Vacuum is shy and won’t leave home

[dschmitt]

My Polaris 280 is giving me fits. It always ends up stuck in the same spot near the tanning ledge. I discovered the bearings had failed so I replaced those and the wheels now appear to operate properly. I also adjusted the steering jet several times to different positions: up, down, left, right, and everywhere in between. No matter what I do, when I place it in the center of the pool it works for a while but always ends up back home, stuck & spinning.

I suspect it may be due to a faulty backup valve. I replaced it about a year ago, and when I hold it out of the water it seems to spray appropriately (e.g. open and spraying for backing up, and then closes for normal operation). But I can’t think of anything else.

Any ideas?

 

[ajw22]

Check that your Polaris hose flats and swivels are as specified in the diagram.

Show us pictures of the way your Polaris sits in the pool and its hose and tail.

 

[dschmitt]

I’m trying to understand the plumbing for my cleaner. Can anyone explain why the lines go below ground, instead of connecting directly to the rest of the plumbing?

 

[ajw22]

Can anyone explain why the lines go below ground, instead of connecting directly to the rest of the plumbing?

Because the plumber preferred form over function.

The cleaner pump suction probably connects to the POOL RETURN pipe a bit underground.

Remove the river rock and dig down and you will find a T connection.

 

[dschmitt]

Check that your Polaris hose flats and swivels are as specified in the diagram.

Show us pictures of the way your Polaris sits in the pool and its hose and tail.

View attachment 620182

A belated post to thank you for the advice. I'm following up to close the loop for anyone who searches for this problem.

There were several issues I had to correct -- the diagram was a great starting point.

The hose was too long and I trimmed it, but it was pretty worn out so I decided to replace the entire hose assembly. Trimmed it to the right length and that significantly improved things. But it still wasn't back to 100% coverage.

I found this video to be incredibly helpful on how to adjust the thrust jet and ballast float. Both of those helped a lot.

Lastly, there was a *lot* of water coming out of the pressure relief valve on the new hose. While I know some water flowing out of the valve is expected, this was much greater than with my previous hose. Once I tightened the valve so that less water came out, the vacuum's performance increased dramatically, and now runs perfectly.