pool chemistries when running robot

[tstex]

When I run my robot, I try to make sure the FC isn't any higher than 5ppm. If the FC is higher, is there a FC where the ppm of CL could damage the robot's seals or anything else? I have had almost everything replaced on a Hywrd Shark [motor, cord, handle (twice) bearing seals, one track). The motor and cord would have cost $450 out of warranty, but all was done during warranty. When I take it out, I always spray it w hose inside and out very well, including the intake areas.

Thanks and Merry Christmas to all,
tstex

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Remember though that you have CYA in the water buffering that FC. I'll keep my eyes peeled for someone in the biz here to chime in.

I've not read or heard of FC damaging robots, but if your pH was too low I can imagine that being harsh on elements of the device.

Maddie

 

[CaveDiver1932]

Many of the robotics out there will provide ranges of water conditions. For example Maytronics
Chlorine Maximum 4 ppm
pH 7.0 - 7.8
Temperature 6 – 34°C / 43-93°F
NaCl Maximum 5000 ppm

With that said, I have been using robotics for over 15 years with high chlorine levels (over 20 ppm) with high cya (150-200+ ppm) with no ill effects. As noted above cya buffers chlorine which is a nice affect of cya. Key to longevity of robotics is to remove from pool when not in use and store in a clean dry place.

Keep an eye on csi .. I’ve seen some poor maintained levels and leaving robotics in the pool which caused motor shafts to corrode - which can cause water breach into motor housing. Many of the high end robotics last until the bearings go bad causing water intrusion into motor housing.

Cheers

 

[tstex]

Thanks Maddie and Case...appreciate the info - I always pull robot when done, except if it's in late night, I get it early next am. I always rinse robot off inside and out after pulling it from the pool...thanks again

 

[Jimrahbe]

Guys,

I don't do any of that stuff and my robots don't seem to care one way or the other.

Not saying to stop what you are doing, because it certainly can't be doing any harm, I'm just not sure it makes much difference.

I did have one of my older ones go down the other day and could not fix it, so ordered an S200 as a Christmas present replacement..

But it has been in service since about 2009 and was used before I bought it. My guess it was about 15 years old. Spent 90% of its time in the water, summer or winter, without any care for how high the FC level was.. I figure if it is safe to swim, then it is safe for the Robot to do its thing.

My Premier robot is over 4 years old and has been treated the same way.. Except, I do tend to take it out of the pool more often during the swim season, where it is usually only used two or three times a week. I just don't like seeing it in the pool. When not in use it sits under the eve of the house on a couple of wooden blocks to keep the tracks off the ground. I suspect that I will need to replace the tracks sometime this next season, so will just replace all the pulley bearings at the same time.

YMMV...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[tstex]

Guys,

I don't do any of that stuff and my robots don't seem to care one way or the other.

Not saying to stop what you are doing, because it certainly can't be doing any harm, I'm just not sure it makes much difference.

I did have one of my older ones go down the other day and could not fix it, so ordered an S200 as a Christmas present replacement..

But it has been in service since about 2009 and was used before I bought it. My guess it was about 15 years old. Spent 90% of its time in the water, summer or winter, without any care for how high the FC level was.. I figure if it is safe to swim, then it is safe for the Robot to do its thing.

My Premier robot is over 4 years old and has been treated the same way.. Except, I do tend to take it out of the pool more often during the swim season, where it is usually only used two or three times a week. I just don't like seeing it in the pool. When not in use it sits under the eve of the house on a couple of wooden blocks to keep the tracks off the ground. I suspect that I will need to replace the tracks sometime this next season, so will just replace all the pulley bearings at the same time.

YMMV...

Thanks,

Jim R.

I would like to know the make/model of the robot that was 15 yrs old [or the newer comparable model? that's my next robot.

However, were the robots made 16-19 yrs ago [like the single speed pumps made 16-19 yrs ago] built like tanks and over engineered and that's why it lasted so long? Anything in the pool industry that works for 5+ yrs is rock'in; anything 10+ is dream'in.

 

[Jimrahbe]

ts,

All my robots have been Dolphins.. The old ones that I bought used, were Dolphin Diagnostics, with the heavy bag filter. I have seen the inside of them and it appears to me, that other than the fancy electronics, that today's units have basically the same type of construction..

I did not mean to imply that they never failed for anything, but just not something related to water quality or being in the water..

The original power supply had a large transformer in it, the new ones have switcher power supplies, without the transformer.. I had one of the older power supplies go south and replaced it with a new one. Both of the older Dolphins have had a couple of new sets of tracks and I automatically replace the pulleys when I install new tracks. On the one that is still working, I previously swapped out the motor assembly from another unit I bought to cannibalize for parts.. The original motor's brushes just wore down to nothing and the unit would no longer pass its start up self-test.. But the motor housing never did leak and was dry as a bone when I opened it.

The one I have at my house is a Dolphin Premier, and it has never had any issues...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[tstex]

Thanks Jim -

When my shark craters again w another major part, I'm going the dolphin route...did any of your robots come w swivel cords? I'm constantly unplugging mine, the de-tangling the cord. Oh yeah, does your dolphin get stuck on drains ??? this shark spends a lot of time sitting on drains..thanks again

 

[tim5055]

My Dolphin lived int eh water almost all the time, I generally only pulled it to clean the cartridges and tossed it back in. I ran it every day for 3 hours nomatter what eh chlorine conditions. When my CYA was 250+ I kept the FC around 11 and finally was able to reduce that as I got the CYA under control.

My M5 did have what tehy called a swivel cord but it was not the best. I still had to untangle him every week or so.

 

[Jimrahbe]

ts,

My Premier does not seem to have a main drain issue.. At one rent house, the Diagnostic has never had a issue with the main drain, at another rent house, that Diagnostic will hang up on the main drain, once in a while, especially if the tracks are worn..

The two Diagnostics do not have a swivel, but it appears to make little difference. I reverse the handle about once a week and once a month or so let the cable lay straight and soak up the sun for a few hours..

My Premier, does have the swivel... In the summer, when I mostly take it out of the pool when done and only run it 2 or 3 times a week, I have no cable issues.. In the winter, where it tends to stay in the water more often and run a daily cycle, it will still cause the cable to tangle, but not all that bad.

All of my Dolphins (except the S200, which won't be used until after Christmas) have moveable handles or floats.. Moving the handles or floats between uses really makes a difference in how badly the cable will tangle... Since the S200 has no handle or floats, it will be interesting to see how well it tangles or not.

Does your shark have a moveable handle? Does it look like this.. https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwjl9I2CqaXfAhULucAKHZ69C2cYABAfGgJpbQ&sig=AOD64_3tQ4G24ksnOkM979HgZsHa5cOHnw&ctype=65&rct=j&q=&ved=0ahUKEwiuhoiCqaXfAhVHKqwKHeNpDmcQ9aACCE8&adurl=https://www.google.com/express/u/0/product/569054597540142390_10251104246183021017_120654492%3Futm_source%3Dgoogle_shopping%26utm_medium%3Dtu_cu%26utm_content%3Deid-lsjeuxoeqt%26gtim%3DCICy9pmS9Z6f4gEQ7PbC9ZLY3okwGMCE2O4CIgNVU0QooLX24AUwnJXEOQ%26utm_campaign%3D120654492

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[CaveDiver1932]

Getting a little off topic. But anyhoot . Here is my review of maytronics from years ago.
Maytronics 12+ year Robotic Pool Cleaner User - Review (diagnostic but not limited to

Same applies today. New M5 at the time failed about 6 months after purchase. Something with motor as I would run for about a minute and stop. It was repaired under warranty and has been fine since. The full filter indicator is not worth too cents. It appeared that feature was disabled on my unit on return as it the indicator has never trip since the repair. Before repair, it would trip on basically an empty filter. Tile line cleaning does not work with fine clean filters, not enough power to climb with 1/4 full filters.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[tstex]

ts,

My Premier does not seem to have a main drain issue.. At one rent house, the Diagnostic has never had a issue with the main drain, at another rent house, that Diagnostic will hang up on the main drain, once in a while, especially if the tracks are worn..

The two Diagnostics do not have a swivel, but it appears to make little difference. I reverse the handle about once a week and once a month or so let the cable lay straight and soak up the sun for a few hours..

My Premier, does have the swivel... In the summer, when I mostly take it out of the pool when done and only run it 2 or 3 times a week, I have no cable issues.. In the winter, where it tends to stay in the water more often and run a daily cycle, it will still cause the cable to tangle, but not all that bad.

All of my Dolphins (except the S200, which won't be used until after Christmas) have moveable handles or floats.. Moving the handles or floats between uses really makes a difference in how badly the cable will tangle... Since the S200 has no handle or floats, it will be interesting to see how well it tangles or not.

Does your shark have a moveable handle? Does it look like this.. https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwjl9I2CqaXfAhULucAKHZ69C2cYABAfGgJpbQ&sig=AOD64_3tQ4G24ksnOkM979HgZsHa5cOHnw&ctype=65&rct=j&q=&ved=0ahUKEwiuhoiCqaXfAhVHKqwKHeNpDmcQ9aACCE8&adurl=https://www.google.com/express/u/0/product/569054597540142390_10251104246183021017_120654492%3Futm_source%3Dgoogle_shopping%26utm_medium%3Dtu_cu%26utm_content%3Deid-lsjeuxoeqt%26gtim%3DCICy9pmS9Z6f4gEQ7PbC9ZLY3okwGMCE2O4CIgNVU0QooLX24AUwnJXEOQ%26utm_campaign%3D120654492

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks Jim - good info from a native Texan

Yes, my shark has a reversible handle and I change it ever other usage or two. I also leave the cord out straight in the sun bc I think it has "memory" cord and you cannot leave it kinked. I also keep it under the covered back area and out of the sun too...

here's a pic of mine:

Amazon.com : Hayward RC9950GR TigerShark Automatic Robotic Pool Cleaner : Garden Outdoor

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks Cave - the main thing is how it works long term after fixed...I've had the same filter since March 2015....kind of fuzzy but they still work ok

 

[Jimrahbe]

1932,

I can only tell what has happened to me based on the experience I have had with my three or four units.. You can only tell what has happened to you based on your experience with a couple of units..

Unless we know how many total units were built and how many failures there were, it is impossible to know the true failure rate and if the product is a good one or not.

I used to run several electronics repair shops, all non pool related, but if you just asked my guys, they would probably tell you everything we built failed, because that is all they ever saw.. But looking at all the facts our actual failure rate was usually below 5%, often closer to 1% depending on the company..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[CaveDiver1932]

Jim,
Was not implying any failure rate or product reliability . Just facts on the units I owned. Only failure rate fact is in my review is the early Diagnostic series power supplies and and the seal on the heat sync. That issue was well known. That conclusion is backed by both maytronics and maytronics’ service centers. The issue with the m5 was only for information purposes and not to imply a systemic issue.