Rocks In Pool! Jamming Up Hayward Navigator

[jibehren]

My Problem:
I have rock landscaping around the edges of my pool. I also have two golden retrievers who love to run around the yard. Naturally, some of the rocks end up at the bottom of the pool. This has been a headache for my pool cleaner. If the rock is large enough it will jam up the turbine inside the Hayward Navigator.

My Questions:
Are there any pool cleaners designed to work especially well with picking up rocks or larger debris?

Also, I know that the rocks that make it through the cleaner may end up clogging one of my 90 degree elbows somewhere in the line. I have noticed the pressure in my dedicated suction line to be much lower than my skimmer line. I believe I may have a partial clog somewhere in my line. Unclogging the line is a separate issue I'm currently working through, but would a leaf canister prevent this from happening in the future (after I have unclogged the line)?

Thank you for your help!

Jesse

18k gal, Pebble Tec, STA-Rite System 3 Cartridge Filter, STA-Rite 1.1 HP Pump, Hayward Navigator Vacuum

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum!

You will have to remove the rocks manually. Nothing is designed to handle that and, yes, they can cause some harm to your system. Get your leaf net and keep them scooped out.

I can't help with the leaf cannister.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!

A leaf canister would certainly stop any rocks that make it through before they enter the plumbing. You should really be using a leaf canister and not relying on the pump basket to stop any debris anyway.

 

[n240sxguy]

I have a Polaris 280. It uses a water jet from the booster pump to suck stuff up off the bottom. It will pick up small pebbles I know. Not sure how big of a rock it would pick up.

 

[duraleigh]

I will say again that an autovac of any kind is not intended to pick up rocks. If you are getting a lot of them, get them out manually.

 

[pragmatic]

I also have the navigator. Once I learned settings for my pool, it works flawlessly. My issue is also dog hair, rocks and acorns (oak tree). Most of the issues can be overcome by increasing vacuum pressure; crank that sucker up (at high-side or just beyond on the gauge). It'll suck in just about anything that will fit. In 3years of hard use I've only replaced the a-frame bearings-It's almost bullet-proof with cheap and easy fix parts. Although it may not be designed for rocks, with the right pressure they're not an issue. There are better units out there, but for the price and easy maintenance I love mine. I also strongly recommend the leaf-canister. http://www.amazon.com/Hayward-Navigator-STANDARD-CANISTER-W560/dp/B000EW6EGI/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1414251452&sr=8-13&keywords=hayward+navigator