Returns at the bottom of the pool too?

[powellkv]

I'm getting ready to start on our in-ground pool in a couple of weeks and was wondering...
I looked in to the in-floor cleaning systems but have decided against adding one (mainly due to the cost) but was wondering why I couldn't put a separate return loop just above the floor? Then let the lower loop run a few hours at night and the "normal" returns run the rest of the time? Knowing that this would not be as effective as the in-floor cleaning system but wouldn't it help in pushing the debris toward the drain perhaps making the cleaning easier and faster?

 

[poolflood]

This is something I was considering - except that instead of putting more penetrations through the shell - using valves to reverse the flow so that if you wished you pushed water back through the main-drains. This is off topic - it wont clean your pool bottom but it would enhance chemical distribution and heat distribution more evenly through the pool. The beauty of the in-floor system is the valves that are timed to clean the bottom of the pool. You can achieve a fraction of this with running a "top" and "bottom" scenario, but what's the efficacy for the additional cost and penetrations....
There are some floor inlets available that are fairly common to the commercial pool industry - but those are not designed for debris movement as much as for water circulation (vertically).

 

[duraleigh]

My guess is you would be be better served simply buying an effective pool cleaner......you'll need one anyway, correct?

A good robot will keep your pool floor sparkling and probably not cost too much more than the lower return system.

 

[teapot]

Deep returns are ok but can cause problems in winter as you must make sure it doesn't leak. a normal below surface directed downwards would have much the same effect. is there a robot that can clean faster and better than a human?

 

[duraleigh]

is there a robot that can clean faster and better than a human?

Perhaps not, but that seems irrelevant. What does seem relevant is that there are LOTS of robots that can clean your pool (albeit more slowly) while you, the human, consume copious amounts of adult beverage......I look at it as the perfect example of teamwork.

 

[jblizzle]

is there a robot that can clean faster and better than a human?

Perhaps not, but that seems irrelevant. What does seem relevant is that there are LOTS of robots that can clean your pool (albeit more slowly) while you, the human, consume copious amounts of adult beverage......I look at it as the perfect example of teamwork.

Got me briefly thinking about looking into a vacuum to try out myself ... then I saw this reply ... I agree