Hammer Head Vacuum for Personal Pool? The Leaves are Driving Me Crazy! Update: Completed 110v Build

[Formula27]

Hey everyone, sorry if this is a commonly asked question, I searched but was unsuccessful in finding the answer.

I have a large Bradford Pear tree next to the pool and it seems like the wind always blows in the perfect direction to send it and the entire neighborhoods leaves directly into my pool. Even in the summertime I feel like I'm constantly vacuuming leaves. I have been using the suction hose and standard vacuum head, but it is very time consuming and too much debris goes into the cartridge filter.

I see the Hammer Head Vacuum on almost every pool guys truck and assume that it works well and is time efficient. Are any of you using these for your personal pool? If so, are you using it with the battery, or is there a way to hook it up to the house power?

HAMMER-HEAD POOL VACUUMS

Save time and energy with battery powered swimming pool vacuum machines by Hammer-Head.

www.hammerheadvac.com

I have a Dolphin, but it can't keep up with the leaves.

Aside from the suction hose or Jandy Leaf Master, what are y'all using to get the leaves out?

Thanks in advance,

Chris

 

[Newdude]

The hammer head is a quality, commercial grade device. Its also $2k-$3k and beyond the reach of most folks for the once a week they might use it.

If I needed more than my weekly old skool manual vac-ing, I used the net on the pole. I got pretty good at getting most of the leaves out in just a few minutes.

 

[Chrissykr]

I live in the Ozark mountains and it is always windy here. I just run my robot and five landscapers show up around the hood and go to town. Two hours later it looks like I haven't cleaned the pool in a week. My ultimate dream is to buy a Solar Breeze.

Solar Breeze Ariel, Solar Pool Skimmers, Robotic Pool Cleaners

Debris that sinks to the bottom of the pool always floats first. Remove debris with Ariel a solar pool skimmer and non chemical robot

solar-breeze.com

 

[HermanTX]

I have borrowed a hammerhead cleaner and it works great. I only used it with the battery. You may need to check with the manufacturer if they have a 115v version as the mobile unit I used was 12v DC motor. As noted in earlier post - they are pricey but they do pick up a lot. You can purchase different mesh bags depending on how much debris you want to pick up.

 

[Formula27]

Thanks all!

Chrissy, the Solar Breeze is very cool, but not sure how it will handle our big oak tree leaves, it would be great for grass clippings though!

I'm thinking about starting with the Pool Skim as it's a fraction of the cost than the Hammer Head.

I have a call into Hammer Head to see if they have or are planning on a residential device, who knows, maybe we can plant a seed with them and get in on the R&D!

It should not be that difficult, it could have a caddie similar to the Dolphin with a transformer mounted to the caddie. If they could get it to the $999.99 price point, I think it would be more appealing to the consumer.

 

[Chrissykr]

Thanks all!

Chrissy, the Solar Breeze is very cool, but not sure how it will handle our big oak tree leaves, it would be great for grass clippings though!

I'm thinking about starting with the Pool Skim as it's a fraction of the cost than the Hammer Head.

I have a call into Hammer Head to see if they have or are planning on a residential device, who knows, maybe we can plant a seed with them and get in on the R&D!

It should not be that difficult, it could have a caddie similar to the Dolphin with a transformer mounted to the caddie. If they could get it to the $999.99 price point, I think it would be more appealing to the consumer.

I thought about the Pool Skim and I started reading the various discussions and I changed my mind. You might want to research it on here.

 

[Formula27]

I had a very collaborative conversation with Dean at Hammer Head. I will update shortly with overall costs, but I think it is going to work and might be a decent solution!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

How about an autocover?

 

[Formula27]

Okay, here is the potential plan, thanks to Deen at Hammerhead and a lot of over researching.
You can buy the Hammerhead Resort 21 which is the same as the Service model, it just lacks the tailgate hitch, the best price I have seen is $1,620 + a deep cycle battery.
On a residential setup, I don't need the cart and would like it to plug into the house 110v which the manufacturer does not supply.

Deen recommended buying the vacuum head and cord P/N HH1310 which I found at PoolZoom.com for 799.89 with free shipping.
The Hammerhead runs on 12v, so, I need a AC/DC converter with a 30 amp output (minimum amperage for HH), Amazon $44.89.
I'll have to wire it up which shouldn't cost more than about $20.

The only concerns Deen had was 110v power that close to the pool, however, the converter will be plugged into a GFCI outlet and has safety protection on it.

With that being said, the total investment would be $866ish which is half the price of the Resort 21 model.

Hammerhead:

Hammerhead Pool Vacuum | Pool Cleaner Vacuum | PoolZoom

Clean your pool efficiently and effectively with the Hammer head 21" Vac Head with 40' Cord HH1310 Commercial Professional Battery Powered Pool Cleaner. This high-performance pool cleaning equipment is designed to deliver powerful suction and reliable performance, ensuring your pool remains...

www.poolzoom.com

Power Converter:

Amazon.com: SHNITPWR 12V Power Supply 40A 480W Regulated Switch Power Transformer AC 110V 220V to DC 12 Volt 40amp 38A 35A 32A 30A Converter Adapter LED Driver 3 Output Ports for LED Light 3D Printer CCTV Cameras: Electronics

Amazon.com: SHNITPWR 12V Power Supply 40A 480W Regulated Switch Power Transformer AC 110V 220V to DC 12 Volt 40amp 38A 35A 32A 30A Converter Adapter LED Driver 3 Output Ports for LED Light 3D Printer CCTV Cameras: Electronics

www.amazon.com

I hope this helps someone else that is looking to do this in the future. I'll let you know how it works!

 

[Formula27]

Completed setup with everything I posted above! Works great, just keep the power converter in a safe, dry space! I mounted it to a 2x6 to give it a little more weight, height and stability. I used solder and shrink wrap on open wire and waterproof quick disconnectors so the converter can be separated from the Hammerhead for storage.

All in, $930!

 

[Mayorb]

The hammer head is a quality, commercial grade device. Its also $2k-$3k and beyond the reach of most folks for the once a week they might use it.

If I needed more than my weekly old skool manual vac-ing, I used the net on the pole. I got pretty good at getting most of the leaves out in just a few minutes.

A lot of people, including pool techs, are unaware that a leaf eater (i.e Pentair R211046 Leaf Master)
which is built to be run off of the garden hose, can be hooked up to a booster pump which is used to run a powered cleaner such as a Polaris or Pentair Legend.
It effectively does about the same job as a HammerHead.

Even if your pool is not set up with a powered cleaner, the booster pump can be purchased and wired to a 110v GFCI protected outlet. Most come pre wired for 220v, but a diagram on the label shows how to change the wiring for it to run on 110v.
Off brand booster pumps are available for less than $200,

The pump is placed next to the pool with the suction line running below the water level. Adapters can be used to connect a hose from the pump to the leaf eater. With such a short suction run, the pump is able to maintain prime once started.

If your pool does have a booster pump, all you have to do is disconnect the cleaner hose at the upstream side of the backup valve, and attach a length of hose with a swivel at one end, and a 5/8" male hose end to to other to connect to the leaf eater.

In most cases this significantly increases the pressure over that of just running it off of the garden hose, for better vacuum action and faster cleaning.