HELP!! Can't get enough suction power for Baracuda G2

[crumbly32]

Hi there!

My husband and I are new to the pool world, and were advised by our pool guy to get a "kreepy krauly" type device to help keep our pool clean. We purchased the Baracuda G2, put it together, and can't seem to get enough suction to it.

First things first. Our pool setup seems to be a bit complicated compared to others, with levers running to and from our pump that are (left to right in pic) pool skimmer, pool main drain, hot tub main drain, hot tub skimmer, pool suction, (then in the back) pool return, & hot tub return. For normal operation, my pool skimmer and main drain are open, and the hot tub skimmer is open.

The Baracuda G2 comes with a suction tester, and they say it should be at a level 3 for the cleaner to work properly. With my normal (above mentioned) settings, I get a level of zero with the suction tester when it is hooked up to the skimmer. To troubleshoot, the manual says to make sure your main drain is closed. When I do that, the pump loses its prime and I have absolutely no suction through the skimmer. I can get a suction level of 1 with the tester if I turn the hot tub skimmer off, but then the hot tub overflows, and the suction still isn't sufficient to make the baracuda work. If I turn on the pool vacuum and attach there, the hot tub overfills and I still have insufficient suction.

If someone could tell me how to turn my valves to make the baracuda work without losing my pump prime and overflowing my hot tub, I would be very appreciative!! Otherwise, is there any type of apparatus that I could hook up to make my suction stronger? Any help or advice would be great!!

P.S. couldn't get the pic to attach, so I put it in a PDF and attached it

 

[Bama Rambler]

We need to do a little troubleshooting first. You should be able to run with just the pool skimmer and return selected. Don't hook up the cleaner, close the main drain valve and close both the spa skimmer & return.
That should isolate the spa and main drain from the loop.

Try that and let us know if the pump loses prime.

 

[crumbly32]

Ok, I can get the pump to run fine with just the skimmer and return on. My husband finally came home from a long job and messed with it after I told him what yall had asked, and was able to get the cleaner going with it hooked up to the skimmer but had to open the main drain about halfway to get enough water going through to avoid the pump losing it's prime.

So far, we have only run the cleaner once for about 6 hours. How often do most people run them? And how do we get rid of green algae? All of our levels are correct according to the test strips, but I am scrubbing the pool once a day to get the algae off (the baracuda took care of it when it ran). The guy at the pool store just tells us to keep putting algaecide in and says it is growing because it is so hot outside (most of our days are 105+), anybody else have any suggestions?

Thank yall!!

 

[jblizzle]

What is "pool suction" valve for? I am guessing you have a dedicated pipe run for a suction cleaner. That might be a better place to hook it up and then use that valve to adjust the suction level. That will leave your skimmer open to continue working.

 

[crumbly32]

I will try the pool suction valve with the main drain closed and let you know tomorrow on results, hopefully it will work! Thanks!

 

[Bama Rambler]

Do you have a vacuum regulator on the cleaner hose?

If you can run with just the skimmer and return on then you don't have a large air leak until you hook up the cleaner. I'd suspect the hoses first and then move on to something else once you've checked those closely.

The algae is another matter and you shouldn't keep throwing algaecide in. You should spend some time reading Pool School and learning to take care of your pool properly. Keeping the porper Fc for your CYA all the time is all that's required to keep the algae from growing.