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I have an older style kreepy krauly, given to me as a hand-me down. I have an IG vinyl pool. I connect this thing to my skimmer, it makes the pulsing sound like it is working and it does move but nothing gets sucked up. I do clear the line of air before it start operating. Any ideas of what is going on here.
welcome to the world of Kreepy Krawly
They will get snagged on a grain of salt and refuse to move. That's a bit of an exageration but I gave up on ours. We also have an in ground vinyl lined pool and almost any wrinkle would stop it. The drain cover induced total paralysis.
But the beat went on.
Lots of folks here have moved on to various Polaris wheel driven units, which seem to be a big improvement.
The amount of suction on the hose line might be causing it to get stuck. Could be too much or too little. There are spring loaded adjustable regulators the allow a variable amount of water to bi-pass the vacuum head that might help if you pump and flow are too great.
Maybe take it to a friend that has a pool and see if it will move on his vacuum line. There are a lot of web sites that sell parts for the impulse drive. There must be a reason. That about exhausts my ideas. Good luck.
if the flapper is moving and the kreepy moves, that means you're getting sufficient suction through the main tube. if the pump is not pulling hard enough to pick up debris, it certainly won't be pulling hard enough to activate the flapper.
if it moves but doesn't seem to pick up, i'd guess that maybe the opening on the top of the unit, above the rubber disk that contacts the bottom, is blocked up. it will pick up very small debris from the main tube, but mostly the rubber disk disturbs the stuff on the bottom, then the suction opening on top of the disk pulls in what's been stirred up.
for what it's worth, i'm delighted with my kreepy. i used to vaccum three times a week for a half hour or more, and now the only time i ever vacuum is when we're hosting a party and i want it to be extra clean.
Our Kreepy works great providing that you have enough suction, and the bottom drain is not in its way. I usually use it 3-4 times a week while I'm running the pump, you just have to make sure you only use the skimmer return and shut off any other returns you may have. And yes a small twig will stop it dead in it's tracks!
We're on our second Kreepy; the only type of cleaner we've had in 12 years of pool ownership. We've been happy with the Kreepy, which stays in the pool ALWAYS--running 10 hrs a day when the pump is on. Here in Houston the pool is never closed so Kreepy gets a workout all year round and "lives" in the pool (never removed). Our pool is rectangular IG gunite and truthfully I've never noticed Kreepy stopping on a "grain of sand" or a "small twig". In fact, as long as there is good pump pressure Kreepy will chug along doing a great job.
We got our first Kreepy from the pool builder and it lasted 8 years. The "new" one is 4 this year. We usually have to replace a vacuum hose section or two during the season. We have five kids :eek: and somehow Kreepy has managed to live through hundreds of volleyball games and countless "Marco Polo" adventures. :D