'Automatic' pool cleaners.

For anything to do with the garden and pool
alexia s.
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Post by alexia s. »

" However, you need to add in shipping and TVA, and possibly duty."
We ordered a pool alarm from the States last year - had to pay duty. Even with shipping and duty we ended up spending about a third of the price of the cheapest alarm in France.
"Also you have no effective guarantee, and servicing could be tricky"
The alarm arrived from the supplier - didn't work - we telephoned the manufacturer (in the States) who got us to activate it over the phone, said that the supplier shouldn't have sent us that one & promised to ship a replacement to arrive within 36 hours. The replacement arrived the next day(I don't know how they do it. It would have been weeks from a point in France). Works perfectly. No duty the second time.
Conclusion: great alarm, brilliant after-sales service, extremely cheap.
BYW this alarm is now sold with French specifications.
Best,
Alexia.
aillis
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Post by aillis »

I have bought several items from America ( USA/Canada)liner ,heat pump and when its delivered by DHL they take import and TVA tax at delivery but with the robot cleaner it came by post 3 months ago and touch wood haven't had to pay any tax on it!
MadDogWoman
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Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 2:39 pm

Post by MadDogWoman »

We found the polaris to be excellent and very efficient. However, to comply with the new pool security laws we have opted for a security roller cover - disadvantage - the polaris does not work so efficiently while the cover is on so we tend to leave it in and it works during the day when the cover is off. Not ideal if it is considered a hazard.

Has anyone any suggestions how to get round this? Manual cleaning is not an option due to a back injury.
Calvados
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Location: Calvados - Nr Treviers

Post by Calvados »

Alan Knighting wrote:Jayjan,

Whilst on the face of it backwashing to waste sounds like an efficient way of keeping a pool clean it is not the answer on a daily basis. Apart from the obvious problem of excessive use of water (that is a huge problem in times of water shortage and hose pipe and pool topping up bans, as is now the case where I live) there is also the question of the efficiency of your filter.

At first, a high-rate sand filter with clean sand will remove only larger particles (between 12 and 15 microns in size). As the dirt builds up in the sand, the filter will remove finer and finer particles, eventually down to submicron size. In other words the filter becomes more and more efficient, up to a point. That point is reached when the pressure guage shows an increase of 5 to 8 psi over the pressure when the filter starts up after being cleaned. Backwashing too frequently does not allow the filter to do the maximum cleaning job and you are not improving filtration by backwashing before the appropriate pressure rise is registered.

Regards

Alan
There are several floculant products on the market that will cause small particles to gel together, thus easier removed by the filter - silica or sand filters that is.
Check out bioguard.co.uk for lots of tips, advice and trouble shooting on pools and spas.
Regards
Calvados
Clexane
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Post by Clexane »

We are thinking of buying either option 2 or option 3 robot. Can somebody suggest make and actual models that worked for them. There is a huge variety of different make and models available within each category and I am sure they do not all preform equally well.

Thanks!
So you wanted a holiday home in france ...

www.villaemmanuelle.com
Fraise
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Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 8:25 am
Location: Charente Maritime and Middle England

Post by Fraise »

My Polaris is 6 years old now and we'll be replacing it this year.I would go for the same one again but the Hayward is quite a bit cheaper so I'm thinking about that as an alternative.Any info would be useful :roll:
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mpprh
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Post by mpprh »

Hi

just a couple of points :

The sand does eventually wear out ! The sharp crystalline form eventually becomes rounded and the filter loses some efficiency. It needs to be replaced every 5 - 10 years. It is a relatively easy and cheap job.

Scale in the water accelerates the drop off in performance.

I've got some info & costs here.

Peter
The Languedoc Page
www.the-languedoc-page.com
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Peter,
It needs to be replaced every 5 - 10 years. It is a relatively easy and cheap job.
You are absolutely right. I changed mine last year at little cost and the difference was quite incredible.

Alan
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