Pressure side vs Suction...?? :confused:

[DogPaddle]

What's your preference....and why? Thanks.

[CarlD]

It's a personal taste issue.

Suction side cleaners are the simplest. You fill the hose with water and stick it in the hole under the skimmer basket. Junk gets trapped in the pump's basket and in the filter. It can be a manual vacuum you push around or an automatic cleaner.

Pressure side cleaners work by using the return water to power them. Things like the Polaris 165 use the water to power the piece that floats, but also the water is routed down to a piece on the bottom. The water drives that piece backwards like a jet, but there's a bag back there to catch the stuff it blows. They tend to be far more powerful and can be more effective than suction, but the bags don't catch the finest stuff. I just put a handful of cotton balls or a 6"x6" square of sheet cotton (from a drug store) in and it catches the fine stuff.

I don't know much about auxiliary pump cleaners.

Generally, my experience has been the pressure side cleaners seem to work better and more effectively than suction side cleaners, but others my well prefer suction.

Robotic cleaners, when they work, (!) are the best by far.

[jimwnola]

I have never owned either, just an Aquabot, which has isn't perfect either.

My question on both of these is, 'is there anyway to take these out of your pool and quickly put them away?'

I know most seem to just leave them in all the time, and maybe just remove for swimming. However, if you remove them to swim, I have to assume they must sit on the side of the pool the whole time you are using the pool. I know my wife would find that an eyesore and not like it. To put them away, it seems like you would have to disconnect all the hoses each time, which appears to be a lengthy process. For ones with longer hoses, then their is the problem of not bending them while put away. Does anyone have this type of cleaner and puts it away, out of sight, each time you are using your pool?

[DogPaddle]

Hi, Jim. We currently have a Kreepy Krauly in our pool and he lives there all the time; never comes out. :eek: It would be a real PITA to have to take it out each time there are swimmers IMO. In the 12 years we have had our inground gunite pool we haven't had any other type of automatic vacuum; in fact, we are only on our second Kreepy so we've had very good service from them. (Add to this the fact that we have 5 kids :eek: :eek: and Kreepy never gets out of the pool...:D :D )

I'm considering a pressure side cleaner "just because" we've never had one. (Just like a woman, huh??) I don't have any complaint with KK, just looking for input on how pressure vs suction really works.

Carl--thanks for your response; I appreciate it.

[Phillbo]

I have a Hayward cleaner (suction side ) it stay in the pool pretty much all the time. I've taken it out a few times when I hosted large pool parties and it was not a hassle at all. One thing to remember is the hoses need to be layed flat and straight when out of the pool since they will take whatever shape they are stored in very quickly.

It use to plug into the skimmer but that pretty much made the skimmer usless so during the recent replaster on my pool, I had a suction side line added mid pool. It now has it's own dedicated line so I can split the suction and both the cleaner and the skimmer work at the same time .


my vote is for suction side cleaners.

[DogPaddle]

Phil--is that the Hayward "Ultra" vac? I was looking at those on Leslie's website. Does it have the flapper thingy like the Kreepy Krauly or does it have wheels? Does it "chug" around the pool or is it fairly smooth? Hope you don't mind a few questions...:D . I also have a dedicated suction line "vac outlet" on the sidewall of my pool and I agree that it's very handy.

[brittmer]

I have never owned either, just an Aquabot, which has isn't perfect either.

My question on both of these is, 'is there anyway to take these out of your pool and quickly put them away?'

I know most seem to just leave them in all the time, and maybe just remove for swimming. However, if you remove them to swim, I have to assume they must sit on the side of the pool the whole time you are using the pool. I know my wife would find that an eyesore and not like it. To put them away, it seems like you would have to disconnect all the hoses each time, which appears to be a lengthy process. For ones with longer hoses, then their is the problem of not bending them while put away. Does anyone have this type of cleaner and puts it away, out of sight, each time you are using your pool?
I have the Letro Legend II which is a pressure side cleaner. I roll the hose up and set it under the steps of my deck out of direct sunlight when not in use.

When I want to use it, I just carry it to the pool and throw it in and connect the end of the hose to the cleaner port in the pool, turn the port on and let it run for a few hours. When done or if we want to swim I just turn the cleaner port off, disconnect the hose from the pool, pull the cleaner out, wind up the hose and put it back under the steps. Very easy to do.

The hose does not get a "memory" since I keep it out of direct sunlight when not in use.

I personally would not want to leave it in the pool because we have a diving board and don't want anyone hitting the cleaner and getting hurt....or damaging the cleaner. :-)

[sailork]

I vote Suction Side.

I've got a Baracuda G3. I have no idea how it compares to the other suckers. The best thing about suction side cleaners is the way that they "suck up" the debris cloud that they generate. The polaris etc tend to just shoot the fine stuff up into the water and hope the skimmer catches it. People complain that it tends to fill the filter quicker that way. I say good. It's filling the filter with things I don't want in my pool. That's what the filter is for. DE is cheap. Most importantly though, the suction side cleaners are far and away the lowest TCO of any automatic cleaner that keeps me from needing to vacuum my pool.

[jimwnola]

Interesting. On your Legend II, do you have to close your other returns and how does that affect skimming if you just want to circulate? Do you never run the pump without the cleaner, adjust the the returns each time, or just let it run without good directional flow? I've got 3 returns and my pool is 43 feet long at its wide point, and need all 3 returns for skimming. Also, how much is extra hose? One thing that bugs me is having to buy extra hoses before I can even set up. Do you think it coudl fit into one of those rubbermaid pool deck boxes when not in use? Lastly, how does it do an dirt and sand, do you need to buy a seperate bag to clean that effectively?

Thanks.

[arnolddeleon]

I switched a couple months ago from a Polaris pressure side cleaner (w/ a booster) to a suction side clear (www.thepoolcleaner.com) on a dedicated suction line.

At the same time I switched from a DE filter to a sand filter filled w/ Zeobrite.

All these changes where driven by a change to a super efficient pump (Ikeric). Right now I've just been a running in really low speed mode.

After I killed the residue from some algae in the pool that was present during the switchover the pool looks as well if not better than it did before. There is a leaf canister inline with cleaner so some of bigger debris doesn't make it to the filter.

The pool is now configured with a "roving main drain". Suction happens on the skimmer and the cleaner. The old main drain is disabled.

The interesting thing I noticed is the steps that the cleaners can't reach are staying cleaner. My guess is with the old pressure side cleaner debris would get thrown up into the water and it would settle down onto the steps. With the suction side cleaner there is less of that.

I really wanted to have the most energy efficient cleaner that I could have and the suction side cleaner w/o any booster pumps fit the bill.

The cleaner stays in the pool most of the time. If we are having a party/company I pull it out. The hose is easily broken apart into sections so I can easily lay it out straight.

I considered robotic cleaners. One of the apparent drawbacks is I just can't leave them in the pool. I would need to cart them out and then cart them back in. I have visions some day of "Roomba" like cleaner than lives in a "garage" and comes out to clean and then stores itself when it is done.

arnold

[brittmer]

Interesting. On your Legend II, do you have to close your other returns and how does that affect skimming if you just want to circulate? Do you never run the pump without the cleaner, adjust the the returns each time, or just let it run without good directional flow? I've got 3 returns and my pool is 43 feet long at its wide point, and need all 3 returns for skimming. Also, how much is extra hose? One thing that bugs me is having to buy extra hoses before I can even set up. Do you think it coudl fit into one of those rubbermaid pool deck boxes when not in use? Lastly, how does it do an dirt and sand, do you need to buy a seperate bag to clean that effectively?

Thanks.
Yes, I close the returns in the deep and shallow end when vauming. The main drain and skimmer are always open so the skimmer is still working. When done vauming, I open the returns for the deep and shallow ends.
Not sure how much hose comes with the cleaner. My pool is 38 feet long and I had to cut some hose off.
One of the Rubbermaid pool deck boxes should work fine.
The cleaner comes with a fine filter bag that does a good job with dirt and sand. Just let the bag dry out before cleaning and then everything comes out easily.

[Phillbo]

Phil--is that the Hayward "Ultra" vac? I was looking at those on Leslie's website. Does it have the flapper thingy like the Kreepy Krauly or does it have wheels? Does it "chug" around the pool or is it fairly smooth? Hope you don't mind a few questions...:D . I also have a dedicated suction line "vac outlet" on the sidewall of my pool and I agree that it's very handy.


Yes, thats the one I have .. It moves around real smooth using the flappers, no wheels. It came with the pool when I bought the house 2 years ago. it was not working quite right so I took it into Leslie's and for 75.00 they put in a new tranny and flappers. Now it runs like a top.

If it ever dies (which I doubt given how easy it is to replace parts) I'd replace it with the same unit.

[jimwnola]

Thanks for info. Hooking it up and removing it from one return doesn't seem all bad. However, to adjust my 2 other returns, they require a screwdriver. So, the extra step of what it would take to turn my other returns on and off becomes a deterrent. The pressure model "Poolcleaner" also looks interesting, but would have same issue.

[CarlD]

I think leaving a cleaner in the pool while swimming is an invitation to a tragedy. I highly recommend you don't do it.

The ONLY cleaner that can safely go in the pool while people are swimming is a Pool Buster

[drumr]

I use a barracuda ranger suction side. This is my second cleaner, I cannot remember what the name of the first one I had was, but it was included in my pool package which was also a suction side cleaner. The first one I had cracked a week after I got the pool, took it back and pool store gave me another one and it lasted a couple of seasons, but it was very loud, CLICK CLICK CLICK. I could hear it 150 ft from my pool and eventually it cracked too so I replaced it with the Barracuda Ranger and have been much happier with it. It is much quieter and does a good job, it does occasionally get stuck on my steps so I check it often.

The biggest difference I have noticed is when I went from 1.5 hp pump to a 3/4 hp pump how much better it works. I think the 1.5 hp motor may have been too much power on the first cleaners I had and caused them to crack. I am much happier with it since I went with a smaller pump.

JD