I bought my Hayward Pool Vac XL a few years ago, but never put it into service because my pool pump's suction side was so weak, it wouldn't power the vac. Well, I finally traced the problem down to the suction side piping sucking air, so I replaced it. Now I've got great suction and it's enough to cause my Pool Vac XL's "feet" to run busily.
Maybe half the time or so, after clearing tiny bits of debris from inside the Pool Vac, when I drop it back into the pool, it will go on its merry way at a pretty good clip. Other times, it doesn't seem to be quite so inclined. And other times I notice that it will be moving along, then it will slow down and pause for a moment, then it will start back up again. Is this latter behavior part of the Pool Vac's "programming," I wonder?
During the years when we were procrastinating about what to do with our pool's suction line, the Pool Vac had just set out on our patio, for the most part, exposed to the elements, which would include about nine months of summer down here in Cairo West. Several times I tossed the Pool Vac into the pool, figuring that's where it belonged and that, even when not in use, that was a better environment for it. But every time, our pool guy would fish it back out. I explained to him my reasoning, but I think it went right over his head (possible language issue) and besides I think that pool guys don't like these things because they replace much of what the pool guy is supposed to do, so . . .
Anyway, this unit has "suffered" through a few summers of being dried out. The internals, what I can see of them, don't appear to be any worse for wear. But the "shoes" are another matter. They are dry and crusty looking. They even have traces of mildew. I don't even recall anymore what they looked like when new. So I'm thinking that, at their current state, they're probably negatively affecting the performance of my Pool Vac, so I've ordered a new set of shoes. Couldn't hurt, I reckon. So, would you agree with my assessment?
One sort of annoying characteristic of this Pool Vac, but I'm thinking that it is one shared by many other designs, is its sensitivity toward small items. We had a bunch of tiny little things in our pool that looked like seeds, about the size of a BB, but the had a hard stem about 3/4" long. These would sometimes clog the turbine. Other times I dunno what it sucked up to stop the turbine. I'd remove the bottom inspection plate, or whatever it's called, to take a look at the vac's innards, but was unable to find anything, and most of the times when I did this, I found that the turbine spun freely. A couple of times the turbine resisted my coaxing for its first couple of revolutions, but then it was fine -- whatever was clogging it had fallen free, I suppose. But most of the time when I find the Pool Vac just sitting on the bottom and not moving, when I pull it out to take a look at it, I can't find anything wrong with its turbine -- even though the feet weren't moving. I suspect that, just the act of turning the unit upside down was enough to dislodge whatever was affecting its operation. So what I've begun to do now is disconnect the suction hose, bring the Pool Vac up out of the water, and give it a good strong shake for a few seconds, then resubmerge it and hook it back up to the suction line. What usually happens is the feet stark kicking away merrily once again. Huh.
I guess there isn't much I can do about this sensitivity to small things, other than keep the pool clean so it doesn't have much to do. What do you folks do, who have suction side vacs?
Maybe half the time or so, after clearing tiny bits of debris from inside the Pool Vac, when I drop it back into the pool, it will go on its merry way at a pretty good clip. Other times, it doesn't seem to be quite so inclined. And other times I notice that it will be moving along, then it will slow down and pause for a moment, then it will start back up again. Is this latter behavior part of the Pool Vac's "programming," I wonder?
During the years when we were procrastinating about what to do with our pool's suction line, the Pool Vac had just set out on our patio, for the most part, exposed to the elements, which would include about nine months of summer down here in Cairo West. Several times I tossed the Pool Vac into the pool, figuring that's where it belonged and that, even when not in use, that was a better environment for it. But every time, our pool guy would fish it back out. I explained to him my reasoning, but I think it went right over his head (possible language issue) and besides I think that pool guys don't like these things because they replace much of what the pool guy is supposed to do, so . . .
Anyway, this unit has "suffered" through a few summers of being dried out. The internals, what I can see of them, don't appear to be any worse for wear. But the "shoes" are another matter. They are dry and crusty looking. They even have traces of mildew. I don't even recall anymore what they looked like when new. So I'm thinking that, at their current state, they're probably negatively affecting the performance of my Pool Vac, so I've ordered a new set of shoes. Couldn't hurt, I reckon. So, would you agree with my assessment?
One sort of annoying characteristic of this Pool Vac, but I'm thinking that it is one shared by many other designs, is its sensitivity toward small items. We had a bunch of tiny little things in our pool that looked like seeds, about the size of a BB, but the had a hard stem about 3/4" long. These would sometimes clog the turbine. Other times I dunno what it sucked up to stop the turbine. I'd remove the bottom inspection plate, or whatever it's called, to take a look at the vac's innards, but was unable to find anything, and most of the times when I did this, I found that the turbine spun freely. A couple of times the turbine resisted my coaxing for its first couple of revolutions, but then it was fine -- whatever was clogging it had fallen free, I suppose. But most of the time when I find the Pool Vac just sitting on the bottom and not moving, when I pull it out to take a look at it, I can't find anything wrong with its turbine -- even though the feet weren't moving. I suspect that, just the act of turning the unit upside down was enough to dislodge whatever was affecting its operation. So what I've begun to do now is disconnect the suction hose, bring the Pool Vac up out of the water, and give it a good strong shake for a few seconds, then resubmerge it and hook it back up to the suction line. What usually happens is the feet stark kicking away merrily once again. Huh.
I guess there isn't much I can do about this sensitivity to small things, other than keep the pool clean so it doesn't have much to do. What do you folks do, who have suction side vacs?