Polaris Vac-Sweep does neither.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Greetings gents. I have an old Polaris unit (two wheels on one side, one on the other) that has lost its sucking mojo.

It has the following issue

1. It glides around with its butt up in the air. Only the front wheel touches the bottom of the pool. The drive wheel spins and water fills the bag but in this configuration, it vacuums very little and travels even less. Now it spends most of its time tangled up in its hose 6 inches off the bottom of the pool.

What is the funtion of the white football shaped gizmo? Does that have anything to do with its level or bouyancy?

The drive wheel spins, and the tires seem to still have grip, its jus that the machine isn't on the ground and moving.

 

[Defgufman]

It sounds like the float is the problem. It is located on line near the Polaris aiming backward. Also make sure the filter screen is clean in the line near the pool side port.

 

[Jeff Lebowski]

OK. So remove the float?

And the screen, is that in the gizmo installed inline between the vacuum and the connector to the pump outlet?

 

[texasmax]

Yes. Also, turn the booster pump off (but keep pool pump on), pull the Polaris out of the pool, take the bag off, and check that all of the jets that shoot into the bag (creating the vacuum) all have a stream of water coming out- sometimes they'll clog, and, if the right ones are clogged, can affect how the cleaner balances and drives.

 

[Pool Clown]

There are also hoses inside the unit that can blow off from the water management system, and give the low power symptoms you are experiencing. I think the float is not your issue as it is intended to be there, and if you had a problem with it (filled with water), you would get an opposite symptom, negative buoyancy or laying on its side. The jets that create the vacuum also help keep it thrust to the floor, or on all three wheels.

The "football" in line is the back up valve, and should "kill" the unit every so often and back the unit up by means of pulling on it through a thrust jet on the football.