New Vac head

[Macrosill]

Well I went and finished my equipment upgrade today. As some of you may recall I slowly upgraded all my equip to Hayward filter, pump, skimmer, return, 1.5 inch hoses and a new liner on my AG pool. What a great experience it has been this year, no problems and much more time to swim. Anyway the last thing, or so I thought, to upgrade was my vac hose. I went out today and bought a 25 foot 1.5 inch vac hose and new 12 foot pole. I had a vac head in my hand but at 30 dollars and looking exactly like the one I have I put it back. I came home and installed the new pole on the vac head and you guessed it, the damb vac head breaks. The hinged neck that slides into the pole cracked in half. So now I need a new vac head. I want to buy a good one so I will not have any problems. I am sick and tired of the cheap discount garbage out there. Any suggestions about a vac head for a vinyl liner pool?

Thanks,
Brian

[matt4x4]

I was looking yesterday - slim pickings out there, there's the triangle, and the half moon - both look to be doing the same thing, I find they work really well, you just have to move slow, but that has to be expected because of the currents created by the bulk of the unit.
If you find something good, post back with a pic.

[JohnT]

My Hayward Super Vac needed replacing, so I bought this one

Notice the brushes set at different angles. Very good for picking up bugs and leaves off the bottom, but it is way too light, and it doesn't clean very well right at the point where the angled edges of the hopper meet the bottom, which is where most of my dirt is. This might be decent for a pool without the hopper.

I got another Super Vac on eBay. The Super Vac differs from the one pictured above in that the brushes are around the outer edge only. It also allows for adding up to 3 lbs of lead weights. Downside to the Super Vac is that it tends to push larger debris around because it doesn't have gaps in the brushes. I'm not sure the Super Vac is made anymore, because I couln't find it anyplace but eBay. It is around $35 to $40, and that often doesn't include the weight kit. I couldn't find a weight kit or replacement brushes either one for the Super Vac, but I just used the weights from my old one.

[matt4x4]

My manual vac head looks like that, but description is more like supervac without ability to add weight - comes fully loaded and sits nicely on pool floor - to get leaves, all I do is put a little twist on the pole as I approach the leaf to get one side up about 1", it sucks it right in and still vacs everything off floor.
The same unit is available for around 15 bucks at walmart. Brushes are replaceable for half the cost of a new head.

[Macrosill]

I had the triangle head. I guess I am off to the store for a new one of those. I really hate the moon shaped ones. I am not thrilled with triangle ones but atleast I can see through the plastic and know if the leaf was sucked in or not. The concesus appears to be move slow, very slow or all the debris floats away. I too "twist" the handle to get the larger debris under the head so it doesn't just push around. I will check out a few places and see if I can come up with anything else. If I do I will post back, if not then I am getting the triangle unit.

Thanks for the help and suggestions,
Brian

[matt4x4]

SLOW is the key to cleaning your pool successfully in one go.
Unfortunately for me, my pool is over 700 square feet (1200 if you count the walls) - this takes 2 hours to clean at the "proper" speed.
Unfortunately, no one has invented a vac head that does not cause turbulence.

[gonefishin]

Has anyone tried the RB214 that Ben recommends? I've gotten tired of buying home supplies that seem to last three years and then need replacement. This ones double the price of the super-vac mentioned...but with ball-bearings and solid construction it may well be worth the extra money over time.



He does mention that you need good suction...how does one know if their suction is good enough?

thanks,
dan

[Macrosill]

Will that work in a vinyl pool? I have read they are only for gunite. I am willing to spend more if it will last and work well.

[brent.roberts]

I got one of the smaller ones from Ben a couple of weeks ago. If you're tired of the cheap stuff that is made for "selling" instead of made for "cleaning" then this is the best thing I've ever seen. The whole base flexes so when you move around the bottom of the pool's curves, it hugs the bottom. The attachment for the pole is metal, not plastic, and it steers. That is when you twist the pole the head stays flat on the pool bottom and changes direction.

I have one of the ones pictured above and this thing is wonderful by comparison. I have not timed it but I can tell you it is much much faster, largely because you can steer it.

PS my pool is IG liner.

[Macrosill]

I went to Leslies today for a new vac head. They only had the half moon shaped one and a triangle. The triangle was made of blue plastic that you can not see through. I was not to happy. I looked to my right and there was a replacement nech for the vac heads. I bought that and am using my old see through vac head.

Thanks for all your replies, suggestions and help,
Brian