Old Kreepy losing its grip

[pcmacd]

I've got a ten year old (15?) Kreepy that until recently was working just fine. I have a fiberglass over gunnite surface.

I've back washed the filter. Got great suction. Kreepy sounds normal, but is moving very slowly and continues to get stuck on vertical paths. It just sits there. I figured the system was needing a backwash, but that made no difference.

Pleated seal is new; wings in good shape. Flapper free and easy moving; again, it sounds normal when it runs and makes the same ripples on the surface via the hose.

I am using the old style regulator (the "new ones" are truly awful to keep seated on that silly plate!) I have tried adjusting the bypass on the regulator.

I am stuck. So is Kreepy.

I am moving out of here in a year or so. I hate to spend the bucks on a new cleaner. This has got to be something simple that I am overlooking.

Suggestions?

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Now Feb 3.

Thanks for your replies.

Removed the original regulator. Inspect, inspect, and again. Seems like it always did. No cracks that have not been mended. (I have a mechanical background and still cannot wrap my head around how that **** thing works!)

Looked at my old post

http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/82936-Kreepy-Stops-Dead?highlight=kreepy+stuck

Duh! Inspected hoses for leaks. None visible.

Leaf trap is empty. No debris in the Main Body or Drive Tubes; not in the top nor the bottom.

Take out regulator, connect Kreepy directly to the suction line. Still gets stuck. Arrrrrrrrrg!!!!!!!!!

~~~~~
Watched these to videos; awesome! This guy plays with these as easily as they are Leggos or something similar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzYfMA16VYY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4s3HO3GhWQ

~~~~~
Inspected the "Swivel Head Assembly" for cracks and such, as advised in the above video links. Nada. Nichts. Zilch. Zip.

Removed the "Foot Pad" to inspect the "Flapper." Little stress cracks here and there, but seems to be in working order, generally solid.

---> Foot pad is worn a wee bit, and only thus; but why should this matter????

---> IS THERE SOMETHING ABOUT FOOT PADS I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?

It is worn, but I can't imagine how much difference that would make, except (oh, Christ!) that there is not enough space between the bottom of the foot pad (as it is worn down) so that there is not enough room for water to get under the foot pad????

---> CHIME IN HERE POOLIES!

---> HAVE I HIT ON SOMETHING HERE???

Try to put back together. The freakin' Foot Pad is like concrete; spend about 20 minutes 2 different times trying to put it on the "Main Body."

~~~~~
Sit back and have two martinis (always a Best Bet!) and read a book for a while.

Epiphany! Put Foot Pad in a small plastic bucket, and into the uWave until I can just barely poke my finger into the water.

Remove Foot Pad (it ain't nearly as hot as the water) and it is as compliant as buddah; install in about one or two minutes. Why did I not do that earlier? Duh.

---> Martini contemplation {compensation} has its benefits.... !

~~~~~
Now the bottom line. The **** thing is running up and down all of the pool walls like a Nascar Vehicle.

• Oh, and now, after two hours, it is stuck again.

I have no clue what the what is going on.

~~~~~
I remain, bewildered.

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JUST A HUNCH.

I went down and measured the depth of the grooves on the front of the Foot Pad.

ABOUT 0.172".

Is it possible that the Foot Pad has worn down the the extent that it cannot get enough water into the main body thru the grooves on the foot pad, and thus gets stuck to the surface via the pump vacuum???

I figure.

What say 'yall?

 

[gtemkin]

I've had the pleated seal work its way out of the groove it's supposed to sit in. That certainly slowed things down. It wasn't real apparent until I removed the cleaner out of the pool and examined it closely.

Also had something happen to the swivel connection to the body but I don't recall what the symptom was that caused me to replace it, but it doesn't hurt to look at that closely.

 

[pcmacd]

Bingo. My swivel seal has gotten noticeably looser. That must be it.

Just replaced the swivel. Ba-da-bing! It is embarrassing that I din't think of this myself...

tanks

 

[pcmacd]

Well, pshaw. I guess I was overly optimistic. Same problems. I even completely closed the bypass on my Kreepy regulator, nothing. Man, that sure starves the pump, and it sure gets NOISY.

I am completely at a loss. This thing worked great for so long and now it has just lost its OOMPH.

 

[pcmacd]

I would deeply appreciate it if one of 'yall could pull your Kreepy from the deep, dark depths and measure the depth from the bottom of the Foot Pad to the top of one of the "vents", or inlets that are built into the Foot Pad.

I am measuring about 0.172", and I'll wager that MY Foot Pad has worn down to the extent that not enough water gets back into the gullet of the Kreepy thru the Foot Pad to allow it to move about. I.E.; the pool vacuum gets it stuck to the pool surface because there is not enough water getting under the Foot Pad????

• What say you, Poolies?

 

[gtemkin]

I can hand off that information to you tomorrow, however, being from Seattle, passing you that info would not be a good call - if you know what I mean!

 

[MarianParoo]

Sorry for your loss, gtemkin....

 

[gtemkin]

Sorry for your loss, gtemkin....

Thank for your condolences

PCMACD - I measure the depth of the 8 grooves in my foot pad the same, .172".

 

[pcmacd]

Oh, Lordy. Woe is me!

~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for the replies and measurements.

~~~~~~~~~~~
What am I to do???

This old beast looks solid, and yet only recently gets stuck going vertical.

It just does not make any sense. I can't find anything wrong with it!

 

[gtemkin]

A few things I suggest might help us figure this out.

Can you post some pictures of the KK? Maybe something will be visible to a fresh eye. Show with leaf trap connected.

What does your pressure gauge do when the KK is connected vs disconnected?

Got anyone nearby who would let you drop it in their pool with their pumping system to see if it behaves the same?

 

[epro05]

For what it's worth, My Kreepy will get stuck if it passes directly over a pool return eyeball. Apparently it is content to just sit there and suck in the pool return water.

 

[gtemkin]

I'm guessing your leaf trap is an inline affair with an internal net to catch the leaves. Any chance the leaf trap was installed backwards and the internal net is being sucked back into the hose and blocking flow? As stupid as it sounds, I've made that mistake once or twice.

 

[pcmacd]

Thanks for all of your replies.

The trap is as it has always been -- correctly installed.

I don't know what a photo of KK would do; it just looks like any other.

Seriously, the only thing I can figure is that the foot pad is somehow worn. It is not of the same appearance everyplace.

Took a better look and a photo of the foot pad. I am down to 0.112" in some places. This has to be the issue.

I have a photo but get a nonsensical message that my quota is exceeded by over 800 KB on an 80 KB JPG file.

So, find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/view/oaj85vcvftd0fxl/foot_pad__20150208_172829.jpg

 

[pcmacd]

Well, the new foot pad seems to have done the trick. Just bought a new set of wings from Pool Supplies Town on Amazon. ~$14 delivered, and the foot pad was under $10. Great place.

We'll see how it does. Thanks to all for your inputs.

 

[gtemkin]

Thought I'd add on another possible 'cause even though you seemed to have fixed your problem with a foot pad change.

I was watching my KK yesterday and it was doing a very slow advance over a great distance, even though I had just backwashed. I noticed it wasn't weight balanced properly and when it was in the deep end the pleated seal wasn't fully in contact with the plaster. There was about an inch lift on the leading edge of the pleats. I needed more hose weights concentrated nearer the KK to ensure it had the right attitude and have the full complement of pleats stay in contact with the bottom. As soon as the pleats did make full contact, the advance speed returned to normal.