Will VS3050 run Polaris or is booster required?

[kenandshari]

After 18 months of great service with only 4 returns for repairs, half of the initial purchase price for the most recent fix, only to have it fail once again, we are throwing in the towel on the Nitro Wall Climber and looking for another cleaner. A friend of ours highly recommends the Polaris 280 based on his years of trouble free service from his. Research shows that this cleaner requires a 3/4 hp booster pump plumbed into the system to operate the Polaris. Although we do not have a booster pump already plumbed in, our pool pump is a 3 hp Pentair VS3050. Will the 3050 at high rpm provide enough pressure to power a Polaris without needing to install the booster?

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

After 18 months of great service with only 4 returns for repairs, half of the initial purchase price for the most recent fix, only to have it fail once again, we are throwing in the towel on the Nitro Wall Climber and looking for another cleaner. A friend of ours highly recommends the Polaris 280 based on his years of trouble free service from his. Research shows that this cleaner requires a 3/4 hp booster pump plumbed into the system to operate the Polaris. Although we do not have a booster pump already plumbed in, our pool pump is a 3 hp Pentair VS3050. Will the 3050 at high rpm provide enough pressure to power a Polaris without needing to install the booster?

I don't think so - but I'm not sure. Here's my reasoning. The Polaris 180/280/380 series is designed for high pressure LOW FLOW. The Pump you are talking about is designed for low pressure, HIGH FLOW. If you somehow restrict flow enough you might be able to develop reasonably high pressure for a short time but that isn't what the pump is designed for. The booster pump and cleaner are sometimes offered as a set at a pretty high discount.

An alternative which is available to you is a Polaris 360 - this is a cleaner designed for low pressure HIGH FLOW. The 360 does require that you have a way to restrict output on other returns to maximize it's cleaning but with the VS pump that may or may not be required. The 360 is supposedly slower than the 380 - and I'm not sure how it compares to the 280. I know a lot of people like the larger throat in the 280 and the gear drive but I have a 380 and have no complaints over those aspects of it - I do wish it wouldn't get stuck as easily as it does but it unsticks itself normally so there is not a real problem other than it takes longer to clean because it sits idle longer than I would like sometimes.

 

[kenandshari]

Thanks for the recommendation. I will begin researching the Polaris 360. I really don't want to bother with installing the booster pump if I can get something that does a decent job and is reliable that will work with our current equipment.

 

[Melt In The Sun]

Yep, UWV nailed it, Polaris 360 or The Pool Cleaner both will work without a booster.

 

[kenandshari]

Thanks for the replies. We checked the valves on our return and it appears set up to properly run a Polaris 360 with no plugs needed. We can close off 2 of 3 returns with one valve and send all pressure through a single return near the middle of the pool.

We went the recommendation and ordered the Polaris 360 from Amazon-hard to beat the price. ETA is tomorrow. Hopefully installation will be simple. Looking forward to trying out the new cleaner. Hope it cleans as good as the Nitro did while it was working and lasts much longer than 18 months before it quits working! I think I'm going to eBay the Nitro for parts soon.

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

YouTube had good setup video(s) for the 360.

Sent via Tapatalk...

 

[kenandshari]

Thanks for the advice. The Polaris took about an hour to set up using the manual. Seems to be working well so far. All necessary parts and fittings were included in the box. It even came with plugs for returns if needed. I think we will be adding the fine mesh bag to catch smaller particles. I wish they just included the fine bag from the factory on polaris. The bag that came on the Nitro seemed to catch the small stuff better than the stock Polaris bag. Unfortunately, after 18 months of service it was not worth spending any more money on nitro to keep it running. Thanks again, hopefully the Polaris will give many years of good service.