Cleaning Systems

The Best System (In my opinion)

             If you plan on owning a pool for 5-6 years, or longer, in my opinion the best cleaning system “So Far”, that I “Have Seen” (Dollar for Dollar) is a Polaris 280 with a booster pump and a separate time clock. There are a dozen other “Polaris” models, but few that are any good, and of the “Few” that are good, the Polaris 280 is better than 95% of the cleaners out there, and offers the best "Long Term" bang for the buck. The reasons I like this model are as follows:

1.)    Low cost of repairs. I have clients with Polaris 180’s that are 25 years old. (The 280 has the same drive system, but has a few upgrades over the 180.) Total repair costs in 25 years are less than $400.00 total (Not counting bag replacements.) I Personally, have owned a Polaris 280 for over 5 years and have not spent a dime. (Other than on 3 bags, and one of them was torn by my kids, and  another by a  big pine cone. Yes, it will pick up pine cones, screwdrivers, small river rock, ex girlfriends, … oops, it won’t pick up those. )

2.)    It will clean almost every pool spotless(With the exception of steps ad love seats) in 10-20 minutes per day. We had (5) 40’ plus Ponderosa pines that overhung our pool area. Not counting steps and love seat, "if we keep the bag cleaned", the floor stays spotless. (We often got a 1' thick layer of pine needles on the surface though. Bad landscaping decision made by the previous owner. What can I say, my ex "Loved" the house. And she agreed to keep the surface clean if we bought it. Are you laughing yet?)

3.)    Initial installation costs by someone who will not botch the installation, and thus cause the cleaner to tie itself in knots all the times “Because” they botched the installation, should “Normally” be in the $1400.00-1600.00 range. (5/12/2007) This includes the new time clock, booster pump, cleaning system itself, wiring and plumbing. Floor head systems are usually about double this initial expense, or more. (Note: The prices should still be in that ballpark, and possibly a little less in 2016. Prices dropping rather than rising ... who'd have thought. Competition for your cleaning system dollar has risen though.)

        a.)  Also, the motor for the floor head cleaning system is usually a 2 H.P. or larger (Can you say higher electric bills with floor heads?),

        b.) and the pool needs to run for substantially greater times to even get close to what a Polaris will do in 1/4 hour or less. (See “Pool Run Times”)

        c.) Also, if you are not the initial purchaser of the floor head system, you will not get that wonderful "lifetime" warrantee on parts that some manufacturers offer

i.)              Replacement gear systems, floor heads … can average more than $200.00 per year after the first 2 year, not to mention, that if the cleaner is not working correctly, i.e. heads jammed in the up position, actuator gears jammed, … you are running that large motor with absolutely no cleaning going on.

4.) Any way you look at it, running a ¾ H.P. booster motor for 15-30 minutes is going to be a lot cheaper than running a 2 H.P. for 3-4 hours, … or worse, if you do not have a separate cleaning system motor/pump, for 8 hours a day or more. Add into this that most motors have a life span in the 5-6 year range, and that a 2 H.P. motor is more than double the cost of the 3/4 H.P. booster pump on the Polaris. Considering the increased costs, and poorer cleaning on top of it, I cannot see spending the money.

 Note: When you talk to your repair person, or pool builder, ask if they know how to wire a booster pump so that the booster pump motor won't come on if the regular pool motor is not on as well. (And yet the timers will always keep accurate time. (Yes this is an added cost, but it will save you money over the long haul. ) Running a booster pump, without having the main pump on, will cause substantial "Non-warrantee" damage to the pump. If he seems unsure, contact someone else, or have them get in touch with me.

Suction Side Cleaners

1.)       Suction side cleaners have a lower initial cost,

a.   

b.  A.) but are annoying because either they will not pickup sticks, twigs, small rocks, … OR

c.    

d.  B.) Some will pickup sticks, twigs, small rocks, …, and then they will completely stop working until you spend 10 minutes pulling them out and cleaning the debris out of them.

e.   

f.     C.) Some Suction Cleaners will end up needing replacement parts just because of punctured diaphragms from picking up that same debris.

g.   

h.  D.) This is in addition to an “average” annual repair cost of about $200-250, after the first year or two. Replacement Hoses, Repairs to the head, … In less than 5 years(More likely 3 years), if you add in the electricity savings, pool cleanliness and thus chemical costs savings, and electrical savings, you have more than paid for the Polaris.

i.      

j.     E.) Suction Side cleaners are NOT energy efficient.

k.    

                                          i.     a.) Pool water clarity and cleanliness is based on water turn over, i.e. how many times all the water in the pool goes through the filter in an 8 hour period. Normally you are looking for a factor of about 2.0, which would mean that the pool water is filtered twice in a 24 hour period. In most cases, with a suction side cleaner, you must shut off all suction 75% going to the (2) 2” pipes attached to your skimmer and drain and you must have the drain completely shut off. In return, you put that ¾ of your total suction through a 1 ¼ “Corrugated” flexible hose, and an even smaller orifice on the cleaning system itself. This “can” cause you to need to run your equipment TWICE AS LONG as you would have without the suction side cleaner. If you have a 1 H.P. 1 ½ H.P. or a 2 H.P. motor, and you now have to run your pool 12 hours instead of 8 hours to keep your pool as clean, how did you save energy and electricity?

                                        ii.      

                                      iii.     A Polaris will run for 30 minutes max, and the bottom of your pool will remain spotless (As long as the bag is emptied when full.)

                                     iv.      

        F.) Plan on lots of shop time. If you have a suction side cleaner, you will have had to bring it in to the shop at least 4-5 times, over 5-6 years, AT LEAST, possibly, on older systems, or systems with a diaphragm and sticks, 3-4 times a year.

G.)  And when you have a non-functional cleaning system, you usually discover this by noticing that you have a horridly dirty pool at least this many times. AND

H.) If the suction side cleaner actually plugs, or your line to the equipment plugs (Which I get a dozen or so calls on per year, you will have almost no suction or circulation in your pool. Now water circulation through the filter means that your pool may turn shades of green that will cause a Leprechaun to blush, and cost you an extra hundred or two, and possibly a week or more of swim time.

I.)              Also, with most suction cleaners, at the end of 3-5 years you are going to have to completely replace the cleaning system. Suction Cleaners die slow deaths. Each of the times it needs rebuilding, adjusting, replacing your pool won’t look “quite right” for months prior. Add to this the repeated hassles of needing to unplug the system whenever any “real” debris ends up in the pool, and, personally,  I won’t own anything other than a Polaris 280 in my pool, or my family’s pools. (Getting stuck with the previous owners decisions excluded, of course.) 

II.)            To summarize, If you are buying a cleaner and are selling the home quickly, I would probably go with a Pool Vac (if there are no rocks, sticks, big leaves, … In other words, dirt only, but your annual repair costs will be high) or the "Original" Kreepy Krauley, if you have anything else(Or want 40% less repair costs than the Pool Vac). No, Kreepy Krauley’s do not get stuck with rocks or sticks. (But then they do not pick them up either. They just push them around the pool.) 

Note: Get the original Kreepy Krauley, not some of the new, smaller, cheaper models. Some sell it as the Kreepy Krauley "classic". The other models with the Kreepy Krauley name break down, don’t work, … as often as the Pool Vacs do. Just like the Polaris, only one or two of the models are worth installing. The rest are junk. Make sure you get the right one.

Why do suction side cleaners break down so much? They are always running as long as you have your equipment on. Thus, even if your pool is clean after 20 minutes, if you have to run your equipment 12 hours because of the twisting, turning 1 ¼” hose and ¾ of the pol suction being turned off, the cleaner will run around for an extra 11 2/3 hours doing absolutely nothing.

(NOTE: IF YOU HAVE TO GET A SUCTION SIDE CLEANER, GET YOURSELF A HAYWARD VAC PLATE. THEY ARE SET UP TO SWITCH OFF BETWEEN FULL SKIMMER OPERATION AND CLEANING SYSTEM OPERATION. WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT EACH TIME YOUR EQUIPMENT SHUTS OFF AND TURNS ON, YOUR SYSTEM WILL SWITCH BETWEEN ALL SKIMMER AND CLEANING SYSTEM. IF YOU USE 2 SETS OF ON AND OFF TRIPPERS ON YOUR TIMECLOCK, AND YOUR CLEANER GETS THE POOL CLEAN IN 2 HRS A DAY, YOU CAN SET THE TIMER TO RUN "ONLY" 2 HOURS, AND THEN HAVE IT SHUT OFF AND BACK ON AGAIN< AND THEN SKIM THE SURFACE FOR THE REMAINING 6 HRS OR SO. THIS MEANS 75% LESS WEAR AND TEAR (USAGE) ON YOUR CLEANING SYSTEMS MEANING 75% LESS COSTS, 75% LONGER LIFE, AND YOUR POOL SURFACE WILL BE 40% CLEANER (Or More) THAN WITH ANY OTHER HOOKUP METHOD. PLUS THIS IS THE MOST DURABLE, AND FEWEST OPERATIONAL COSTS OF ALL CURRENT VAC PLATES.)

Floor Head Systems

      After 25 years of hearing how great floor head systems are, I have come to a conclusion:

1.)  If your pool would have stayed looking nice with any cleaning system in your pool, it will also stay nice with a floor head system.

Note: If you do not rearrange the returns to some random order or face them all towards the center of the pool, most suction side cleaners will only clean an outside ring around your pool.

3.)                    With this in mind, the surface of the pool(If the cleaners are functioning properly) will be an average of 20-40% dirtier than the same pool with a Polaris 280 running 20 minutes, return lines properly adjusted, and approximately ¾ of the suction of the pool going to the main drain.

4.)                    Since almost all of the suction for a suction side cleaner is directed to the cleaner, and that’s run through an extra 30 feet or so of corrugated hose, the water flow is greatly reduced, and to get the same water filtration you will need to run that system at least 25% -30% longer than a system without a suction cleaner. (Possibly as much as 50%)

5.)                    Floor head systems “Mix” the dirty water with the clean, again causing the filtration system to need 50-200% minimum filtration time than with the Polaris 280 and a properly adjusted circulation system. (See proper pool circulation / Return line adjustment.)

        That’s at least 1 ¾ hrs longer running a 1 H.P. motor, or a 2 H.P. motor with a floor head system, than is needed to run the ¾ H.P booster. Also, as a suction cleaner picks up debris, assuming it doesn’t get plugged up and stop functioning all together, the baskets will fill up causing the suction to the entire pool will decrease or stop. (Not to mention pulling all of the water through the debris making debris tea. The Polaris 280 puts it in a separate bag. There have been times during each year where about 60% of the service and repair work I do is related to suction cleaning systems picking up too much debris.