Replace Kreepy Krauly with Barracuda?

[AB]

Hello,
Wanted to get a second opinion on some advice I got from the pool store. I took in my Kreepy Krauly (~10 years old) as it was constantly 'falling asleep' and just sticking on the bottom of the pool, or stopping cleaning until I jiggled the hoses.
The pool store owner said the rubber starfish (cant remember actual name) was worn out, as was the rotating regulator on top of the cleaner unit, would be around $120 & other parts would need to be replaced as well.

A new Kreepy there is $400 but he steered me towards a Baracuda X7. He said previously the Baracuda G3 was a good replacement for the Kreepy but the X7 had some new features about flexible fittings for the hoses, etc and the Kreepy was outdated.

Does anyone have info on the X7 and whether this is a good choice ? The owner said it might be better to spend the $400 now and get all new parts rather than $150 into a older model. Any advise appreciated, also please let me know if there is a section that compares these. I did not see any in Pool School - thanks!

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

IMHO, for a suction side cleaner, The Pool Cleaner is as good as they get.

Scott

 

[Guest]

Ditto what Scott said

 

[Guest]

+2. It's what's in my pool, and the only cleaner I can recommend without hesitation anymore.

 

[taekwondodo]

+3 - its in my pool too.

 

[AB]

Hi, just wanted to follow up and say THANKS for all the advice!
I took your advice, got "The Pool Cleaner" and it has been awesome so far. Easy to set up and has only clogged a few times and i could easily bring it up, remove the leaves.

Had 2 questions on it:

1. Is it ok to use the old in-line leaf cannister that was originally used w/my Kreepy Krauly?
2. It says you should get the cleaner running at 11-13 rpm/minute. At maximum I can get only 10 rpm/min out of it. Is this an issue or is it ok?

Thanks again for the tip and looking forward to a CLEANER pool!
Aaron

 

[Guest]

11-13 is the optimal speed for the cleaner, but if it is working in your pool at 10, that is fine and is not going to hurt anything.

How are you hooked up? Do you have a dedicated line or are you going through your skimmer?

 

[taekwondodo]

I'm not as much into RPM as I am trying to see if it's covering the pools and climbing the walls the way I want it to. If it is doing a good job and you're happy, I wouldn't worry much.

I have "The Pool Cleaner" in mine, and 5-6 other customer pools - and it does a great job in all of them. A few challenges however in a couple of pools with dual skimmers - trying to close-off the other skimmer so I get enough suction to The Pool Cleaner. If you're not getting it climbing the walls, and you have two skimmers, this could be a factor (my pool I re-plumber the pressure cleaner line for suction).

- Jeff

 

[AB]

Hi,
Bruce-I have a dedicated line. I did not use any of the optional parts (the 3 way valve or the blue 'plug') as it plugged right into my dedicated line.
Jeff-it climbs the walls about 1/3 of the way up, then heads back down to the bottom of the pool (eg 2/3 of the wall it does not climb). Is that ok? I wondered why it was needed to climb the walls, since most of my problem is leaves and small dirt.

Even if it climbed the walls all the way - would it replace the need to brush the sides? Now that would be impressive!
Aaron

 

[Guest]

With a dedicated suction line you should have a valve that allows you to control how much suction comes from the skimmer and how much comes from the cleaner line. If that is the case, you should be able to get plenty of suction to get the "correct" wheel speed, if you wish.

There really is no good option to brushing. Bio film builds on pool walls (and other areas!), so brushing is pretty important! Let the cleaner get the big stuff, but spend a little time brushing to keep your pool sparkly