Replace Jandy Ray-Vac?

My Jandy Ray-vac has serviced my pool pretty well. It began to fall apart (my chems off balance?) bit by bit last season, and now it isn't that effective in making turns, or sucking for that matter. I'd like to replace it, but want to know what the easiest way is. I'm confused with reading some of the recommendations, because they never mention how the equipment gets attached: extra pump vs. no pump needed. I'm guessing my Jandy has no extra pump. It gets a feed from the filter, and the water propels it and causes a suction?

What product can I buy, and just unhook the Jandy, and hook in the new product? How do I classify this type of cleaner?

Thanks for any help.

Chi

I am in the same boat your are. I would appreciate any input anyone has to offer. I am tired to replacing parts in the Rayvac after a couple of years and it is never quite right for whatever reason.

I am considering the MARS HP™ from Zodiac. Does anyone have any info on this unit? It is also pressure side, but I am not sure if it requires a booster.

Eli

BTW, I am on my second Rayvac. Nice unit when it works, it just seems to wear quickly.

Any pressure side, non-booster pump cleaner should be a fit for Ray-Vac.

I just replaced my RayVac with a Polaris 360. Just had to replace the hose fitting in the return. I got my Polaris on eBay for a great price.

I tried the Polaris and I liked the RayVac better. Maybe I didn't have the 360 though? I don't remember which model I had.

My RayVac is attached to an outlet on the side of the pool, so I'm guessing that is the return line. I will do some research on return line type of automatic cleaners, then -- including the Polaris 360.

Thanks for the tip.

Elias: I had the complete opposite experience. We just completed our pool this Spring and the builder "threw in" the Ray-Vac. It would get stuck by the steps and never leave. It would back up, then go straight back where it was. Sold it and bought the Polaris. It never gets stuck and does a much better job (imo) cleaning the bottom. I guess it really matters on the shape of the pool.

Ordered a Polaris 360 on ebay for 350 clams. Can't wait to test drive that puppy :D

Polaris 360 fit in just right to the return line that I was using for the Jandy. So far, I'm not super impressed with the coverage, but the suction design works well. The filter bag fills up quick and bogs down the cleaner, so that could be the problem. Hope it performs better once my pool is cleaner.

That's exactly why I didn't like the polaris. I ended up fixing my Ray-Vac.

I liked how my Ray-Vac cleaned, but it was beyond repair. Two things that got me to try to Polaris: 1) the Polaris was a bit cheaper than the Ray-Vac. 2) the Ray-Vac used to discharge about 10% of the debris it collected every time I pulled it out of the water to empty it -- that was annoying to me.

With the Polaris, I think I need to tweak some of the settings to make it get better coverage of my pool. I will read up on some of the things other people tried to see what I can get out of it. I haven't given up hope yet :)