Polaris 65 problem - please HELP

[SissyH]

:( Hello,

I'm soo excited and soo dissapointed..........just received my brand new Polaris 65. We installed it to the adapter which connects to the light fixture (return). Now before I connect the polaris hose with the quick adapter to the fixture all the air blows right through the quick adapter opening at the light fixture. Now I connect the hose to the quick connect and a part of the air goes through the hose and a big part blows out through the adapter around the light lense therefor the Polaris doesn't have enough "push" to get going.
The adapter sits snuck and tide ............what do I do wrong?

I just held the hose on to the adapter for a while and the polaris goes but curls into a snake and gets tangeled up in the hose and doesn't goanywhere anymore.

Please HELP

[b2001]

I also have an AD Doughboy and a Polaris 65; I’d like to try to help you, but I’m a little confused by what you’re saying.

Referring to Page 3 of the Owner’s Manual, I’ve got the 1-½ inch eyeball fitting. I removed the two extra parts as indicated. The 1-1/2 Return Line diagram shows the same process – remove the extra parts in order to attach the Universal Wall Fitting.

I’ve got the Polaris Universal Wall Fitting and Quick Disconnect put together as one piece and screw it into the eyeball fitting – finger tight, whenever I need to use the Polaris. I remove it by unscrewing the Universal Wall Fitting. I do this because I’ve had too many problems removing the Quick Disconnect from the Universal Wall Fitting – it got too difficult to push the Quick Disconnect to disengage the slots from the tabs in the Universal Wall Fitting.

I have some water that comes out of the Pressure Relief Valve on the Quick Disconnect, but not a lot, and I have enough water pressure that goes to the Polaris.

It sounds like you have some sort of light assembly coming off of your pool fitting – you don’t mention the Universal Wall Fitting, although that might be the adapter that you refer to, so I assume that the light assembly connects directly to the pool fitting, and that your Quick Disconnect attaches to the light assembly.

If I understand you, a lot of water is blowing out at this point – where the Quick Disconnect connects to the light assembly - which seems to indicate that the Quick Disconnect is not entirely seated properly into the light assembly, although you’re saying its snug and tight. I assume that your Quick Disconnect has a black rubber o-ring as the pictures on the right of Page 3 show.

I’m not sure I can say anything else without seeing a picture or pictures.

It doesn’t take much for the Polaris not to work – filters in the Quick Disconnect or inside the Connector Chamber clogged up, as an example. I’ve even had a crack in the leaf pot lid before; everything worked fine except there was not enough pressure for the Polaris to work.

However, 90% of the time you shouldn’t have a problem. Reply with any other information so we can try to figure this one out.

[CarlD]

Yes, that sounds like the problem. The quick connect plugs into an adaptor that screws into a STANDARD return. If you have a light-return, it may not allow the adaptor to screw in correctly--I've only heard and seen pictures of those fittings, so I don't know if they are now standard fittings, or if they use their own eyeball fittings.

If it's not a standard fitting that the adaptor can screw into, I really don't know WHAT you can do that's easy.
Here are the options I see:
1) Replace the return light with a standard return and find another light alternative.
2) Contact Polaris and see if they have an adaptor to fit that return (I doubt it). Contact the light manufacturer and see if THEY have an adaptor to make it a standard return.
3) Replace the Polaris with a different automatic vacuum that doesn't use the return--like a Kreepy Krawler type or a robotic.
4) Get inventive: Here's my idea. Install a second return near the first, but use a standard return for it. Behind each return, put a cutoff valve and have them both lead into a Y connection. Put the Polaris adaptor in the standard return. Then, for normal use, turn off the standard return and turn on the Light return. For vacuuming, turn of the Light return and turn on the standard return, connected to the Polaris. This will take about $50 in parts, plus the correct size hole-saw, and does require lowering the water to cut in another return. Still, it's probably the cheapest alternative.

Normally, with a Polaris 65 or 165, you just turn off the pump, hook up the Polaris and all its hoses and dump it all in the pool, then turn on the pump. You don't have to prime return-side vacuums the way you have to prime skimmer-side vacuums--the return pumps the water in for you.

[SissyH]

well............. we took the Polaris apart to troubleshoot as described in the Manual on Page 6. We do have enough pressure (12-14 psi )BUT the turbine inside the mechanism is not turning and doesn't go back and forth as it should be. The little ball is moving around as it is suppose to but the turbine just won't move!

any ideas?????

thanks

[b2001]

How are you measuring your pressure? Are you using some type of a pressure tester as noted in the troubleshooting, or are you observing what is on the guage of your filter?

The reason I ask is I had an issue with mine last summer, and it drove me nuts trying to figure out what was wrong. My filter guage constantly read 15 psi and everything seemed to work, except my Polaris would not work and the Randomizer tube was not moving, as yours is not.

I finally determined that I had a hairline crack in my leaf pot lid and it was letting enough air in to reduce pressure. Why the filter guage didn't register any difference, I don't know. I certainly don't think that my pressure dropped at or below the 5 psi that the manual indicates is necessary for it to work. Yet, when I bought a new lid, the Polaris immediately started working - no problem since.

Do you know anyone else with one (Polaris), that you can borrow to eliminate it as the problem?

I just don't believe that yours is the problem though - since it is new. IT seems more likely that you might have something similar to what I had. However check the entire chamber assembly for cracks which would lead to pressure leaks.

Just fyi, I and my neighbor have had all kinds off issues to cause these Polaris 65s not to work:

- Filter screen (#34) clogged
- Randomizer tube screen (#9) clogged
- Chamber connector cracked (#10) causing pressure leak
- Piston assembly (#5) worn out so that it didn't seat against the cylinder very tightly (there are a couple of plastic rings that go around the piston - we bent these out to get a better seating - and the Polaris then worked like new)

Those were mostly covered by the troubleshooting, which you went through without problems, and you shouldn't have had these problems anyway since your unit is new.

I hope something in this might give you a clue in solving your problem ...