Polaris Problems

[Richard McL]

I have a Polaris 380 that constantly gets hung up at the hose/pool connection on the wall and in my L shaped pool, the unit always gets hung up when it makes the right angle turn. It goes to the wall and just stays there. The reverse valve will pull it away but then it just goes back to the same place on the wall. I have replaced the float and the reverse valve and the gear, which never lasts long as it always gets stuck against the wall. See Pic

I am thinking about going back to a 280, but am afraid I will have the same problem.

With regard to getting stuck at the hose connector, anyone have any ideas for some fix there?\

Thanks

[attachment=0:2npfaosb]pool.jpg[/attachment:2npfaosb]

 

[DBfan187]

try adjusting the thrust jet on the back above the tail connection

 

[Richard McL]

Thank you - I have tried every possible combination of adj the thrust jet and the speed of the hose, to the speed of the whole unit?

 

[happyheathen]

Have you tried using PVC to re-located the pressure fitting - either away from the 'L' or right in the middle of the 'L'?

I'm thinking there has to be some combination of the angle of the thrust (which I'm guessing is a function of the pressure fitting) and the shape of that specific spot.
1-' of pipe and a half-dozen fittings + 2 hours could get you multiple locations and directions for the fitting.

Just a guess

 

[poolguy15]

Is the connection it is getting caught on the same connection where the Polaris is connected at?

In any case, cut the hose so it is within 6" further or shorter than the furthest point in the pool it will need to get to from the dedicated return line. This will remove any extra slack in the hose. Then, put the hose in a bathtub with hot water for an hour to erase any memory the hose may have. If the issue persists, which it should not, lower the thrust jet just a little bit to prevent it from climbing to this connection in the first place. However, I'm confident this is an issue with the hose or the shape of your pool and not an issue with the cleaner.

 

[Richard McL]

That makes sense. I'll cut the hose and heat it up and turn down the power. Those are all good ideas. I'll let you know.

 

[Brewer]

I second the heating suggestion. I have had to re-tune my 380 ( thrust-nozzle, pressure relief valve & hose angle ) since I put in my new 2" skimmer pipe & re-plumbed my equipment pad. to make it cover the pool properly. Even so, the thing want's to tangle itself up toward the end of a 2 hour session, due to the hose taking a "set". It is worse this time of the year, when the pool temp drops to 50-55 degrees. Taking the hose apart, warming it up & re-assembling it usually makes the cleaner forget how to tangle iself up.

 

[257WbyMag]

I'm not sure how old your Polaris is, but if it's older and you are looking at replacements, you might consider going to a robot.

 

[Richard McL]

Thanks for the tips!

 

[malcolmb5325]

I did notice a float between the cleaner and the back up valve. With it in this position and when the back up valves comes on it will tend to "lift" the cleaner up to the surface. By moving the float towards the back up valve it will make it tend to pull the cleaner along the under the water and this will reduce the cleaner lifting and getting caught on the hose and wall fittings.

 

[stewcarol]

I'm curious about something, because I'm also troubleshooting a Polaris hang up. If you manually stretch the hose and bring the polaris all the way to the far end of your picture, what happens? In my pool, even after straightening out the hose and getting it into a new area, the polaris will tend to migrate right back to the wall it was up against in the first place. Could that be due to the hose memory you are suggesting above? Interesting. Expecting the unit to run smooth in very cold winter water temps may be more than I should be expecting. Thanks. Pretty L shaped pool.