In Floor Cleaning Systems
Some pool owners love their In-Floor Cleaning System (IFCS), and others hate it. However, there is no argument that an IFCS adds complexity to the pool system.
An in-floor cleaning system is a pop-up cleaning system on your pool floor. It consists of a series of heads that pop up on the pool's floor and steps. Their purpose is to drive dirt and debris towards an in-floor drain point, usually located in the deep end of the pool. These cleaner heads are usually scattered along the pool floor to clean the pool from different zones. The system is designed into the pool plumbing before the swimming pool is constructed or manufactured, depending on the pool interior.
They work great in areas that have a lot of dust and not a lot of deciduous trees. They don’t work well in areas that have a lot of trees and a lot of leaves. You may be told that they work just fine with leaves. But they just don’t work as well as robotic cleaners for picking up big debris. If you live in an area that gets a lot of dust and not a lot of leaves then it’s perfect. If you don’t live in that environment then don’t do it. Get a robotic cleaner.
An IFCS will have dead spots where the debris will get trapped. You will have to help the system by either brushing those spots or having some other cleaner.
IFCS are difficult to winterize and are usually found in areas where pools are kept running year round. Closing and winterizing a IFCS system needs to be considered during design and construction for it to be practical.
It is not practical to retrofit a IFCS to an existing pool.
IFCS Manufacters
There are only 3 or 4 manufacturers of In-Floor Cleaning Systems. Paramount, A&A Manufacturing (now part of Pentair) and Blue Square are often used.
In Australia, Cooke Industries sells IFCS. The water valves, popups, and names of some products on the their website look exactly the same as the A&A Manufacturing (now Pentair) products.
The Pentair/A&A system is the simplest of the group They design the pools IFCS plumbing - instead of the pool builder.
Not every builder may be authorized to install one of the above listed IFCS manufacturers products.
IFCS Components
An IFCS has pop-up cleaner heads, water powered zone valves, and optionally Venturi skimmers. The zone valves have complex gears that cycle through the zones.
Most IFCS problems come from worn gear trains and sticky pop-up heads.
IFCS Design
No matter the IFCS, you still want separate returns run to the pool. This provides the ability to turn the IFCS on or off.
Even with an IFCS, we suggest a GFCI-protected electrical outlet about mid-way along the length of the pool - and at least the minimum distance required by code from the water's edge - for a possible future robot. You may also want a suction side manual vacuum/pool cleaner line installed. This will provide several options for cleaning over the life of the pool.
A venturi skimmer uses return flow to help with skimming. And having the separate vac/cleaner line will alleviate needing to plug a vac/cleaner into the skimmer. This allows skimming while the vac/cleaner is being used.
Remember, an IFCS requires a high pump RPM to work well - and uses more electricity. You can need 2900 rpm to get adequate cleaning with a IFCS. A IFCS can run 2 hours twice daily at 2900 rpm for IFCS and the other 20 hours at 1200 rpm for continuous skimming and SWG chlorine production. Some run 24/7 by choice, but that doesn't mean you need to.
Some like the low voltage electric robots. But there have been reports of reliability and longevity.
