Save Money! Free Pool Vacuum Cleaner

[AllanB]

As you may have gathered I am not your conventional pool guy and think there is always a better way, but thought I would share my invention (well hardly) with you. This is just for a laugh, for all you serious business people out there.

After building my pool which is now up and swimming, there was some clearing up to do and a few small jobs which created a bit of dust. We tried hard to minimise this but some got into the water and sank, so I tried to think of a way of cleaning it, with what I had.

1. I had bought a submersible pump to drain the original hole of some ground water, prior to pouring, so that was my vacuum cleaner.

2. I had a 3 metre length of 50mm pipe, which formed the handle

3. A T piece which formed the head.

4. A 45deg bend, which kept the pump at right angles to the pool floor for maximum suction, like a J Edgar does.

5. When I ordered my fantastic bag filters, I also ordered some 100 micron nylon netting which I had a local guy sew into some small bags, 15 baht each, oops!

6. And the whole thing was held together with cable ties.

7. The power comes from my RCD protected supply.

It works brilliantly.

Now you may say, why not buy some hose, a vacuum head, etc and pump it out with the pool pump, but that creates a lot of turbulence and moves the dirt around, but most of all my system was free. Plus my system uses much less electricity and you can see it working, as the bag is see-through.

If any of you guys out their have anything similar idaes, please add them to this thread, especially if they are money saving ideas. There is a recession on you know.

[steve187]

A picture would be nice,

[sneef]

video would be better

[janverbeem]

1. I had bought a submersible pump

2. I had a 3 metre length of 50mm pipe

5. When I ordered my fantastic bag filters, I also ordered some 100 micron nylon netting which I had a local guy sew into some small bags, 15 baht each, oops!

but most of all my system was free.

[AllanB]

1. I had bought a submersible pump

2. I had a 3 metre length of 50mm pipe

5. When I ordered my fantastic bag filters, I also ordered some 100 micron nylon netting which I had a local guy sew into some small bags, 15 baht each, oops!

but most of all my system was free.

I said this was just for a laugh...... but I had the pump, which was now doing nothing and the 3 metres of piping and can't return them, so as far as I am concerned they are free. The netting was ordered for making fine mesh nets for cleaning, cost very little and I had some left over, so again free.

By free I mean the alternative is to throw it away, or store for insect homes. If I want a "proper" cleaning system I have to spend money, a few thousand baht.

Chill out man.....................

[Valentine]

1. I had bought a submersible pump

2. I had a 3 metre length of 50mm pipe

5. When I ordered my fantastic bag filters, I also ordered some 100 micron nylon netting which I had a local guy sew into some small bags, 15 baht each, oops!

but most of all my system was free.

I said this was just for a laugh...... but I had the pump, which was now doing nothing and the 3 metres of piping and can't return them, so as far as I am concerned they are free. The netting was ordered for making fine mesh nets for cleaning, cost very little and I had some left over, so again free.

By free I mean the alternative is to throw it away, or store for insect homes. If I want a "proper" cleaning system I have to spend money, a few thousand baht.

Chill out man.....................

I have done this out of necessity on a liner pool. The pump had to be taken away for repair so we attached the bag filter, with some chlorine tablets inside, to the submersible pump. Worked just fine.

[AllanB]

1. I had bought a submersible pump

2. I had a 3 metre length of 50mm pipe

5. When I ordered my fantastic bag filters, I also ordered some 100 micron nylon netting which I had a local guy sew into some small bags, 15 baht each, oops!

but most of all my system was free.

I said this was just for a laugh...... but I had the pump, which was now doing nothing and the 3 metres of piping and can't return them, so as far as I am concerned they are free. The netting was ordered for making fine mesh nets for cleaning, cost very little and I had some left over, so again free.

By free I mean the alternative is to throw it away, or store for insect homes. If I want a "proper" cleaning system I have to spend money, a few thousand baht.

Chill out man.....................

I have done this out of necessity on a liner pool. The pump had to be taken away for repair so we attached the bag filter, with some chlorine tablets inside, to the submersible pump. Worked just fine.

Bag filters are brilliant, practically I cannot see a downside, they are cheapest of all by far, easy to fit, easy to clean (wash under a tap) and available in many pore sizes (interchangeable) right down to 1 micron and nothing gets below that. They also mean a very simple piping system and almost no load on the pump. meaning better flow, longer pump life and much lower running costs. There is no water loss either during the cleaning process, so no need to refill the pool and you only need one filter to get the water really clean. There are a few pool companies starting to use them and most pool cleaning machines all use them to great effect.

Sand filters go back more than 4,000 years and I think that's where they belong, in the past.

[WarpSpeed]

Here ya go, been out for years and uses only water pressure good if you need to add a bit of water at the same time or have a really sloppy pool with heavy vegetation.

Also an automatic one with it's own motor..

Well I searched for hours but couldn't find the one I wanted to show. It is similar to the first picture i shape and principle but it comes with a 12V trolling motor instead that creates a vortex to push the water into the bag and picks up all range of large objects too.

[AllanB]

That's interesting, here is a picture of my Heath Robinson effort, using the bits I had after my build. Mine don't look as pretty, hardly surprising, but works very well and since I have now fitted one of my 1 micron bag filters, nothing will get through it. Pour size smaller than water polishing level.

I found that when I used my original 100 micron netting (still pretty fine) a lot of small particles got through, so more of a fine strainer, like 2 of the items shown above. Mine is now the ultimate pool cleaner. The only slight issue is that because the pore size is so small, you have to roll the bag up when you first start to expel the air otherwise the dam_n thing floats. But no big deal.

Fitting a brush might be the next stage to help when I eventually get a mineral build up, that said these filters have already removed all the visible iron and who knows what else. They are a revelation and will take out algae permanently at an early stage, without resort to huge amounts of chemicals, put a chlorine tablet in the bag and kill the algae in the bag.

I have an 8 x 4 pool and it took me about 10 minutes to clean it, the pump is 250watt, so not much leccy.

[AllanB]

I have been looking around a lot on the internet and maybe I have stumbled upon something a somewhat unique. I can use a 1 micron bag filter with my main pool pump, but not for very long before I have to clean it.

The 1 micron filter bag takes out everything, including parasites, bacteria, metals, etc and when used in conjunction with a lower flow submersible pump, clogging is not a problem. You can filter out a lot of stuff before it needs emptying.

After I have finished vacuuming the pool with it, I leave it running in various parts of the pool and it acts as an ultra high level filter system, including any dead spots.

What I want to do now is the fit a brush to the contraption and have a pretty good all-round pool cleaner.

There is a robotic device in the US which uses a 2 micron bag, but costs $1,000, it looks cool but after it is landed in Thailand the price will be very high.

http://www.poolsupplyworld.com/poolsupplies/poolcleaners/polaris/robotic/products/F9300.htm

The principle is the same but the whole thing is automatic and, of course, quite stylish, but being battery powered you cant do the water filtering.

Anyone wants to build one it is pretty easy.

[WarpSpeed]

It's not battery powered it has a step down transformer from 120v to 28v for safety reasons not being Thailand and 60 feet of cable plus it's 120V so you'd also need another transformer here to step it down and use it. It is also not designed for square edged pools (I.E. block pools with 90 degree angles) even though they say they are for "all pools" they are speaking in the context of the US where very few square edge pools have existed for 40 years so therefore getting stuck and NOT climbing the walls will definately factor in ..

These systems have never been designed for "filtering" a pool either, they are merely automatic cleaning machines..

I hope I wasn't being too obtuse for you??

Edited February 13, 2012 by WarpSpeed

[AllanB]

It's not battery powered it has a step down transformer from 120v to 28v for safety reasons not being Thailand and 60 feet of cable plus it's 120V so you'd also need another transformer here to step it down and use it. It is also not designed for square edged pools (I.E. block pools with 90 degree angles) even though they say they are for "all pools" they are speaking in the context of the US where very few square edge pools have existed for 40 years so therefore getting stuck and NOT climbing the walls will definately factor in ..

These systems have never been designed for "filtering" a pool either, they are merely automatic cleaning machines..

I hope I wasn't being too obtuse for you??

Not at all and I stand corrected on this occasion.

It is because I am using a large capacity bag that I can just leave it running and the pump isn't pumping against a head, so it is not working very hard.

Couldn't find anything else on the net.

[WarpSpeed]

It's not battery powered it has a step down transformer from 120v to 28v for safety reasons not being Thailand and 60 feet of cable plus it's 120V so you'd also need another transformer here to step it down and use it. It is also not designed for square edged pools (I.E. block pools with 90 degree angles) even though they say they are for "all pools" they are speaking in the context of the US where very few square edge pools have existed for 40 years so therefore getting stuck and NOT climbing the walls will definately factor in ..

These systems have never been designed for "filtering" a pool either, they are merely automatic cleaning machines..

I hope I wasn't being too obtuse for you??

Not at all and I stand corrected on this occasion.

It is because I am using a large capacity bag that I can just leave it running and the pump isn't pumping against a head, so it is not working very hard.

Couldn't find anything else on the net.

There is as I mentioned previously, another model the name of which escapes me being so many years ago so I've not been able to find it. It's a bit pricey but would be the real application for you if you're so inclined to use your bag filters and it can be somewhat easily assembled here instead of ordering one. The design incorporates the picture below but instead is a bit larger in diameter and more substantial in frame to accommodate a motor with four wheels instead of 3 for stability as it has a 12v trolling motor installed in it's center which picks up the debris into the bag, it's rather powerful and lasts quite some time on the 12v battery depending on size which is then easily recharged over night..

The one on the right..

The inventor as I recall was a company that used it for their service and did numbers of pools per day without recharging necessary, they touted not pulling the debris through the pump so no need to clean the trap as often and less need for filter cleaning (both of which mostly benefited them) as a couple of the benefits of it's use.. But it required a special mount for it to be carried on the back of the truck and though it had nice soft, wide, non-marking tires, in the rainy season, it still had to be trekked through mud and puddles to get into peoples back yards so it was awkward and clumsy for that use plus a bit messy on the customers pool deck.. Still they used it almost exclusively..

Edited February 13, 2012 by WarpSpeed

[AllanB]

It's not battery powered it has a step down transformer from 120v to 28v for safety reasons not being Thailand and 60 feet of cable plus it's 120V so you'd also need another transformer here to step it down and use it. It is also not designed for square edged pools (I.E. block pools with 90 degree angles) even though they say they are for "all pools" they are speaking in the context of the US where very few square edge pools have existed for 40 years so therefore getting stuck and NOT climbing the walls will definately factor in ..

These systems have never been designed for "filtering" a pool either, they are merely automatic cleaning machines..

I hope I wasn't being too obtuse for you??

Not at all and I stand corrected on this occasion.

It is because I am using a large capacity bag that I can just leave it running and the pump isn't pumping against a head, so it is not working very hard.

Couldn't find anything else on the net.

There is as I mentioned previously, another model the name of which escapes me being so many years ago so I've not been able to find it. It's a bit pricey but would be the real application for you if you're so inclined to use your bag filters and it can be somewhat easily assembled here instead of ordering one. The design incorporates the picture below but instead is a bit larger in diameter and more substantial in frame to accommodate a motor with four wheels instead of 3 for stability as it has a 12v trolling motor installed in it's center which picks up the debris into the bag, it's rather powerful and lasts quite some time on the 12v battery depending on size which is then easily recharged over night..

The one on the right..

The inventor as I recall was a company that used it for their service and did numbers of pools per day without recharging necessary, they touted not pulling the debris through the pump so no need to clean the trap as often and less need for filter cleaning (both of which mostly benefited them) as a couple of the benefits of it's use.. But it required a special mount for it to be carried on the back of the truck and though it had nice soft, wide, non-marking tires, in the rainy season, it still had to be trekked through mud and puddles to get into peoples back yards so it was awkward and clumsy for that use plus a bit messy on the customers pool deck.. Still they used it almost exclusively..

How heavy is this dam_n thing, if it needs a truck? Mine is a couple of kg, cost peanuts, etc. I thought of putting wheels on but it doesn't need them as it kind of hovers like a Flymo. In fact I have to expel all the air out of the bag to make it sink when I start.

If you really wanted to could copy this design and make a proper one, I can't be asked.

Like I say a bit fun, with a fairly formidable function.

[WarpSpeed]

It's not battery powered it has a step down transformer from 120v to 28v for safety reasons not being Thailand and 60 feet of cable plus it's 120V so you'd also need another transformer here to step it down and use it. It is also not designed for square edged pools (I.E. block pools with 90 degree angles) even though they say they are for "all pools" they are speaking in the context of the US where very few square edge pools have existed for 40 years so therefore getting stuck and NOT climbing the walls will definately factor in ..

These systems have never been designed for "filtering" a pool either, they are merely automatic cleaning machines..

I hope I wasn't being too obtuse for you??

Not at all and I stand corrected on this occasion.

It is because I am using a large capacity bag that I can just leave it running and the pump isn't pumping against a head, so it is not working very hard.

Couldn't find anything else on the net.

There is as I mentioned previously, another model the name of which escapes me being so many years ago so I've not been able to find it. It's a bit pricey but would be the real application for you if you're so inclined to use your bag filters and it can be somewhat easily assembled here instead of ordering one. The design incorporates the picture below but instead is a bit larger in diameter and more substantial in frame to accommodate a motor with four wheels instead of 3 for stability as it has a 12v trolling motor installed in it's center which picks up the debris into the bag, it's rather powerful and lasts quite some time on the 12v battery depending on size which is then easily recharged over night..

The one on the right..

The inventor as I recall was a company that used it for their service and did numbers of pools per day without recharging necessary, they touted not pulling the debris through the pump so no need to clean the trap as often and less need for filter cleaning (both of which mostly benefited them) as a couple of the benefits of it's use.. But it required a special mount for it to be carried on the back of the truck and though it had nice soft, wide, non-marking tires, in the rainy season, it still had to be trekked through mud and puddles to get into peoples back yards so it was awkward and clumsy for that use plus a bit messy on the customers pool deck.. Still they used it almost exclusively..

How heavy is this dam_n thing, if it needs a truck? Mine is a couple of kg, cost peanuts, etc. I thought of putting wheels on but it doesn't need them as it kind of hovers like a Flymo. In fact I have to expel all the air out of the bag to make it sink when I start.

If you really wanted to could copy this design and make a proper one, I can't be asked.

Like I say a bit fun, with a fairly formidable function.

You call me "obtuse" and have the audacity to call my posts "rubbish" and "nonsense" and while claiming to be an "engineer" (god forbid!) you are so thick you don't understand that in the modern world and even here they use a small pickup truck to do a pool route for service?? What kind of .......................... Never mind..... I tried.................. Take a hike!!

Walks away mumbling obscenities to himself and scratching his forehead.........

[AllanB]

Around here they use a motorcycle and side car and without any other evidence I assumed the pick-up was necessary due to the device being so large. I wasn't having a dig, but anyway this is a simple non-commercial light-hearted item

I called you "obtuse" on another thread, along with the other comments I made when you were talking rubbish and nonsense, but maybe the Thai whisky is confusing you.

That would explain the head scratching and talking to yourself and why you asked me, if you being obtuse on this thread. Incidentally the answer was "no. not this time."

You really should lay of the booze, it does you no favours at all.

[WarpSpeed]

Blah blah blah blah..