Does your pool cleaner (pool sweep) get stuck in dead spots?

July 30, 2012

Lets talk about pressure side pool cleaners.
First, some people refer to them as “pool cleaners”, others call them “pool sweeps”. Either are acceptable.

Do you regularly find your automatic pool cleaner in the same place?
This is a VERY common question with a simple answer.  All pool cleaners have a “dead spot” (some have multiple). If I had to guess, it would get hung up in your pool I’d guess right where it is in this photo > perched in that little corner of your wedding cake steps. Even my pool cleaner has a couple “dead spots”.

Here’s the 64,000 dollar question: is the pool clean? If so, then it’s not an issue and there’s nothing to do. If not then adjustments need to be made (or a new/different cleaner should be installed). The most common issue is the hose is too long.

If you look on the hose about 3 ft from the cleaner you’ll see a cylinder looking object. This is the backup gear (aka backup valve). Its sole purpose is to pull the cleaner out of dead spots- it reverses flow every 4 minutes or so.  Without a properly functioning backup gear the cleaner will continue forward and typically remain stuck as long as the pump is on. If the backup gear isn’t working get down to the pool store and buy a new one, your cleaner is severely limited to perform.
After the cleaner has pulled back and the backup gear has run its course the cleaner will take off, and hopefully in another direction to gobble up more leaves.

I hope this helps answer your question!