Hayward Pool Vac V-Flex Issue

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D

DesignoSLK

0
Sep 29, 2016
7
Glendale, AZ
Has anyone had any issues with the hose twisting after only a few months use?

I've had two V-Flex in the last 6 mos. I'm not happy with it. It works great for about 2-3 mos, then the turbine bearings develop an odd wear on one side of the lower body housing inside the "square" housing that contains the turbine. My guess is it's "odd" because of the way the A-frame rocks back and forth while the turbine bearings move. Anyway, what eventually happens is the cleaner continues to stops momentarily, but the cone gear (where the hose is connected) continues to turn. In a short amount of time (say 20-30 mins) the hose is now twisted. This essentially turns my 30' hose into a 8-10' hose. When the cleaner attempts to move beyond that 8-10' length of hose, it topples over in a direction to untwist the hose, causing the cleaner to tumble. Then, starts the process all over again. Needless to say, it has pretty much scratched up the outer housing of the cleaner.
 
Interesting no one else has experienced this yet, though the V-Flex design is somewhat new compared to how long Hayward has been making pool cleaners. Anyway...

Two good things has come out of this.

1.) I figured out how to overcome the problem by inserting a 1/4" x 1 1/2" fender washer on the culprit side of the turbine. I've included pics below to show the issue and solution.

The "problem"...


The "cause"...



The "solution"...




Oh, the 2nd good thing to come of this.

After contacting Hayward and explaining the situation, I was then called back that evening to tell me a redesigned cleaning head was being delivered in my name to my local pool store. Seems Hayward knew there was a design problem that apparently they hadn't shared with the general public yet. Regardless, I'm happy it got resolved.

BTW, my "fix" has been working just fine, but I'm still going to accept the replacement head. ;)
 
Hayward Pool said:
This is a problem that pops up once in a while and new product has been changed. We took care of this customer problem. You might want to remove the metal washer as it will rust over time.
Click to expand...
I exchanged the old head with the new one yesterday shortly after I posted the above pics. I removed the washer before I exchanged. But yes, the washer had already started rusting. I imagine the alloy didn't much care for the chlorine and or acid in the pool? Regardless, the new design is much better. I think I'll be very happy with it. I have to say it was a pleasure dealing with Hayward on this! :kim:
 
Hayward Pool said:
This is a problem that pops up once in a while and new product has been changed. We took care of this customer problem.
Click to expand...

I just got two of the V-flex Plus upgrade kits yesterday for my older Hayward Navigators and I'll be doing the upgrades tomorrow. These are supposed to be the latest V-flex version made by Hayward (PVCN206VFSL2-Rev A).

Until I get inside my old units I don't know if the OP's "rocking" issue will be a concern for me. I've had Navigators at two homes in Arizona for many, many years and alway do my own upkeep on them. The new V-flex is quite different so finding this post I wondered if you had any cautions or hints to share about upgrading the older style Navigators.

Thanks,
Dave
 
Hayward Pool said:
This is a problem that pops up once in a while and new product has been changed. We took care of this customer problem. You might want to remove the metal washer as it will rust over time.
Click to expand...

I too am having this problem and my PoolVac V-Flex is less than 1 year old -

I registered my warranty when I bought it and intend to call tomorrow when Hayward is open -

I opened my unit and I have the exact scoring on the same side of the Unit (R side when upside down) - I tried a Nylon washer of the same caliber as DesignoSLK but to no avail, it works a little bit better but not much, it still twists and gets the hose into knots -

Is there an "UPGRADE"? What is the part number? What is the actual fix?

Thanks,Matt
 
I talked with Hayward today and they are going to take care of the defective "Head" as they call it - I will take pictures of exactly what I do and post it -

As I spoke of earlier I too had the deep, deep scoring on the Right "R" side of the inner Turbine housing -

I will be sending back the defective head in a pre-paid box from Hayward. They said this ensures that the defectives models are taken out of pools and off the market and the new ones put into use -

Thanks,Matt
 
Okay so the Pool Vac V-Flex was replaced by Hayward with a brand new entire unit which they call the "Cleaning Head" - it is the entire or whole thing - from the entire body to the crab on the bottom, shoes, pods - just as if I went into the pool store and bought a new Pool Vac off the shelf -

Now the only other thing I have to do is pack the old one up in the box that the new one came with and put the return label that just came in the mail and send it back to Hayward so they can get these out of circulation and out of the pools -

I also must call Hayward and ask them about my warranty and Serial numbers - be that they are different now, how does that all work or have they already attached this new one and its numbers to my old warranty?

I will get back with my findings -

Thanks,Matt
 
UPDATE: 6/23/17 - Took 40 min 44 sec for them to answer the phone but I finally got through.

The "NEW" Head Unit fails under the old H/U warranty - you do not get another 2 year warranty.

The "NEW" serial number is what you have on the new H/U, however you do not have to register it (I was told) - if there is an issue with the "NEW" H/U you call under your "OLD" warranty and serial number (I would assume there would be a record of what they sent you somewhere for HAYWARD to cross reference)

I hope this little bit of information that is put together collectively helps others in the future -

Thanks,Matt
 
So happy to have found this out after searching for 2 weeks...mine started doing the exact same thing. Just bought this new V-Flex kit about 4 months ago. Tried other suggestions for twisting hose problems from other sites & it didn't help. Now I know what to do....thanks for starting this thread :)
 

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As noted in my post of Oct 2016 above, I installed the V-flex upgrade in both of my old Navigators last fall. My pools are open all year. In my 12,000 gallon pool the cleaner runs 6 hours per day. In the 30,000 gallon pool, it runs 18 hours per day. Zero issues with either unit and maybe once I untangled a hose. By watching my security videos in fast forward, I can see the hoses do tangle more than I realize but they also untangle soon after. In the end, I would deem them essentially "tangle-free".
 
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