Polaris - How important are leader hose floats?

[Mindflux]

For whatever reason the PO or Pool installer removed all 4 floats from the leader hose on my Polaris 480. They didn't bother to leave them for me, but the unit is getting stuck on the steps a fair bit.

Along with a torn debris bag and stiff swivels (there may only be one on the hose, I forget.. so that might have gotten removed too?) ... I'd rather spend a little to repair this rather than a lot for a new cleaner.

Problem is the unit is 8 years old and I did the gearbox last year.

Should I get 2 swivels, 4 floats and a new bag. Total is $80 + tax on Amazon.

Then I also have to figure out why the wheels only rotate about 26RPM. May be a booster pump issue?

I do have two spa jets that are being worked on, so the jets are currently removed meaning the orifice is spewing more water into the spa area. I don't know if this could account for the 7-10 "RPM" slowdown I'm seeing on the Polaris, though?

 

[BoDarville]

The swivels need to be replaced periodically as they tend to get stiff with time. It may take some experimentation to get the right number of swivels and floats. Just be aware that too many floats can cause tangling.

Here is a post you may find helpful: http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/88229-Re-Polaris-hose-getting-tangled

 

[Mindflux]

The swivels need to be replaced periodically as they tend to get stiff with time. It may take some experimentation to get the right number of swivels and floats. Just be aware that too many floats can cause tangling.

Here is a post you may find helpful: http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/88229-Re-Polaris-hose-getting-tangled

Ok. So the number of floats provided isn't necessarily the number of floats needed. Nowhere in the Polaris manual is this mentioned.

Now I need to figure out why I'm only running 26RPM.