Vacuum Question

[jck]

can you use a gunite pool vacuum on a above ground pool. The one with wheels an no brush.

 

[duraleigh]

I wouldn't suggest it but you can. The brush underside prevents the wheels from snagging the liner. Probably if you were VERY careful you could get by, but if you snag the liner, it will not be worth it.

 

[spishex]

If you've only got one suction port (the skimmer, no main drain) then you'll likely have a problem with a gunite vac head sticking to the liner as you try to use it. They work well because there's such a small distance between the surface of the pool and the suction from the vac head, which is great for a solid surface but can be a problem with liners. The suction can wrinkle or tear the vinyl. If you had a main drain you could "throttle back" the suction to the cleaner but with most AGPs you'll be forced to use the full power of the pump to vacuum.

If you still want to try it, I've found this particular vac head rides a lot higher off the surface than most. It's the one I use on vinyl and doesn't give me any issues with stickiness, but it requires a lot of water flow to work well so you may still be better off with the standard vinyl vac head depending on your hydraulics. You also still have some hard plastic wheels and corners that you'd need to be careful with.