What should my Pentair Warrior SI pick up

[nousername]

I recently got a Pentair Warrior SI from Marina and I was wondering what sized items should it pick up?

I have a fair amount of the small gravel from my asphalt roofing shingles that makes it into my pool. My ancient IFCS sweeps it to the deep end and piles it there. My robot (unnamed) goes over it but won't pick it up. It won't pick it up on the normal cleaning cycle or if a I "drive it" with bluetooth directly over the gravel 5+ times.

I tried pulling out the screens and only using the pleated filters that were freshly cleaned. I also tried cleaning the impeller. No luck.

My cleaner does pick up leaves and silt relatively well.

Is it expecting too much for the robot to pick this up? My old suction side cleaner (hayward aquanaut 200) would pick this up fine.

I welcome any thoughts or advice. Thanks so much!

 

[needsajet]

Might need a higher speed on the pump, or recently backwashed, clean skimmer, etc. but yeh, maybe too heavy for the suction cleaner. The Hayward Aquanaut 200 isn't a terribly old model. Is there a reason for not using it?

 

[Jimrahbe]

No,

I have a Dolphin S200 and it picks up that type of stuff all the time. My "guess" is that if you did not run the IFCS it would do a better job, but when it gets all lumped together, it is harder for the robot to suck it up... Run it without the IFCS and see what it collects.. Or, as a test, spread it all out and then see how the robot works..

It just may have its feelings hurt because it has to share a pool with an IFCS...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[nousername]

Thanks for the replies so far!

@needsajet - I stopped using the aquanaut because my pool does not have a dedicated line for a suction side cleaner so I was connecting it to the skimmer via a Perntair vacmate. That reduced the quality of the skimming I got, was finicky with water level, and broke. My aquanaut suction side cleaner would pick up this stuff without issue but the new robot doesn't.

@Jimrahbe - Unfortunately my IFCS is the only way to return water to my pool so I am stuck with it. So the robot (yet to be named) will need to play nicely with the IFCS and vice-a-versa. If they don't get along my choices are limited on who I can banish from the pool. I just tried running it over the dirt when the dirt is diffuse (not clumped) without much success.

 

[Jimrahbe]

No,

☹ ☹ Oh well, it was worth a try... I don't have the exact same "dirt" but I find similar stuff in my cleaner all the time.. Have no idea why yours is not sucking it up..

I know you said you checked the suction impeller, but are you sure that it does not have hair wrapped around the shaft under the impeller?? That is the only thing I can think of..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[nousername]

@Jimrahbe - yep. I unscrewed the impeller and pull it off the shaft so there shouldn't be anything on it.

Do you think I can run just the screens in it? So take out the pleated filters and only run the screen box inside the plastic basket without the pleated filter snapped in the basket? This may increase water flow enough to suck up the dirt then I could go back normal use with the filters after I drive it over to pick up the dirt.

 

[Jimrahbe]

No,

Something to try I guess... My "screens" only lasted a year of so.. I have never ran mine with just the screens... I have always used the pleated filters..

The only other thing I can think of would be to make sure the cloth thing at the intake is not causing an issue.. I could see how it could get in the way if it did not fully open under suction..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[nousername]

Thanks Jim. The cloth thing seems to be working as intended as it can pick up leaves and silt. It does give me the idea that I could try taking that off. That may give me enough suction to pick up the stuff. Then I can put back on for most of the time

 

[setsailsoon]

I had a similar problem with my SE. The pleated filters need to be cleaned to make sure you have good suction. Even when the filter basked is almost empty the filters can be plugged. Hose them off with a strong hose. It's amazing how much difference this makes in the suction power.

 

[nousername]

@setsailsoon thanks. I had rinsed them off with flowing water from the hose till the water ran clean but it was not a strong hose. I will try that.

 

[Jimrahbe]

No,

I use a fitting on the end of the hose that shoots a pretty good stream of water.. The filters are a lot stronger than they look.. You might even think about an overnight TSP soak and then rinse.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Oly]

Run with the screens only. My s200 shipped with screen snap in filter panels in addition to the pleated filters. Pull out the pleated and use only the screen box and see if that does it.

 

[needsajet]

Apologies for my answer which must have seemed confusing. I wasn't aware the Warrior SI is a robot. I'm only familiar with the original Pentair Warrior which is a suction cleaner, and should have checked.

 

[nousername]

Needsajet - no worries.

Sounds like I have a few options to try out in a few weeks once my landscapers blow more stuff in the pool.

 

[Homebrewale]

I know my Pentair Warrior SI won't pick up sweetgum balls.

 

[nousername]

Time for an update on my fight with dirt/tiny gravel in my pool.

Tried better cleaning my filters with more pressure in the hose. Thanks for this tip. Clearly just running water over the filter till it ran clean was not actually cleaning the filter. This helped it pick up a greater percentage of of the stuff but not it would still take many passes to get it all.

Tried running it without the pleated filters and just the screen basket. This allowed it to pick up nearly everything on the first pass.

I was hoping that with all the great talk about robots that suction would be better than my suction side cleaner but with all the filters I guess it just can't manage. It does a better job with silt and scrubbing.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Oly]

The robots pleated filter restricts the flow but catches the fine dust and ash (CA now). It makes sense that using only the mesh will increase the flow and increase the suction but now trapping only the larger particles.
I assume your suction side cleaner has very little filtration, maybe a leaf net canister so your pool filter is loading up with this debris. It's a trade off for sure but the bot is the better tool especially in my situation without a dedicated suction cleaner port.