Why does my Zodiac Wahoo "die"?

[phonedave]

I have a Zodiac Dolphin Wahoo in my 27' round ABG


Everything on it is "correct" as per the instructions (hose lenght, not coiled, flow direction, etc)

It used to work great. Throw it in there every other day or so, and 4 hours later, the pool bottom is clean.

Now it is beginning to "stall". It moves along, and then - stops. I can find no rhyme or reason to it. Sometimes in the middle of the pool, sometimes along a wall. sometimes near the skimmer, somtimes away from the skimmer.

You have to grab the hose and shake it, or "push" the hose against the cleaner to get it started again. Sort of give it some resistance to work against.

I cleaned the diaphram, and the filter pump is working as it allways has. It "stalls" like this no matter how I have the pressure settings on the cleaner set. All rubber parts are good, nothing is worn.

I am at my wits end with this thing.

-dave

 

[Bama Rambler]

Has your filter pressure changed any?
Do you have a vacuum regulator on the hose?

 

[phonedave]

Has your filter pressure changed any?
Do you have a vacuum regulator on the hose?

Filter pressure has not changed. Or. more to the point, it happens no matter what the pressure is. Sometimes it stalls when the pressure is in the upper part of the range, sometimes not. Somtimes bumping the filter makes it run like a charm, other times I can bump the filter and it stalls out within a minute. As a general rule, I bump the filter before using the cleaner - I also clean the pump skimmer beforehand (and after as well)

Yes, there is a vacuum regulator on the hose. It is a three position regulator. It does not matter where I set it, this stalling happens at all three settings. I have never had a problem with the cleaner climbing walls at any setting when it was working.

-dave

 

[Bama Rambler]

Have you inspected all the hoses to make sure there's not a leak somewhere?
Are you getting air in the pump basket when it's running?
How about when it's not?

 

[phonedave]

Have you inspected all the hoses to make sure there's not a leak somewhere?
Are you getting air in the pump basket when it's running?
How about when it's not?

Yes, No and No

Everything is perfect. no leaks, no bubbles, no air, no water leaks.

I though there may be a leak sucking water in the hose. I jammed those sections together a tight as I could. Short of plugging the end and pressure testing the hose, I don't know how much more I could do.

If I pick up the cleaner when it stalls, I can still feel a strong suction comming from the bottom. It just lacks the "pulsing" that makes it move. Then if I give it a good shake, it starts back up - somtimes. Sometimes it takes a couple of shakes to get it going. If the Dang thing was a car, it would say it had fouled plugs. (as does my lawn tractor, but thats a different forum all together)

For a while, I thought that maybe it wsa floating off the bottom. The instruction say to make sure all of the air is out of the cleaner, and make sure it is in contact with the floor. I ty-wrapped a 2lb weight to it, just to make sure it was "on the bottom" - that didn't change a thing. It ran, then stalled.

Somtimes, it will recover. It will stall, sit there for 5-10 minutes, and then slowly start up. It starts to pulse very weakly, slowing building up, until it is once again moving at it's normal speed.

-dave

 

[Bama Rambler]

How old is it?
It might be time for a new diaphragm.

 

[phonedave]

How old is it?
It might be time for a new diaphragm.

When it was purchased, I don't know - it came with the house. But it was pretty much new in the box from what I could tell. It was assembled, but was in the box with all the instructions and parts. I have been using it for 2 months now.

-dave