Pool Raider

I see what your saying about the ruby & diamond. You figure the typical sweep is putting more milage everyday running around the bottom of a pool than most people do in their car driving to work. Since the plaster doesn't move while the sweep does, useually covering the same if not a similar pattern daily. It's going to errode whatever it makes contact with slowly but surely. Nearly every pool I've ever seen with a Navi has some wear.

I like the poolvergnuegen or The Pool Cleaner. I know it's got a funny name but it is IMO the best suction based cleaner on the market. I preffer the two-wheel suction even thought they make a four wheeled version. The two-wheeled model works just as well, arguably better than it's four wheeled upgraded variant but uses less moving parts. I like that because it makes the 2-wheeled model more durable and less likely to wear out as fast. I'm not a fan of the Hayward Navigator as it has hard plastic areas that rub the plaster and cause wear on the pool surface where a wheeled unit is less likely to do that.

Look into the Hayward EcoStar variable speed pump. You can plug right into a T104 type clock (Guessing that's what you have for a clock) and get all the functions of a modern automated system built into the pump. Freeze protection, variable speeds, programming, time-out to circulate water for 30 minutes after you add chems etc... lots of value and effieciency for the money. Good luck, heres one I installed a few weeks ago....

We clean ours with an electric "Husky" Home Depot brand 1700 PSI washer. It has been fine for over 8+ years of service, when the filters are really bad we go down to a local car wash (The ones where you use the wand) and it really gets them looking new again. at least a 10 PSI drop on the guage. I wouldn't use any higher pressure than that though and deffinately not point blank, I'm generally about 3 ft away from the filter when I pressure wash them.

The Intermatic is decent for what you want to do, also I would look into the Sun Touch by Pentair, this control box is great for someone on a budget and works for implementing a variable speed pump. A could combo with the Sun Touch would be the Pentair VS3050.

The rear jet needs to be set at 11 O-clock like mentioned and for starters. Check to see if all three wheels are getting equal traction. Check the ballast float, actually remove it and see if it feels like it is full of water. It shouldn't feel like it has water in it. When they go bad it will fill up with water and make the unit top heavy and likely to lean to one side. Also check all of the lead hose floats and make sure they aren't bad in full of water as well.

Hey Fireman, we've got common ground as my wife's a firefighter no kidding. anyway you speak of the Polaris ATV, I've never seen a working one honestly. I love Polaris products the 280 series is a proven work horse as far as pressure cleaners go and it sells at an affordable price point for most pool owners. What I don't get is how a company that builds a great pressure cleaner like the 280 could build such a dog as the ATV. The first and last one I sold to a client two years ago busted three times under warranty. Each time I had Polaris repair it, it broke again shortly there after. I've never sold another but have seen several at various REO properties that we get from banks and real estate companies and never a working one. I felt so bad about the problem with that cleaner (Putting my trust in the Polaris name) I gave my client a brand new Poolvergnugen four wheeled suction cleaner in lieu of the embarrassment of selling them such an inferior product. My issue with the Hayward Navigator is that it is a hard contact cleaner, it wears the plaster down in the pool because those flaps on the side made of plastic constantly touch the pool sides, walls, steps & swimout edges. My favorite "suction" cleaner hands down is the four wheel poolvergnugen by "The Pool Cleaner" it's got a funny name, but it's the best suction cleaner on the market bar none. I like that you always have rubber wheels that are making contact with your pool. It's got fewer moving parts than the Navigator and is less affected by pressure changes with the pump and filtration. Just my two cents.

Not sure if you are familiar with PoolRx My link we use these, an industry alliance told me the Rx works wonders in removing black algae. I also like Silvertrine for this as well, good luck. Make sure your chemistry is balanced before either application for best results. Good luck

400 pools is a lot for 4 people. How many hours does each person work per week? How much time do you spend at each pool? What do you include in your service? First off I didn't come on here to start anything with anybody (I love the site) and second I didn't post in this thread to have you all start asking how I run my company, you want to know how it's done you start a thread on the topic and I might give my time. First of all it works so stop trying to figure it out, everyone is happy, everyone is paid. Some of you internet gurus might be able to find my company on google and on various forums in my community where our customers praise our work & quality. In short I don't advertise at all, our business is all word of mouth. I'm almost at the point of needing another guy really. Also 70-80% of our entire pools are of Chemical-Only or Chemical-Brush type service, very few are of the "Full Service Type where you would need to spend an hour at each pool, that's insane but I live in California and our climate is moderate all year. Most of our pools are newer and in newer areas with SWG & automation with "good" cleaners. Plus all my guys have a Hammer-Head vac so there is no reason to ever be at a site longer than 30 minutes max. I know what some of you say about companies that rush through their routes or pools and are in & out in 5 minutes. we pickup lot's of clients every year from those type of operations. That's not us, also I leverage employees so someone is always in the area to take a service call for a client or do a repair.

Not sure if you were referring to me? I'm in California not Seattle, almost everyone has a pool here, aside from Florida I think we are the largest pool market. My company also services about 400 pools a week between three full time guys and one part time. We don't have a single booster pump type cleaner set to run longer than an hour. I'm also not a liberal by any means but in California the direction is saving more energy and conserving so that's what we do.

I don't like either and recommend the Pool RX unit, you can google it and find it from a vendor. Cost is going to be around $60/dollars online somewhere. Pool stores don't sell it because your pool will retain more chemicals and be less likely to have an algae bloom so they can't make money selling you a bunch of stuff you don't need.

I'm a pool guy, all of boosted (Booster-pump) assisted cleaners i.e. Polaris 280 type cleaners are set to run 1hr/ per day. I've never seen a booster pump driven cleaner take longer than 1hr to clean an entire 15-20K gallon pool under normal circumstances. Main pump driven cleaners like the Polaris 380 will run as long as the filter pump time is set for unless it is valved and set up on automation to turn off at a specific time. If your cleaner is running 24/7 chances are your filter pump is too costing you an insane amount of energy/ money. And like the other have said and wearing out the cleaner pre-maturely. You figure if the cleaner runs 5-6 hours a day it is probably putting as many miles at the bottom of your pool as your car does commuting to work daily. That means it's going to need similar repairs frequently like tires, wheels, gears and not to mention the bags and wear along the body. Also some cleaners if run lengthy operating duration will wear area of the pool surface down from constant contact.

Where do you service pools? I want to move there. In Northern California one of the nations largest markets, the avg for a (Full Service) Top/ bottom cleaning, empty baskets, and providing chems is $90-$120/ month. Most companies around here charge extra to clean the filter system at least twice a year if it's a 300+ sq/ ft unit. Most companies in my area charge between $45-$60 for a basic service or "Chem Only"

I'm not a builder, but a pool service company. I really like the goldline system. Simple to install, simple to service, easy to use user interface, it's the most reliable Salt System we've used. I used to like the Jandy Aqua Pure 1400 but have have several on my route that have had reoccurring problems, some have needed the same repair twice even a third time. Hope this helps.

Thanks PC, a buddy in my area that used to be a Jandy warranty station said today that I'm looking at the port sensor on the cell. This is the newer style AP1400 if that helps. I'm stuck in the mud thanks for looking at my post.