Let me hear your pool vac tips

[graler]

We have had the above ground pool for a little less than a year now. We started with the baquacil and and are now on chlorine as this site teaches. Love it water is crystal clear all of the time - how boring. We got a mamba vac with the pool this thing that goes clickity-clack and never cleans in the middle. So we have been using a vac head and the pole. We have a skimmer plate but that just doesn't seem to work that well. I use the connection that came with the mamba - it is blue (kong (dog toy)) device that plugs into the bottom of the skimmer. This means you are sending everything right to the pump basket. You know the pump basket - that thing that requires super human strength to open. I have looked at robots - they sure are neat drop them in an then - ta da you have a sparkling pool. What other options are there. My pool water is so clean that even a little **** on the bottom drives me crazy. Yeah I should get some professional help.

Joe

 

[FloridaSwimmer]

Haha - I understand being driven crazy when the auto vac misses the middle. Mine is doing that too so I'm following this thread... We just set up our pool a few days ago so the verdict is still out on this vac. Good luck! We have a manual but no pole to use it with yet so we're getting that just so I can get the bottom as clean as I'd like. Good luck!

 

[jtaves85mcss]

Question on your use and disappointing experience with the 'skimmer plate'. Are you filling the vac hose with water before you start by:

1. attaching vac to pole and inserting hose;
2. dropping your pole and vac head in the pool - ideally resting the pole between your ladder rails;
3. then putting the skimmer plate over a return to purge your entire vac hose of air and floating the vac head up until all air is gone; and
4. then holding your hand over the hole in the bottom of the skimmer plate until you push it over the skimmer basket?

If you cavitate the the hose or pump basket you may not be getting all the suction you need.

Just a thought....

Plus check out suggestions in this recent thread http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/91572-How-do-I-use-my-vacuum

 

[graler]

Yeah I am getting all of the air out of the line. I actually use the return to force water in and then keep it submerged all the way to connecting it to the skimmer plate. Do you leave your basket in the skimmer to catch the larger stuff? It is not that much now but earlier this spring holy smokes - between stuff that fell in over the winter to the blossoms from the peach tree it was a lot of stuff. The real deal is to do a good job you have to be in the pool. It is difficult at best standing along side - I can do it because of my height. Others in the family cannot. Given my experience so far there has been great expense before we find out what the people with experience really do. I am trying to avoid the big expense only to have it sitting in the tub with the rest of the stuff that didn't work. That tub is now the home to the Mamba and the leaf boss (or whatever that piece of junk was called). Trying not to add to the tub of unwanted pool gear - there will be no santa or rudolph to save them.