Polaris 65 question

My Polaris 65 is not moving properly, it is very slow. I have hd it for 2 years with no problems. I removed the top and the white piston is spinning slowly around the piston is moving very slowly back and forth. I noticed when the white piston inside moves back a little the robot moves but now most of the time it just spins and dosen't move back and forth which causes the robot to sit in one spot. Is is supposed to be moving back and forth quickly or slowly? Anyone have any suggestions what could be wrong? I did make sure the filter near the quick connect wasn't clogged. I am just not sure how fast that piston inside the tube is supposed to be moving. Can this be the problem? The water is shooting out where it is supposed to, so nothing seems glogged. I am getting the idea that to get motion the inside must go back and forth which is not happening.

Vicki

I can't address the question about the inner workings of the unit, but it doesn't move very quickly across the pool. At least mine doesn't. One thing to try -- and you may have already done this -- adjust the amount of water pressure coming out at the return jet by twisting the disconnect. This adjusts the speed at which the thing moves.

I never had that great of luck with my Polaris 65. In fact, I seldom use it. It takes a long time to clean the entire pool and I can do it faster with my manual vac and do a much better job. It does do a good job of picking up leaves and twigs and big stuff, but even with a handful of cotton balls in the net, it doesn't get most of the dust off the floor of my pool. Mostly it would just get the dirt into suspension as it swished past and then it would fall back onto the floor when the pump was shut off later. I hope you find that it does a better job of cleaning than I did.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

I have the 165, which is similar but designed for bigger pools, and it was always hit-or-miss for me.

I found it simply kept winding up the hose. The problem is that the water is supposed to cause the mechanism to feed the jets propulsion water in a set, programmed fashion that most of the time will undo every tangle it creates. Meanwhile, the actual cleaner mechanism, on the floor of the pool is merely a constant jet of water blow detritus into the catch bag. Its movements are totally random and directed by the surface engine.

So....if the mechanism builds up a touch of scaling on any part of its cams, it may prevent a jet from being opened, being opened long enough, or being open too long. In my case, since the unit was still under warranty, Polaris sent me a new insides for the upper mechanism. It looks like a giant clear plastic insect with 4 legs--and there's not much else to the floater besides the case.

It was an easy swap and it worked pretty well after that. However, I made the plunge several years ago to a robotic cleaner and never looked back. I struggled with a Dolphin, which worked great for 2 years then stopped working. The new one they sent me worked for a few months. I sold it and bought a Blue Diamond and it has been super-reliable....

Robotics like Aquabot, B/D, Dolphin and others scrub even vertical walls, so I haven't brushed my pool in several years.