pool cleaners - do you remove when you shock or when people swim?

[joepaiii]

Just a impromptu survey. I was looking at buying the Pool Cleaner and was reading the manual. Just like my Barracuda G4 and G3 manuals, the Poolvergnueguen's manual said to remove the cleaner before shocking or when swimmers are in the pool. I never did this with any of my cleaners. I am sure it hastened their demise but oh well. It seems like way too much work otherwise. About the only time I would remove them is when I had a bunch of people over.

What about all of you? What do you do?

 

[BoDarville]

The short answer would be to follow the manufacturer's recommendation. Since I joined TFP, I have not had the need to shock but if the manual says to remove it, then I would. As for swimmers, if it's just me swimming and I know I will be using the cleaner later that day I often leave it in but just move it out of the way. If we are having a pool party, the cleaner definitely comes out.

 

[whatsthispoolthing]

Chlorine is a very corrosive substance, so I would remove the cleaner if you need to shock or SLAM. I would think the recommendation for removing the cleaner when people are swimming is a safety issue as it is all too easy for someone to get tangled in the hose, especially if the cleaner is running.

 

[jblizzle]

Except the corrosive nature of the chlorine at OUR recommended SLAM levels is still lower than you would get in a public pool with 0 CYA and a FC of 1ppm. Who knows what the manufactures think when they say "shocking".

See the chart below.
At a CYA of 50ppm and a FC of 20ppm (SLAM level), the active chlorine is 0.305
With 0 CYA and a FC of 1ppm, the active chlorine is 0.484
https://www.troublefreepool.com/~richardfalk/pool/HOCl.htm

Bottom line, you damage your skin, hair, suits, cleaners less swimming in a stabilized pool at SLAM level than you do in an un-stabilized public pool. This is also why we recommend CYA for indoor pools as well.

 

[woodyp]

I rip it out in both cases. It never STAYS in the pool.

 

[joepaiii]

Wow - I guess everyone here follows all the rules! I hardly ever take my cleaner out. We have a lot of trees and always have something in the pull. Plus all the jets are to angled down with all the suction side cleaners I have had so it make skimming not as efficient. Also when taking it out you have to pull the hose apart so it doesn't get a memory effect, which seems very real. I get the chlorine being corrosive and the safety aspect but I expected more would leave it in more often.

 

[phipsi1237]

I run my cleaner every evening for about 2 hours, so it stays in the pool.

 

[lalittle]

I get the chlorine being corrosive and the safety aspect but I expected more would leave it in more often.

In my case, you were right -- I leave it in.

My bottom drain was plugged by previous owners, so in my pool the only "drains" are the skimmer and the suction cleaner -- a regular Kreepy Krauly. I leave the Kreepy in the pool almost all the time, even when shocking at high levels (which doesn't happen that often, but it does happen from time to time.) My thinking is that a lot of circulation is needed when shocking, which means leaving the Kreepy in the pool rather than making the skimmer the only point of suction (which would leave the deeper areas basically uncirculated.) My Kreepy is around 4 years old now, and I don't see any undue wear on it. I did recently replace the "foot," but this was worn due to rubbing on the gunite every day. My gut feeling is that UV from the sun does more damage to the unit than the chlorine does, but as I said, after 4 years it doesn't look bad at all.

I do remove the Kreepy when people will be using the pool for more than just a dip, but over the winter months when nobody uses the pool, the Kreepy is in the water for months at a time.

My overall feeling is that the benefit from leaving the Kreepy in the pool even when shocking outweighs any benefits I might gain from removing it during this time. Even if it does wear out a bit faster doing this, it will still last several years, which seems economically acceptable to me.

Larry

 

[pragmatic]

I remove the cleaner during shock unless it's needed for debris (for short periods) and definitely during swim-time (our dog thinks its a water toy).

Since I joined TFP, I have not had the need to shock .

Impressive! Wish I could say the same, but on my part it's totally not from a lack of understanding...just plain forgetful & well...a bit lazy.

 

[Isaac-1]

My robot stays in the pool most of the time, unless a group of people are coming over. I know this will likely shorten its life, but as many of you know I have back issues since I fell and broke it about 3 years ago, and lifting the robot out of the water while standing on the edge of the pool might put me in bed for a few days, or worse it tends to stay in. I justify it with replacing a robot a little more often is a LOT cheaper than back surgery.

Ike

 

[anonapersona]

The Polaris is really hard to disconnect because it is so far beneath the water level below the swim out ledge that I never take it out for the rare times I shock.