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I'm also frustrated with a MX8 with a lot of pine needles and prefer a suction cleaner
Cleaner to deal with pine needles
- Thread starter VikingMikeFL
- Start date
I'm also frustrated with a MX8 with a lot of pine needles and prefer a suction cleaner
- Jul 21, 2013
- 54,783
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Welcome to TFP.
I find my Polaris 380 pressure cleaner picks up pine needles very well.
I have no experience with suction cleaners.
I find my Polaris 380 pressure cleaner picks up pine needles very well.
I have no experience with suction cleaners.
What is the issue? Is the cleaner being clogged and stopped? Do you have an inline leaf trap?
Pine needles are an issue regardless of the cleaner type, my Polaris 280 gets its fill regularly, especially if there is a wind, and then just works as a sweep (broom) until I empty the bag. There is not a cleaner made that can't be overwhelmed by a large amount of yard debris.
Many robotics have larger capacity filter/screens/traps and larger openings to pick up debris.
I also have huge pines — loblollys with the long needles — upwind of my pool but what has worked for me is run the pump 24/7 (I use a medium speed during the day and low speed at night). The skimmers get the needles before they sink and there are very few to none that make it to the bottom of the pool. The low speed draws about 100 Watts so to me at least, it’s worth the electricity cost.
Hey poolman, thanks for possible reality check, hah!
Our issue is the length & strength of the long pine needles we have here in Central FL (8 - 12 inches), and we're surrounded so we've got needles in the pool probably 80% of the year or more (300+ days for real context).
The issue with the MX-8 specifically is that the needles get caught up in the multiple rotating parts on the inside causing it to seize up. No joke there's been a few times I've spent 10 minutes un winding everything only for it to get seized up again within 5 minutes.
On to the solutions I'm considering at the moment - I'm considering trying an "old school" suction side vacuum like the Kreepy Krauly since I figure the less moving parts, especially rotating gears / axles, the less chance I'll just end up with the same problem. I know, I know amazon reviews are untrustworthy on a good day, but this one at least gives me some hope (and confirmation bias!).
I've seen all the arguments for robotic cleaners vs suction cleaners here & elsewhere, but I can't shake the suspicion that since they're all wheel + gear based like the MX-8, I'll just end up with the same problem, just harder to solve since I'll have to fish the thing out instead of just pulling it up by the hose.
Literally in the middle of my research right now (Saturday) since I want to have something resembling an improvement ahead of the cooler seasons when the pines really get crazy.
Long winded, but trying to give as much context as possible! Thank you readers
Hey SoDel, thanks for the suggestion - I'm definitely interested in the concept of catching these things before they hit the pool bottom.
Are you solely relying on the pool pump inlet skimmer with a plastic basket, or do you have one of those robots that cruises the surface as well?
Hey ajw, thanks for the suggestion - pressure side cleaners make the most sense to me in concept, but we don't have a booster pump in place at the moment. What's the total investment on one of those look like these days? Pump + labor?
Just the inlet skimmers. This morning was a good example of how well it works (at least in my pool). Skimmer baskets loaded with needles. Not a single one on the bottom. In rough estimate, pump runs at 400 Watts for 12 hrs a day and 100 Watts for 12 hrs a day, which if my arithmetic is right, total of 6 kWh a day, about 90 cents.
Pump, cleaner, timer, re-plumb. Not hard if you have a dedicated suction line (port in the side of the pool), but nothing is inexpensive.
Booster pump - +/-$460.00. Polaris 280 - +/- $600.00. Polaris makes other, more expensive, ones that don't work any better and are more expensive to repair. Unless you need black to blend with the plaster, avoid it as the parts are more expensive. These are online prices.
Timer - What do you use now? Automation? Timeclock? Re-plumb - would have to see the site and know a local labor rate.
Thank you for the breakdown poolman.
Although the concept of pushing the debris into a bag rather than sucking them up certainly seems "better", right now I'm leaning towards the $300 Kreepy Krauly since I do have an in-line filter on the suction hose and don't mind dumping that and the secondary filter before the pump when needed.
IF that fails to improve my QOL, I'll take another look at a pressure side cleaner and would probably do that before an electric "robot" since the cost would be similar and I expect risk to be lower.
Kreepys are good cleaners. Remember, needles will clog the diaphragm that makes it move.