"Permanent" wiring for a robotic cleaner

[leejp]

I have an Aquabot Pool Rover Plus. It cord plugs into the DC timer/power supply unit. The connector in the unit is a standard appliance coupler (same power connector one sees in PC power supplies).

One of my pool projects this year is to run an external power line to where the Pool Rover will be dropped into the pool (near the center of the long edge) with male/female appliance couplers on either end. I'll set up the power supply inside my garage/patio. This way I don't have to drag an extension coed/power supply out every time I clean the pool. It's all low voltage DC so safety should not be a concern.

I'll give an update once I complete this project. In the meantime if anyone can find an obvious showstopper with what I'm trying to do... give me a heads up. Thanks!

[JohnT]

The problem you may run into, depending on the distance you are going, is voltage drop.

Lower voltage requires more current to do the same work, so the AC extension cord carries considerably less current than the DC cord does. Current is like flow-rate, so pumping it through a wire that is too small is inefficient. That's why overhead power transmission lines run at thousands of volts and are stepped down to 220/110 right outside the house. Pool cleaners are usually designed to run the AC as close to the pool as possible to minimize this voltage loss.

One of the bad things is that a DC motor running on low voltage draws more current than normal, and they then tend to get hotter than normal. (may not be an issue with a water cooled motor)

The bottom line is that you need to know what the voltage is at the cleaner's connector (while it is cleaning) with the normal connection scheme and with the new one. Without a doubt, you should choose larger guage wires for your extension.

[gwrace1]

When I installed our pool I placed a small storage shed behind the pool to house the filter, pump and aquarite. At the same time I ran conduit to supply an aqualuminator light and a convenience outlet that is about 10 feet from the pool. All are on GFCI protected breakers from the sub-panel I ran to the pump house. I store the pool rover in the pump house and then plug it into the weatherproof protected outlet when I want to use it.