Is this normal? Dolphin Active 20 leaving debris

[nostaljake]

When I run my new Dolphin Active 20 for a full cycle, there's still quite a bit of debris left at the bottom of the pool. Photos attached. Is this normal?

I previously had a very old pressure side Polaris that I was excited to upgrade away from. It got stuck on the stairs constantly and the parts were all beat up. But the suction on the Polaris seemed better to me, and it got the pool cleaner. When I watch the Dolphin, it does suck some stuff in, but a lot of it gets blown around. Attached are a couple photos of what the basket looks like after a full cycle.

It's also possible there's just more debris now than previously given the time of year. It's hard to remember. There are some trees near my property that I have no control over, including one conifer that drops some thin leaves. Attached are a couple photos to give an idea of scale.

Anyway, I'm a first time pool owner so this could absolutely be user error! No idea if I'm doing something wrong or if my expectations are too high or if it's a problem with the Dolphin. What do you all think?

 

[mknauss]

My 6+ year old Active20 cleans the pool to this day. I see you are using the mesh filter panels. For better cleaning, the pleated filters are more efficient.

I do not have pine needles. So not sure if those are the issue.

 

[nostaljake]

Cool, I'll switch out the filter panels. But the needles are too big for the filter type to be the issue here, so still not sure what's going on. Anyone have other thoughts?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Jake,

The little open bag at the bottom of the basket is designed to keep debris from draining back into the pool when you take the robot out of the water.

Unfortunately it can also keep some debris from being picked up.

As a test, remove the bag and see what happens.

Like Marty, I only use the pleated filters...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[reggiehammond]

Doesn't look too normal to me - but when the robot is moving, are the pine needles light up to puff up and away from the robot?

 

[nostaljake]

Doesn't look too normal to me - but when the robot is moving, are the pine needles light up to puff up and away from the robot?

I think so, yeah. If I watch the robot go over an area with a bunch of needles, it looks to me like some are getting sucked in, some are getting blown around, and some are being missed. I guess some of the ones that are blown around end up in the skimmers, but others are just going to settle to the bottom again. *shrug*

 

[reggiehammond]

When you start the cleaner, it does a self test, moving forward and backward. It then activates the pump - do you see a big burble of water at surface? Just want to narrow down if you have an impeller issue or perhaps one of the flaps is out of place.

 

[nostaljake]

When you start the cleaner, it does a self test, moving forward and backward. It then activates the pump - do you see a big burble of water at surface? Just want to narrow down if you have an impeller issue or perhaps one of the flaps is out of place.

Yes, confirmed. I just turned it on and it moved forward like 5ft, then backwards 1ft, then shot a burble up. Not sure how big it's supposed to be, but it was there. Much appreciate your help!

 

[nostaljake]

The little open bag at the bottom of the basket is designed to keep debris from draining back into the pool when you take the robot out of the water.

Unfortunately it can also keep some debris from being picked up.

As a test, remove the bag and see what happens.

Tried this today. I didn't notice a huge difference in performance, maybe a little better. And lost a bunch of debris when I took the robot out of the water, like you mentioned.

I watched the robot for a while and did notice it blows some of the debris around when approaching.

 

[Mike1162]

Tried this today. I didn't notice a huge difference in performance, maybe a little better. And lost a bunch of debris when I took the robot out of the water, like you mentioned.

I watched the robot for a while and did notice it blows some of the debris around when approaching.

There's a port on top of the robot where the water exits. Are you seeing any debris on the grate that covers this port?

 

[nostaljake]

There's a port on top of the robot where the water exits. Are you seeing any debris on the grate that covers this port?

Only the tiniest bit. It's definitely not clogged.

One more observation: when the robot changes direction, sometimes it kind of hops off the floor for a moment on one side. I just assumed that's normal because it weighs more on the other side, but figured I'd mention in case it's a sign that something's off.

That said, I'm kind of skeptical the problem (if any) is anything other than the suction not being strong enough. So small / lightweight debris is getting blown around as the robot approaches, rather than getting sucked into the filter.

 

[Mike1162]

I wasn't worried about it being clogged. Debris shouldn't be getting into that "exhaust" port. If it is then you have a problem with the drain flap or debris is somehow getting past the filter basket. The later isn't very likely. The debris shown in your pictures is so small it may not get caught by the grate. Can you remove the basket & take a picture of the drain flap & post it? You could also pull the running robot just below the surface & flip it over to see if the flap is closing. Watch where you put your fingers when flipping it over.

 

[nostaljake]

Can you remove the basket & take a picture of the drain flap & post it?

Here you go!

 

[Mike1162]

I'm not sure if that gap is big enough to cause problems. You can either try the upside down test & see if the flap closes completely or just tape it shut, run a cleaning cycle & see if the pool is cleaner. I think electrical tape would be a good choice because it'll peel off without leaving a sticky mess.

 

[nostaljake]

I'm not sure if that gap is big enough to cause problems. You can either try the upside down test & see if the flap closes completely or just tape it shut, run a cleaning cycle & see if the pool is cleaner. I think electrical tape would be a good choice because it'll peel off without leaving a sticky mess.

I tried taping the flap down with electrical tape today. Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe a small improvement, but nothing major.

I still think there's an issue with the suction. I just watched it go right over a medium sized leaf and not grab it. The suction isn't totally broken, though. It always gets some stuff, but it leaves too much behind.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Jake,

Have you removed the impeller and looked to ensure that there is nothing wrapped around the suction motor shaft??? Easy to do and worth the small effort.

Just need a Phillips screwdriver. If hair, or string, gets in there it will slow the impeller down. You have to remove the impeller to see it.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Mike1162]

x2 on checking the impeller. The deepest part of my pool is 5 feet. At that depth I can see the water exiting the robot disturbing the water at the surface. Just a little while the robot is moving & quite a bit when it pauses to reverse.

I just noticed something in the pictures you posted Saturday. Zoom in on the 3rd picture (pic of the underside) what is inside the squares at the lower right & lower left. Almost looks like the plastic wasn't properly deburred.

 

[nostaljake]

Reviving this thread as I finally got around to checking the impeller today. See attached photos!

There was some hair both on the top and wrapped around the bottom of the impeller. Could this amount of hair be the culprit? I do think I see some improvement now. Not major, but more than the other fixes we've tried so far.

I also took a photo of the drain flap while the robot was running. Looks like a bit of gap there. Is that supposed to be completely sealed tight when it's running?

While I had it upside down, I also did a few tests putting some pine needles near the opening and seeing how far away they needed to be to be sucked in. Seemed like ~2.5 inches to me. Any further and the needle would float to the surface.

 

[Hal3]

I had a similar problem when I first used my Dolphin Active 20. There are two metal wires in the fabric of the valve at the bottom pick-up area. These can be too tight and keep things from being picked up. Try putting your fingers through the valve and gently pulling the wires apart a little bit. Don't overdo it. You can repeat the process if it needs a little more slack. Fixed the problem perfectly.

 

[nostaljake]

Thanks for the suggestion! I tried pulling them apart a bit, but I'm afraid to rip the fabric so I don't want to yank too hard.

I still think there's an issue with the suction. Or that my expectations are just off or something. But it really looks to me like the Dolphin only picks stuff up if it goes RIGHT over it. I used to have a super old and beat up Polaris 280, and it would suck stuff into it from pretty far away. With the Dolphin, it seems to blow items around more than anything.

For other Active 20 owners, if you flip the robot over when it's running, how close do you have to get to the opening before you feel the suction? I have to get within like an inch or two.

Below are a couple short videos showing my Dolphin trying to pick up pine needles. Would still really love any help or ideas here!