Polaris P825 Sport issues - cleaner won't clean

[liquidrt]

Just purchased a Polaris P825 sport cleaner. The problem is after hitting start, the vacuum is not moving.

There are no error lights or anything. The pool is extremely cloudy and has algae on the bottom so it is difficult to see the vacuum, however, even when put into the shallow end where it is slightly visible the vacuum hardly moves. Even looking at the hose, it does not look to be moving much.

Looking at the manual I have tried to restart the cleaning cycle by turning off the unit and hitting the floor setting to start a new cycle.

Is it normal for these vacuums to have problems out of the box? I called up support and they mentioned going through Leslies for a warranty replacement or return. The only thing I can think of is too much algae on the bottom for the vacuum to move freely. When cleaning out the filter basket, I did notice this algae in the filter basket the first time. After cleaning out, the vacuum has not picked up anything for the next cleaning.

Do I need to wait to use the unit until the algae problem is solved?

 

[SDor]

It's not normal for a vacuum to have a problem out of the box, but also not unheard of. I don't have a Polaris, but I think the following would apply to all robots:

It's not clear what "hardly moves" means. Do you see the brushes or treads move, but the unit isn't moving? This would make me think it's stuck on something or maybe the basket needs to be thoroughly cleaned. Are the brushes and treads not moving? If it's not doing anything, then that's clearly a failure and should be returned. I think it would take A LOT of algae to cause a robot to not move - like the thick green stuff you see in streams and rivers. A dirty pool usually just means you need to clean the basket more often... sometimes a lot more often.

Some robots do have problems with mobility if their baskets get gunked up to the point that water doesn't pass through them easily, and this doesn't always require a lot of debris. So, if it's moving and seeming to vacuum, but isn't moving very much, I might try cleaning the basket thoroughly (like hose it down and make sure the water from the hose flows through the mesh). If that fixes it for only a short time, you might need to wait until your pool is cleaner... or be ready to wash the basket very frequently. They really aren't designed to handle "pool opening" cleaning, but more for maintenance once the pool is fairly clean.

 

[liquidrt]

Thanks SDor, that makes sense. By hardly move, I mean that in videos on youtube the cleaner is scooting across the bottom and climbing walls. I have waited for 30 minutes on multiple different tests today and for the most part, the vacuum has not moved at all or climbed a wall a single time.

As far as visibility goes, the vacuum appears to move in the deep end but the algae and water are green enough that you can not see the vacuum unless its in the shallow end.

Hopefully, we get the algae cleaned up asap so we can test the vacuum and ensure it is working correctly and if not return it.