Surface debris solution

[noobnoob]

Hello, I have Hayward Phoenix pool cleaner which does a good job of getting rid of all the debris which has sunk to the bottom of the pool. I run the 2.6HP Pentair pump at 2200RPM for 8 hours everyday for my 13000 gallon pool. I do not get too much of the large debris except when the gardener cleans up once a week, which I rake up as soon as he is done. Rest of the time it's just few leaves if that. The pool water is clean to look at but there is fair amount of tiny surface debris (insects, very fine plant threads etc) floating at the top. I would really like to find a solution to this problem without adding any more equipment. I don't have a weir door on my skimmer.

Should I remove the pool cleaner from the skimmer one day a week so that the surface water is sucked in instead of water from the bottom of the pool? I'll appreciate any help regarding this.

 

[oldprophet]

Hello, I have Hayward Phoenix pool cleaner which does a good job of getting rid of all the debris which has sunk to the bottom of the pool. I run the 2.6HP Pentair pump at 2200RPM for 8 hours everyday for my 13000 gallon pool. I do not get too much of the large debris except when the gardener cleans up once a week, which I rake up as soon as he is done. Rest of the time it's just few leaves if that. The pool water is clean to look at but there is fair amount of tiny surface debris (insects, very fine plant threads etc) floating at the top. I would really like to find a solution to this problem without adding any more equipment. I don't have a weir door on my skimmer.

Should I remove the pool cleaner from the skimmer one day a week so that the surface water is sucked in instead of water from the bottom of the pool? I'll appreciate any help regarding this.

If you don't have a weir door, you will have little skimming action.

 

[proavia]

Install a weir door on your skimmer.

Chances are - with a weir door installed - you can run the majority of your run time at a lower RPM and only run 2200 RPM or so for the pool cleaner.
Lower RPM equals lower electricity usage.

 

[HermanTX]

So it appears you have only 1 skimmer and that is used exclusively for the suction side Hayward Phoenix pool cleaner. This is run 8 hrs a day. Do you need to run the cleaner every day?
Suggest you purchas a weir door for your skimmer and run your suction side cleaner every 2nd day and let the skimmer work the other days.

 

[noobnoob]

If you don't have a weir door, you will have little skimming action.

I suppose I should get one installed. How will it work with the pool cleaner hooked to the suction in the skimmer?

 

[noobnoob]

So it appears you have only 1 skimmer and that is used exclusively for the suction side Hayward Phoenix pool cleaner. This is run 8 hrs a day. Do you need to run the cleaner every day?
Suggest you purchas a weir door for your skimmer and run your suction side cleaner every 2nd day and let the skimmer work the other days.

I like this idea. I don't like the idea of having to insert it every other day but I think this is an ideal solution. I can't believe how much I've learnt in 2 weeks here. I should have started taking care of my pool myself 6 years ago instead of relying on my pool guy. Thank you.

 

[proavia]

You can probably run the pool cleaner for 4 hours or less every 2nd or 3rd day.
It would really depend on your debris load and how well the cleaner works.
But - with a fully functional weir door - you will have less debris settling to the pool floor as the skimmer will catch a lot of it.

 

[noobnoob]

You can probably run the pool cleaner for 4 hours or less every 2nd or 3rd day.
It would really depend on your debris load and how well the cleaner works.
But - with a fully functional weir door - you will have less debris settling to the pool floor as the skimmer will catch a lot of it.

Thank you. That seems like the perfect solution. Now I'm wondering if running it for 8 hours a day at 2200 RPM necessary?

 

[proavia]

Thank you. That seems like the perfect solution. Now I'm wondering if running it for 8 hours a day at 2200 RPM necessary?

Probably not - unless the pool cleaner needs to run for that entire time.

If you find that 4 hours at 2200 RPM is enough to clean the pool, lower the RPM to 1200-1500 for the remainder of the run time (even if the pool cleaner is attached to the system).

 

[wireform]

Wasn't mentioned yet but if you have a main drain with a valve at the equipment pad you can close it off to only leaving it 10% open then the suction at the skimmer will get quite a bit stronger to draw in the floating debris.

 

[HermanTX]

I like this idea. I don't like the idea of having to insert it every other day but I think this is an ideal solution. I can't believe how much I've learnt in 2 weeks here. I should have started taking care of my pool myself 6 years ago instead of relying on my pool guy. Thank you.

Have you considered a skimmer plate such as shown in the picture. That may help installation either through the skimmer opening or over the coping into the skimmer.

 

[noobnoob]

Here is a major update and as per name here I'm a total newbie when it comes to taking care of the pool. It seems like there was a weir door there. It was 8 3/8" wide and 3 inch tall. It was disintegrating and it seems like half a door had broken off sometime ago. I removed the cleaner, put the skimmer basket in and started the pump at 3450 RPM (Quick clean) and it pretty much sucked majority of the surface debris in 25 minutes. I also noticed that there were lot of bubbles at the outlets and also in the pump. I could see that the suction at the skimmer was like an vortex which made me believe that water level was low so I filled the pool. The bubbles disappeared and the pump looks empty since there were no bubbles. The water pressure at the filter which was always 0 now reads 8PSI (brand new filter and pump installed 6 days ago.)

The weir door disintegrated while trying to put it back so I will replace it with one from amazon. How tall should be the weir door? I've turned off the pump for tomorrow while it find the correct door and order it.

I believe I should be able to return the Hayward phoenix and get something else instead because I don't like the idea of lugging the pool cleaner inside every other day. I'm sure there might be more elegant solution which you all can recommend.

Thank you all so much for the education and the help.

 

[mknauss]

If you do not have a dedicated suction line for suction side cleaner, you are better off with a robot. Expensive. You have to plan for replacement every 3-5 years. But you will appreciate how well it cleans and the fact you have a functional skimmer.

 

[proavia]

As for a replacement weir door - look at the skimmer lid top and underside for clues as to what brand and model the skimmer is. That will help in getting the correctly weir door.
If you are having trouble determining the skimmer make/model, post pictures of both sides of the skimmer lid.

 

[noobnoob]

If you do not have a dedicated suction line for suction side cleaner, you are better off with a robot. Expensive. You have to plan for replacement every 3-5 years. But you will appreciate how well it cleans and the fact you have a functional skimmer.

Thank you for your advise. I will do a bit more reading and see if the robot cleaner is a viable option or not. I do see one of the holes (that's what I call them), which has screw threads on them but I it had no suction when the pump was on. I also just have one pipe going into the pump and no valves.

 

[mknauss]

Might be a pressure cleaner line? Post a few pictures of your equipment pad.

 

[noobnoob]

As for a replacement weir door - look at the skimmer lid top and underside for clues as to what brand and model the skimmer is. That will help in getting the correctly weir door.
If you are having trouble determining the skimmer make/model, post pictures of both sides of the skimmer lid.

Thanks. I did check the skimmer lid and saw that it was a U-3 model. I could not locate the screws in the skimmer and the disintegrated one was a sprint loaded weir door. I ordered a similar one which is slightly bigger (8 1/2") than the existing one but people what managed to file off 1/8" and make it work. Ordered it and will install it tomorrow. Will keep you all updated.

 

[noobnoob]

Might be a pressure cleaner line? Post a few pictures of your equipment pad.

Here are some pictures. Please let me know if you need more information. The left hole in the third picture is the one which has threads on it.

 

[mknauss]

So I see three lines at the pad that are not connected to the system. One looks like the air inlet for the spa jets. I suspect one of the other's goes to that port in the pool wall, but both have small pipe size so would not be suitable for a suction side cleaner.

 

[noobnoob]

So I see three lines at the pad that are not connected to the system. One looks like the air inlet for the spa jets. I suspect one of the other's goes to that port in the pool wall, but both have small pipe size so would not be suitable for a suction side cleaner.

So that means that the threaded I/O port is useless for me. I will just have to decide if I want to get the robot cleaner or go through the motion of taking the Phoenix every couple of days to clean the bottom of the pool. I'm lucky enough to not have any trees nearby and leaves are not a major issue except when gardener cleans up or during Santa Ana winds.