"The Poolcleaner" Suction or Pressure

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Summersgal

0
Mar 13, 2008
35
Muskogee, OKLAHOMA
I am trying to decide which cleaner to get and had a few questions for those that own "The poolcleaner".

1. I see that they have Suction or Pressure..which do you have and why?

2. I have a fiberglass pool that is a diving pool 19x35 3.5ft to 8.5ft Deep. Does it clean and go up on the walls?

Thanks
 
I prefer pressure side cleaners but I also like the booster pump models because they work better BUT they need a dedicated pressure line to work properly. The pressure poolcleaner does not need a booster pump but connect to one of your returns (like the Polaris 360 and the Letro Legend II). The advantage to a pressure cleaner is that they collect the dirt in a dirt collection bag on the cleaner and don't send it to your filter like a suction cleaner does. The disadvantage to the non booster pump models is that they take up one of your returns and sometimes you need to close off the others to get enough pressure to operate the cleaner.
As far as suction cleaners go, if you don't have a dedicated suction line then they attach to your skimmer just like your pool vacuum so you lose skimming while it's connected unless you buy a diverter (which is usually about $100 for an automatic one)
Most pressure and suction side cleaner do climb the walls. (My Zodiac Mars pressure cleaner climbs my fiberglass pool with no problems but it's a booster pump model. I have not vacuumed my pool once since I installed it.)
 
I have a pressure-side version of The Pool Cleaner and it is attached to a dedicated line (that used to be used for a pressure-side Letro Legend with a booster pump) where I now switch the main pump output completely to that line when cleaning (at 15 GPM -- I have a variable-speed Pentair IntelliFlo VF pump). As waterbear says, I found that not diverting dedicated flow to the cleaner results in too low a flow or being uneven (flow hard to control).

My setup works for me having it set to clean 2 hours per day at night, but I have an electric pool cover so don't get very much into the pool. Nevertheless, when stuff does get in, the cleaner seems to do a good job. It's probably not as good as a pressure-side cleaner with a booster pump and that's probably not as good as a robotic cleaner, but for me this low-energy cleaner is fine.

Richard
 
I think if you take care of whatever cleaner you get, they will both do a good job. Obviously a pressure side cleaner is more expensive to get installed but I like the way the swim around the pool. I have a suction side cleaner and it does a good job keeping the pool clean too. I wonder which one would last longer? I'm thinking pressure side because it's not coming in contact with the floor of the pool like a suction side cleaner. Just my 2 cents with limited hands on experience with pressure side cleaners.
 
I have the suction side version of The Pool Cleaner. It works but takes much longer to clean the whole pool than my old Polaris 280 did. What others say about the dedicated pressure line is true, but I believe it is equally true for the suction side. If you leave the valve for the cleaner open all the time, it will remove some "power" from your existing skimmer. You either have to have a valve on a timer for your dedicated line or live with it.

It does save a lot of energy and, in 2 years, I have experienced no problems. I haven't even had to change the tires. It supposedly has very few parts to break down. It does get clogged with small pine cones and massive clumps of pine leaves we get in the winter storms. The Polaris used to keep chugging. The Polaris cleaned the steps and the water line. The Pool Cleaner cleans almost to the water line and doesn't clean the steps, so I have to brush the steps and the water line frequently to clear off pollen and such.
 
Not trying to hijack ... I have been looking online for 'ThePoolCleaner' but I can't find one. The two sites that list them either have broken links or say they can't ship to me. (Central Va). I emailed ThePoolCleaner on Monday with no response yet. Ebay didn't list any either. Anyone know where I can find one ? Thanks. :)
 

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I have the suction side and am pretty happy with it. I use a large leaf canister on mine to trap the leaves from a large chinese elm next to the pool. The cleaner climbs the walls well and picks up leaves without clogging.

Mine is connected via a dedicated suction line which I can adjust for the proper suction. The adjustment is pretty key to get the cleaner to work properly. Without enough suction, the cleaner will take too long to clean the floor, too much and it will climb out of the water.

The choice between suction and pressure is pretty tough. They both have pro and cons. I liked the idea of using the pool filter to help remove the fine dirt on the bottom of the pool with the cleaner. Pressure side cleaners are often said to do better with leaves but I have found that the suction side with a leaf canister does just fine.
 
I would like to throw in my 2 cents. Before you buy a cleaner; check out the prices on repair parts.

I have a Jandy Ray-Vac pressure side cleaner. It only a fair cleaner. It comes in two parts; the hose and the cleaning head. When you buy the cleaner; you get both parts.

Rayvac White Complete Vinyl Pools Price: $744.86


If you buy either part for replacement;

Ray-Vac Head Replacement Kit (White) Price: $416.76

Ray-Vac Hose Replacement Kit (White) Price: $839.73


Why would I buy the hose kit For $839.73 when I can buy the whole cleaner for $744.86? I guess I just don't understand owning a company. Beside, the cleaner is nothing to brag about.
 
chem geek said:
I have a pressure-side version of The Pool Cleaner and it is attached to a dedicated line (that used to be used for a pressure-side Letro Legend with a booster pump).
Richard
Click to expand...

So do you like The Pool Cleaner better than the Legend. We are trying to decide on a pool cleaner.
 
I would say that the Legend with booster pump did a somewhat better job of cleaning, but that The Pool Cleaner is fine for my relatively clean pool (I have an opaque electric pool cover). The Pool Cleaner seems to have more trouble consistently getting into the shallow end and also has some trouble with the ramps that are in the pool. I may just need to tighten the hoses to ensure no leaks and turn up the flow rate slightly to ensure there's enough motion.

I'm very willing to trade off slightly lower cleaning efficiency for the far lower energy usage. I can always run the cleaner a little longer than the 2 hours every day I'm currently doing -- I used to run the Legend for 3 hours 3-4 times a week.

Richard
 
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