Intex robot C hoses leak, wont move? Other Return based choices besides Intex?

ta2dwonderwoman, could I ask a big favor? I was looking at my intex robot and noticed the treads on the wheels that spin seem worn. would you mind looking at yours and seeing if all 4 wheels have the same type of tread or if one end has something different than the other? I can't remember from last year and it actually took me almost 9 months to even notice that only one end had spinny wheels. If the tread is the same on all 4 wheels that may be the answer to my question (Intex robot wheels )
 
I added in 15 feet of pvc to and from solarpro game domes (for testing).. still on my intex 0.5hp 2100gph (hayward 1.5hp 21" came but was broken from jet.com, awaiting another from another vendor on amazon)..

Seems now that i did this, even with recycle mode on the pump, the robot will get stuck on the sides of the pool (with return valve off and robot valve on).. ill have to double check tonight and/or turn the diverter valve on the domes "down" (right now its on an even 3 way split, but i aim to make it a 25% to the domes (two of them connected) if i can figure out the handle positioning).

I'm sure the hayward will help with this though.

It is a great little robot when you can get it moving and keep moving, sucked up nearly all the debris from my cover pulling off from a week or so ago :)
 
Thank you SO much! they are all the same! My spinny wheels are almost treadless and have the wear of a car tire that is toed in. just a little tread left on the "inside" smooth most of the rest. solved that little riddle, now I can play around with switching them around.
 
I finally got to hooking up the hayward 1.5 hp pump.. it seems to be doing well..reading 20psi though on the gauge (i think normal).. The diverter on my testing of two solar domes is reading 12 psi, about 1 psi on the edge of "green" though.

I had to actually close off the return valve, to allow the robot second valve to be full open and have enough power to not get stuck (with the solar diverter going).. kinda surprised that going from 0.5 to 1.5 still had issues with full power to both return ports.. i do have both the suction and the skimmer basket going wide open as well, though i may close off the suction slightly to allow more power to the haywood skimmer port.
 
I finally got to hooking up the hayward 1.5 hp pump.. it seems to be doing well..reading 20psi though on the gauge (i think normal).. The diverter on my testing of two solar domes is reading 12 psi, about 1 psi on the edge of "green" though.

I had to actually close off the return valve, to allow the robot second valve to be full open and have enough power to not get stuck (with the solar diverter going).. kinda surprised that going from 0.5 to 1.5 still had issues with full power to both return ports.. i do have both the suction and the skimmer basket going wide open as well, though i may close off the suction slightly to allow more power to the haywood skimmer port.

Day 2 with the 1.5 hp, still issues with the robot. It will just get stuck for no reason, sometimes not even against a wall, but sideways near a wall.. i pull it up and i can feel the jet rushing out a good 4", so i dont think its a jet issue..
Usually its on the other end of the pool with what appears to be enough slack.

If i turn off the return jet completely, the robot does wheelies at times and moves fast.

Rather frustrated at this point.. i mean when it works it cleans things well.. but all things considered its probably just as well to use the vac attached to the hayward skimmer, considering i may have to turn off the return flow to make it work non stop.

I'm surprised as i thought the 1.5 hp over the 0.5 would have been the ticket.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
So why don't you just turn off the second return when running the cleaner? Problem solved.
The goal in splitting the return into two (with two different valves) was to allow for the robot to run 24/7 on its own.. turning off the primary return, shuts off the circulation.... but yeah, better than nothing.. in the end though, it appears a ring is still left at least from debris from the cover removal.. very outer perimiter, which ill have to vac manually, not a huge deal though, it took care of the brunt of the issue.. i was pretty sure someone else on here was running theirs 24/7 with both valves open, or so i thought.. disappointed at the 1.5 hp hayward + 21" filter.. figured i'd gain quite a bit of power over the 0.5 intex 2100 sand pump.. i cant have both suction ports open either still (one being the hayward skimmer).. not enough suction as before.
 
You still have full circulation, just through the cleaner! In fact, the circulation is probably better when running through the cleaner than through the return, since it is moving around the pool, preventing any "standstill" areas. The cleaner is designed for a single return and can run 24x7 without impeding circulation. You are overthinking it.
 
So why don't you just turn off the second return when running the cleaner? Problem solved.

This is what I do. I haven't put the eyeball back on my return port in almost a year. I just take the cleaner out if there are going to be people in there. Heck my sons just swim with it in there. When I swim circles I disconnect but park it in the middle of the pool sitting on a coil or two of its hose. Other wise it is running any time the pump is on (no wonder my treads wore out! LOL)

I prefer to have the skimmer working when I swim because we have so many bugs and crud flying through the air.
 
Well i ran into a big problem.. mostly caused by a brain fart.. this morning i came out to find that 1/4 of the pool water vanished.. right down to the lower part of the return nozzle.. i'm 90% sure the cause was the robot hoses leaking onto the ground over a 10 hour period.

Last nite the pump was off.. robot still in pool.. i had hung part of the hose over the side.. those leaky connections did me in.

In the future ill make sure either the valve is off, the hoses are in the water, or the robot is on the deck, so if its still "on" it will be obvious.

Does anyone know of any "hooks" that could be put on the inside of the pool wall at the top to attach the hose to, that way if they are still leaking it goes right back into the pool?
 
Well i entered a new season with the robot..

I still have dual returns ports/jets one going to the robot, one to the eyeball.. last year i put in a smaller size eyeball.. near the end of the season, wondering if that extra powerful eyeball is actually creating drag and making the robot not move as fast.
I may finally just turn off the eyeball return and leave just the robot on as a test (still not convinced the water will circulate to my side hayward return correctly if i do this, but worth a try).

The issues i'm having is once again getting stuck and moving slow (i need to check to see if the jets are coming out both sides at once).. and also.. the tubing gets coiled up (didnt happen at all last year).

I'm also not using the manual's exact tube connection/arrangement.. maybe i need to revisit that and shorten or do exact.. i felt the 18 foot round pool, the other side wasnt being reached, so early last year i made it longer by piecing together things (maybe by 5 feet).. it had worked ok.

The last issue is, and maybe related to moving slow or not enough power.. dirt deposits on the floor arent being sucked up.. maybe i need new fins put on? Using my manual vac connected to the basket works fine and gets it.

Any thoughts?
 
I have always used my robot as my only return. Absolutely no problems with circulation of water.
 
Re: Intex robot issues, stuck, tubing gets coiled up etc?

I built this Frankenvalve from PVC for my Intex robot. By adjusting this valve and the one on the return, I could keep the robot moving and still have circulation in the pool.
fbc15afad497a697fd8955a1efc9968a.jpg
 
Re: Intex robot issues, stuck, tubing gets coiled up etc?

I built this Frankenvalve from PVC for my Intex robot. By adjusting this valve and the one on the return, I could keep the robot moving and still have circulation in the pool.

Yep this is my similar arrangement.

I tried last night to just send the flow to the robot alone (lol).. the robot floated to the top and sideways etc haha.. too much flow.. so i now played with each valve till i had the main eyeball partially open, i think i now have the robot full open.. let it on 3 more hours after this, came out this morning to find most of the stuff on the bottom was finally gone.. phew.

The 1.5 hp pump + solar going on was still too much flow to just send it to the robot alone it seems.. so far happy with the results after the change.. will monitor the hayward basket on the side to see if debris continues to work its way in... initially last nite before this change, i had a ton of things floating on top (with full eye flow too).. this morning, not seeing much debris on top, though i scooped a lot out manually before the 3 hour run last nite.. time will tell.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.