Best Suction-Side Pool Cleaners

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DanF

DanF

Silver Supporter
Mar 17, 2019
594
Chandler, AZ
Pool Size
12500
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
After my robot bit the dust, I'm considering going back to a suction side cleaner.
I'm aware of most of the pros and cons between a robot and a suction side cleaner, but if you have any input in this area I would appreciate it.
What I am mainly looking for are your thoughts on a suction side cleaner that you like, or ones to avoid.

Thanks.
 
Sorry should have mentioned that I have a suction port. Suction is powered by a 2-speed motor (1725/3450), which hopefully I'll be able to run at low speed to "power" the cleaner.
 
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Pentair Kreepy Krawly Sandshark is what I have. @Dirk has the Pentair Rebel.

On the Hayward side the Navigator is the go to suction model there but I have no experience with that.

Polaris has some very fancy wheeled suction cleaners. Not heard much about them.

Zodiac does their Barracuda line. Again, no experience with that.

One thing I will absolutely recommend - use an in-line leaf canister to catch debris. I had a suction line clog once and it was no fun at all to fix. I like the small Hayward canister (W560 I think?) as it has a hard plastic strainer in it that you can line with a hairnet which then captures a lot of fine debris. Catching all the junk in a leaf canister helps keep the pump strainer basket and filter clean.
 
I have no complaints about my Rebel. I would buy it again. I've never had a robot and have no interest in one. I like that I can leave my vac in all year long, if I want to, with no cord running across the deck. I do pull the Rebel out when guests use the pool, but It is easy to do because it is so light. I imagine a robot is quite a bit heavier.

My pool is very clean and so I don't use a leaf canister. I would if my pool was "leafier." But I can go two years without a filter clean (I don't generally, but I did once), so I kinda lucked out in that regard. Whoever landscaped my yard before I bought the house did a good job, pool-wise.

I couldn't get my vac and skimmer to work well together at the same time, not without cranking up the RPMs. I just couldn't get the three-way valve that controls both balanced right. So I put an actuator on that valve and with my VS pump and automation I can dial in the perfect RPM for each. I set that valve to 100% open on the skimmer side and about 70% open on the vac side, so that 30% suction still comes from the skimmer when the valve is in vac mode. I did that so the suction port or the vac never have 100% suction. An open suction port and a 3HP pump can eviscerate a person, so having the skimmer in the mix lessens the danger of that to some degree (similar to how dual drains do). I came up with that on my own, I have no idea if it will actually work as intended. So far no one has volunteered to test my theory!

Speaking of which, my Rebel (along with the skimmer at 30% suction) needs about 2200 RPM. I'm guessin' that would not be low speed on your two-speed pump. My pool only requires about 1.5 hours of vac per day, so if I had a two-speed I'd only need to run it on high for a short period of time each day. I see that you have an SWG, so you must need a decent amount of runtime each day. You might have to find a way to automate switching RPMs back and forth.

Do you know what your pump's RPM is on low?

@JoyfulNoise, what RPM does your vac need?
 
Dirk said:
I have no complaints about my Rebel. I would buy it again. I've never had a robot and have no interest in one. I like that I can leave my vac in all year long, if I want to, with no cord running across the deck. I do pull the Rebel out when guests use the pool, but It is easy to do because it is so light. I imagine a robot is quite a bit heavier.

My pool is very clean and so I don't use a leaf canister. I would if my pool was "leafier." But I can go two years without a filter clean (I don't generally, but I did once), so I kinda lucked out in that regard. Whoever landscaped my yard before I bought the house did a good job, pool-wise.

I couldn't get my vac and skimmer to work well together at the same time, not without cranking up the RPMs. I just couldn't get the three-way valve that controls both balanced right. So I put an actuator on that valve and with my VS pump and automation I can dial in the perfect RPM for each. I set that valve to 100% open on the skimmer side and about 70% open on the vac side, so that 30% suction still comes from the skimmer when the valve is in vac mode. I did that so the suction port or the vac never have 100% suction. An open suction port and a 3HP pump can eviscerate a person, so having the skimmer in the mix lessens the danger of that to some degree (similar to how dual drains do). I came up with that on my own, I have no idea if it will actually work as intended. So far no one has volunteered to test my theory!

Speaking of which, my Rebel (along with the skimmer at 30% suction) needs about 2200 RPM. I'm guessin' that would not be low speed on your two-speed pump. My pool only requires about 1.5 hours of vac per day, so if I had a two-speed I'd only need to run it on high for a short period of time each day. I see that you have an SWG, so you must need a decent amount of runtime each day. You might have to find a way to automate switching RPMs back and forth.

Do you know what your pump's RPM is on low?

@JoyfulNoise, what RPM does your vac need?
Click to expand...

I have a tendency to leave my skimmer/suction diverter valve at 2/3rds suction cleaner and 1/3rd skimmer. I do plan to automate it, I just haven't found the time as it will require a little bit of PVC plumbing changes to add an actuator (my waterfall pipes are in the way and need to be slightly rerouted). Anyway, with that valve setting, I typically find the following -

SLOW SKIM program runs 18 hours per day @ 1600RPM - cleaner doesn't really move (it does, but its like nanometers per hour).

POOL Mode runs anywhere from 4 to 8 hours per day depending on the season @ 2000RPM - cleaner moves but suction is weaker than needed. Acting more like a roving main drain.

SPILLOVER feature runs for 45mins per day, twice per day, @ 2200 RPM to make the spa spillover into the pool - cleaner runs well and sucks up junk

HIGH SKIM (ignore the name) runs for 1 hour per day @ 2400RPM - Kreepy Krawly thinks it's on the NASCAR circuit zooming around the pool ... I'm sure it wishes it had product endorsements and some flames painted on it.

If I run the pump at 2800RPM or higher, the suction cleaner will climb walls and try to launch itself like a SpaceX rocket ... danger here in sucking air and losing prime so I never run it at this speed. All of the above data is subject to change as the filter loads up. I can always tell when my filter is loaded by the way the spillover operates and how the cleaner runs ... the pressure gauge on the filter is the last thing I look at as it barely ever moves.

@DanF - you may find that low speed is inadequate for a suction cleaner unless you are pulling exclusively on the suction line. In general, its not a good idea to pull exclusively on the suction line as it's pretty restrictive for most pool pumps and you can lose prime easily since there's no other line to equalize with. However, if your only other option is 3450RPM, then you are going to need to be able to adjust the intake flow at the wall port using a special spring loaded diverter valve. Pentair typically includes them with their suction cleaners because their intended to be used with older single speed pumps. It's a good idea to use that as it allows you to dial in the flow rate you need and can avoid a pump losing prime. Pentair also includes a little visual gauge with their suction cleaners so you can get the floe rate into the "OK" range. Once you dial it in, the only other effect on performance is filter loading.
 
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Dirk said:
My pool is very clean and so I don't use a leaf canister. I would if my pool was "leafier." But I can go two years without a filter clean (I don't generally, but I did once), so I kinda lucked out in that regard. Whoever landscaped my yard before I bought the house did a good job, pool-wise.
Click to expand...

I think you would be very surprised to find what a hairnet will catch from the bottom of your pool. Whenever I clean out my inline trap, I am amazed at the amount of sand and fine dirt it collects. Even tiny pebbles too. A lot of that stuff can easily make it through the pump strainer basket and I have to say I'd be worried about some of the pebbles I find as they would be the perfect size to cause an impeller clog.

... just sayin' ....
 
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JoyfulNoise said:
I think you would be very surprised to find what a hairnet will catch from the bottom of your pool. Whenever I clean out my inline trap, I am amazed at the amount of sand and fine dirt it collects. Even tiny pebbles too. A lot of that stuff can easily make it through the pump strainer basket and I have to say I'd be worried about some of the pebbles I find as they would be the perfect size to cause an impeller clog.

... just sayin' ....
Click to expand...
I'll give that some thought, thanks. One of the advantages to a suction cleaner that I really like is that I don't have to mess with it, at all, for most of the year. I clean the filter once a year, and clear the pump stainer basket once a week, sometimes less. And I never have to stick my hand into 45° water while it's cold outside. Plus, I can monitor the pump basket with a glance, I don't have to drag out a robot or a leaf canister to see if it needs emptying.

In other words, I'm lazy! Though I admit, jamming my impeller with a rock gives me pause.

I suppose it's too risky to use a net on the pump basket, right?
 
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Yeah, don’t put a hair net in the pump strainer basket, that’s asking for a nightmare scenario.

With the in-line strainer it’s quite the opposite of extra work - you might have to empty it once a week during a really bad leaf season or maybe every two weeks (Im lazy too as I just emptied it after … 4 weeks?? Can’t remember really) but I haven’t opened my pump strainer in … since last pool season 🤔 I hate opening my pump lid. IntelliFlo’s have a terrible lid design in my opinion and it’s easy for them to not seal well. Then running through a priming cycle and blowoff no air out of the filter … I’d just rather not open the pump up.
 
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I like this one because it’s compact and has the hard plastic internal strainer -

Hayward W560 PoolVac Navigator Standard Leaf Canister

Hayward also makes a larger version with an exterior handle that’s about twice as large but it only has a coarse mesh bag inside. It works fine but you can not capture fines with it. Don’t bother with the flip-top Pentair version, it’s trash.
 
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JoyfulNoise said:
I like this one because it’s compact and has the hard plastic internal strainer -

Hayward W560 PoolVac Navigator Standard Leaf Canister

Hayward also makes a larger version with an exterior handle that’s about twice as large but it only has a coarse mesh bag inside. It works fine but you can not capture fines with it. Don’t bother with the flip-top Pentair version, it’s trash.
Click to expand...
And you use a hairnet in the canister basket?

I wouldn't be without the hairnet in my skimmer basket. Amazed at what it captures.
 
proavia said:
And you use a hairnet in the canister basket?

I wouldn't be without the hairnet in my skimmer basket. Amazed at what it captures.
Click to expand...

Yup. It fits over the internal basket just like a skimmer basket. And the way the lid fits, it locks it into place. Works like a charm and catches all sorts of debris.
 
I've used Navigator and Rebel on my pools.
I like Rebel because getting in and out of it is easy. I don't like it because the internals are subject to debris getting inside and jamming in the gears. So I have to open it and clear the gears pretty much every week. Same deal with a Rebel on another pool I service.

I just replaced a Rebel with a Navigator today. This pool had a Navigator on it in the past, and did well.
It ran 12 hours a day, every day, 365 for 5 years. At 4 years it needed an $80 repair. That was the only repair done to it.

They are a lot more sturdy than when they first came out, called the Pool Vac by Arneson, who Hayward bought out many years ago. We had to get into those all the time.
Unfortunately, that reputation of frequent repairs left its mark on pool pros who still steer away from them.

Today Navigator is a solid product.
 
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Mayorb said:
I've used Navigator and Rebel on my pools.
I like Rebel because getting in and out of it is easy. I don't like it because the internals are subject to debris getting inside and jamming in the gears. So I have to open it and clear the gears pretty much every week. Same deal with a Rebel on another pool I service.

I just replaced a Rebel with a Navigator today. This pool had a Navigator on it in the past, and did well.
It ran 12 hours a day, every day, 365 for 5 years. At 4 years it needed an $80 repair. That was the only repair done to it.

They are a lot more sturdy than when they first came out, called the Pool Vac by Arneson, who Hayward bought out many years ago. We had to get into those all the time.
Unfortunately, that reputation of frequent repairs left its mark on pool pros who still steer away from them.

Today Navigator is a solid product.
Click to expand...
Good to know. I had my first jam in 5+ years just last week. I just had to manually move one of the wheels and it must have come free. Haven't had to take it apart yet. I've purchased one leader hose and a set of wheels (maybe two, can't remember). That's it, so far.
 

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