Fix for Polaris jaming on intake feed

[samiam95124]

I found a solution/improvement to my Polaris' constantly getting hung up on its on intake pipe. See the attached image.

Its been common for my Polaris 280 pressure side cleaner to get tangled in its own intake hose. I watched it for a while
and saw how it occurred. The Polaris randomly gets stopped by its own intake fitting. Usually the backup valve clears
it by pulling it back away from the fitting. However, sometimes the backup valve happens to be pointed in such a direction
that it is simply dragged up and over its own hose. At that point, the operation of the backup valve is simply getting the
hose more and more tangled.

My solution was to reduce the amount of times the cleaner gets stuck on the intake valve. It consists of taking an auto
oil filler funnel and cutting the small end out until it fits snug on the hose. It then covers the fitting and gives the polaris
a nice ramp to direct it away from the fitting. The fit is snug enough to keep it in place, but not so much that it cannot
be moved away when the fitting needs to be removed from the wall.

I bought a new oil funnel off amazon and will replace it with that. It is both bigger and also white, so fits better with the
pool decor.

Sorry about the image quality, it is from my security camera.

 

[peirek]

Hey Sam I Am and welcome to TFP!

Nice simple and clean solution. Mine does the same thing but very infrequently.

 

[samiam95124]

So update about 10 days later.

I hate to sound like an infomercial, but that fix has really worked. My cleaner used to get tangled ever 1 to 2 days, as in I would find it tangled when I got home, and have to untangle it in the morning before I left for work. I can't even tell you exactly WHY it works. I have watched it hit that intake fitting and stick even after the fix above. It either reduces the number of times or length it gets stuck, or makes it easier to untangle itself.

Whatever the mechanics of it, it totally solved the issue. I have not had a tangle in the 10 days since I put it on.

 

[PoolGuy4Life]

Put the thrust jet at 5 or 7 o'clock.

 

[Mayorb]

Very common problem, and I salute you for your ingenuity! The tangling happens when the backup drags the cleaner across the hose near the wall. The cleaner can't take off because the back up is snagged, and the back up can't clear the Polaris because the cleaner is snagged. For some reason, Polaris has never addressed this issue. I like your solution and will certainly give it a shot.
Having said that, another solution is to discard the universal wall fitting and just use common hardware store plumbing to take a 90 upward from the 1.5" wall inlet and reduce to a
90 degree 5/8" hose barb at or just below water level.