Tail not sweeping

[Nitramnayr]

I browsed a few other threads but my situation seems unique:

Pentair Legend cleaner- the 3-year old original tail and new tail stopped sweeping. I recently replaced the backup valve. I tore apart the internals, cleaned out all the hoses, inlet screen is clear, booster pump works and puts out good pressure/water volume.

When I run the cleaner and take the weight off the wheels (dangle it in the water), the tail starts slowly sweeping. Once the wheels touch back down it stops.

Could this be a wheel bearing issue? Or more likely the backup valve fighting for water?

Thank you for your suggestions!

 

[mknauss]

I do not have that type of cleaner but let's see if any of our members might.

 

[jmastron]

What's your water temperature? Our Polaris 280's tail would stop sweeping below 55-60 degrees; I think that's normal. All of the hoses felt much stiffer in the winter and more flexible as the water warmed. It still moved and cleaned fine, just looking a bit pathetic with its tail straight and unmoving behind it.

 

[Bperry]

I browsed a few other threads but my situation seems unique:

Pentair Legend cleaner- the 3-year old original tail and new tail stopped sweeping. I recently replaced the backup valve. I tore apart the internals, cleaned out all the hoses, inlet screen is clear, booster pump works and puts out good pressure/water volume.

When I run the cleaner and take the weight off the wheels (dangle it in the water), the tail starts slowly sweeping. Once the wheels touch back down it stops.

Could this be a wheel bearing issue? Or more likely the backup valve fighting for water?

Thank you for your suggestions!

More likely a piece of grit has lodged in one of the internal jets (maybe the tail). It happened a lot on my polaris. The backup valve shouldn't be using water except for the intermittent times its trying to back the cleaner up.

 

[Nitramnayr]

What's your water temperature? Our Polaris 280's tail would stop sweeping below 55-60 degrees; I think that's normal. All of the hoses felt much stiffer in the winter and more flexible as the water warmed. It still moved and cleaned fine, just looking a bit pathetic with its tail straight and unmoving behind it.

water temp has been anywhere from 52-78 degrees over the past month. However even in the fall with water in the 80s and 70s it wasnt sweeping. I'm tempted to swap out sweepers with a neighbor and see if its the line or the unit itself.

 

[Nitramnayr]

More likely a piece of grit has lodged in one of the internal jets (maybe the tail). It happened a lot on my polaris. The backup valve shouldn't be using water except for the intermittent times its trying to back the cleaner up.

Good thought. I did replace the tail with an amazon purchase called the Swasher (meant to not spray), but it should sweep as normal.

 

[Nitramnayr]

Today I took off the cover and sock, and pulled it out of the pool to check for leaks and flow. No leaks, flow is very nice/unobstructed. Wheel RPM is around 45. When I’m about to pull it out of the water the tail whips, and when it contacts the pool floor the tail slows. Once moving the tail stops. Could the Cleaner be moving to fast for the tail to whip and is just being streamlined behind the cleaner?

 

[djpool21]

I'm also having a problem with my 9-month old Legend's tail not sweeping. My tail sweeps some of the time and other times it just drags along. Sometimes the tail gets caught underneath the Legend stopping it until the backup cycle occurs. This just started happening about 2 weeks ago and water temp is down to 39 degrees. I've cleaned the filter at the wall disconnect and verified the backup valve is off during normal operation. I'm hoping it's because of the low water temperature and stiff hoses. I've never been happy with my Legend and have adjusted the thrust jet many times to try to get it to provide better coverage and stop getting stuck in the corners. I'm starting to think about replacing it.

 

[Nitramnayr]

I ended up replacing my Swasher aftermarket tail with an OEM and it’s back to sweeping! Swasher must’ve been too heavy for it. Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

 

[djpool21]

So the problem with my Kreepy's tail not consistently sweeping was the cold water. Once the water hit about 50 degrees it started sweeping more regularly. Then around 53 degrees it was back to normal operation. I finally found a thrust jet position that kind of works so it's not getting stuck as frequently. But, I'm still replacing it with a robot this spring.