Polaris hose getting tangled

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Drew80

Drew80

0
Feb 26, 2013
337
Austin, TX
We bought a house with a pool about a year ago, so I'm still learning about all my equipment. My Polaris seemed to do fine for a long time, but lately it has been getting tangled every night when I run the pump. I turned it on manually to watch it repeat the issue, and I notice a few issues:

- The tangles happen almost exclusively when backing up. The backup valve gets near where the hose plugs into the wall and it starts to spin in random circles.
- The Polaris doesn't seem to have enough strength to untangle the hose even if it's not knotted.
- Sometimes the hose won't actually tie in a knot, but the backup valve will get caught on another piece of the hose and just hold the Polaris suspended above the floor.
- The Polaris will often not sit fully on the ground and regularly falls over and spins around on its side.

I suspect I have more than one issue going on, but I'm not really sure where to start. I've had the pool store look at it multiple times, and they tell me it's operating correctly. I've checked the float on the back side of the Polaris, and it doesn't appear to have any water inside. I've also adjusted the floats on the hose many times to try to get it to stop tangling, and I've had only marginal luck. Maybe I need to replace the hose?
 
The hose and swivel connectors are the first items I would check. Over time, the swivel connectors can become stiff and prevent the hose from turning freely thereby increasing the likelihood of tangling. I would also make sure the hose is not too long. Make sure the feed hose does not extend beyond the farthest point of the pool. If it does, cut off the overage amount from the first section of your feed hose from the pool wall.

Drew80 said:
The Polaris will often not sit fully on the ground and regularly falls over and spins around on its side.
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Make sure you empty the filter bag regularly. Check for water in the head float by removing it from the cleaner and shaking it. If there is water in the float, replace it (part #A-20). Also, verify that your Polaris’ feed hose is floating and not sagging.
 
Thanks Bo. My swivel connectors are brand new. The hose is just long enough to touch the farthest corner of the pool. The head float is brand new, but I double checked and there's no water in it. The hose floats seem to be spaced apart appropriately and the hose doesn't sag at all.

I'll make sure I change the bags more regularly. We have been getting a lot of leaves lately, and I haven't been emptying it as often as I should.
 
I am having the EXACT same issue you are describing and posted a similar question on this forum. polaris-pool-cleaner-gets-stuck-t70476.html Please let me know if you come up with a solution. The back up valve just hangs up on the hose and it won't move. The cleaner is useless when it does this. I am surprised I am having this issue because it is one of the more highly recommended cleaners.
 
Chad, I adjusted my floats a few days ago and that does seem to have helped. It hasn't gotten tangled since (fingers crossed).

I think the idea of adding more swivels is probably a good one. There are a number of trouble spots where the hose seems to always get twisted.
 
It cold be three other things. Where is the back-up valve located on the line. It should be located near the cleaner itself 24"-30" behind the cleaner. Make sure it is facing the correct direction - towards the cleaner (water should be shooting out towards the cleaner).

Check the wheel RPM's also if it is more than 32 RPM's then open the pressure relief valve on the quick disconnect. It is the black dot thing on the device. You just turn the nut to relieve some pressure.

The last thing is to check to make sure you don't have too much feed hose in the pool. Extend the Polaris while off to the furthest point in your pool. It should be six inches over or six inches short of that point. Ideally if it was installed correctly, the first hose called the lead hose where the back-up valve is located should have been cut to the length of your pools depth. So if your pool is 8 ft deep the Lead hose should be eight feet long.

Hope that helps. I've got 12 of these on my route so I play with these a lot ;)
 
And it could be two other things. Mine does the same thing, BTW, and nothing ever fixes it permanently.

Mine gets tangled more in cold water. Seems to work best at 80+, tangles a lot approaching 70 on the way down in temp.

Make sure the in-line filter is clean & clear so that you're getting the best pressure & flow possible.

Good luck!
 
Yeah, it definitely gets worse as the temperature gets colder. That's not surprising, but it's still a pain to have to untangle it every morning. I might just start taking it out of the automatic cycle and running it only when the bottom gets cluttered.
 

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Hi Guys,
Another thing worth looking out for is, do you have the soft Leader hose between the cleaner and the backup valve and up to the first swivel. It is much more flexible than the feed hose and untangles far easier. The hard feed hose does tangle more when the temp drops due to its lack of flexibility and if your swivel aren't working smoothly the problem is compounded.
Cheers,
D.
 
I'm not sure how new it is. I inherited a pool and all it's equipment about a year ago and had similar issues to what you're experiencing. In that time I've bought the factory rebuild kit and once I started to pull the 280 apart I began to understand how it worked. Then only by further research online found there is a Soft Leader hose. My hose lengths were all the same material and after switching the head end length out for the Soft Leader noticed a fairly significant improvement in how it moved around as it it is far more flexible. The leader hose costs more than the standard hose but I've been very happy with its performance.
Cheers,
D.
 
the leader hose which connects to the cleaner is softer and more flexible to allow the cleaner to circulate and move on the floor of the pool and is only 1 length which should be cut to the depth of the pool upon setup. the feed hose is the other 2 pieces of hose and it is harder and less flexible so it doesn't bend as much which reduces tangling. these 2 lengths should be cut evenly to reduce the total length of hose so it finishes + or - 6" from the furthermost point of the pool.
 
My Polaris line was constantly getting tangled and the outer edges of the pool were always looking pretty grimy. I adjusted the floats and added one more swivel (for a total of 2). Works like it should now... I get some occasional snags, but it seems to be able to work itself out fairly quickly. No more manual edge sweeping for me...
 
MonsterPoolMan said:
If you buy a new hose like I did after 12 years, the sweep will be brand new! $100 on Amazon. Trust me, best $$$$ spent.
Click to expand...

This.... A new hose will fix all of these problems. I was experiencing the exact same problems as others. We replaced the hose two years ago, and "Bruce" has run like a champ ever since. I was amazed at how much softer the new hose was compared to the old one.

Bryan
 

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