Polaris 280 won't clean shallow end

[el duderino]

In our 38x15 pool, the Polaris has a hard time getting out of the deep end (6.5ft) and cleaning the shallow end. I've lowered the pressure on the tail to see if that would give more torque. It has enough rpm's so that isn't the issue. Should I adjust the thruster so that it goes in a straight line? Any suggestions are welcomed...

Thanks

 

[HarryH3]

When my Polaris was having that problem, it was because a few teeth had chipped on one of the drive wheels. This was making it turn much more than it should, so it kept looping back into the deep end. Since yours is new, it shouldn't have that problem though.

As for the thruster, I've had the best results with it pointing straight back. Also watch to make sure that all 3 wheels are staying on the bottom. If the float is too far back it will tend to lift the rear wheel off the floor, causing a left turn. Mine works best when the front edge of the float is about 1/2-inch from the incoming water pipe.

 

[el duderino]

I took your advice and it does seem to help a bit. However, now I remember why I moved the thruster from straight in the first place. It repeatedly gets caught up in one place at the bottom of the steps. It will stay there until the reverse comes on, but on occasion, even that won't free it.

Any more helpful tips to get this thing to venture into the shallow end?

 

[jkalan]

I would suggest that you try different positions on the thruster, even ones that seem counter intuitive. I've got an L-shaped pool where the 280 has to go uphill and turn right to get into the shallow end. The best solution so far is with the thruster at 2 o'clock so it will bias to the right. I know that the darn thing really wants to turn left, but that won't work in my pool. It does get stuck occasionally, but it's worth the cleaning of the shallow end.

Good luck!

 

[crabboy]

I had noticed lately that my Polaris 280 was doing mostly large circles in the deep end. It would eventually go shallow, but not nearly as often. The shallow end still stayed relatively clean so I did not worry about it. Tonight I took a good look at it and the plastic gear on the inside of the single sided wheel was almost completely stripped, the wheel just about rolled freely. I swapped it with the double rear wheel, since the gear is not necessary there, and it now runs very straight. I have not seen it climb walls like this since it was new. Just about pulled itself out of the water in the deep end.

 

[taekwondodo]

Mine was driving me nuts - turned out that the pump lid was sucking some air and that air was making it into the polaris bag, making it lighter than normal. Fixed the seal on the pump, and it's rocking again.