4. Does the diverter in the skimmer have anything to do with the performance of this? I have 2 pipes in the skimmer, I believe one comes from the main drain (and/or) hot tub drain and the other returns to the pump.
You need to have some suction from both the skimmer and bottom drain for it to work properly.

 

[jeremysm1]

Thanks!