Sunday, June 21, 2015

Power Vac PV2100 Portable Professional Swimming Pool Vacuum Cleaner

If I say "Appomattox Court House," would you know what I was referring to? Some might know that this is where General Lee surrendered the Southern Army to General Grant. This is a common mistake pool manufacturers make when they try to market their products. If I told 100 pool guys starting out in the business to define the "Power Vac PV2100 Portable Professional Swimming Pool Vacuum Cleaner," chances are those that could answer this would be about the same percentage who would know what happened at the "Appmattox Court House."

So I will unpack the Power Vac model PV2100 for you in this article so you will know exactly what it is and why I would highly recommend it to you.

In the video below I liken the Power Vac PV2100 to a Robotic Pool Cleaner, a portable pool pump, a manual vacuum and a Leafbagger. So let me explain this in some detail. The Power Vac is similar to a Robotic cleaner in that it operates with a powerful motor and propeller - 35 lb. of thrust. It also uses a cord but it is not plugged into an outlet but into a 12V 35AH battery. The Power Vac is like a portable pool pump as it works independent from the pools filtration system. However, water is not expelled from the pool, it just works separate from the pool equipment. It is like a manual pool vacuum since you move it around the pool in much the same way, vacuuming up leaves, sand. dirt and debris. And it is like a Leafbagger as it has a large capacity bag on top and can pick up very large debris. But no garden hose is needed and the Power Vac is much more powerful. So imagine all four of these products in one machine and you will have a good idea of what the Power Vac PV2100 is all about.

POWER VAC PV2100 review video:


The Power Vac PV2100 is a great way to maximize your time out in the field. You simply plug it into the battery, drop it in the pool and start vacuuming. The PV2100 is sold as a portable vacuum and no cart is needed. You simple need to carry the battery and the Power Vac back to the pool and that is it. The battery case in this video with the Power Sonic battery came in at 24 lbs. with the Power Vac weighing 14 lbs. Not too heavy and after a few pools you get used to it. You can also order a cart if you prefer.

This thing is amazingly powerful and using the Power Vac will cut your pool cleaning time dramatically. I was able to vacuum pools out at amazing speeds. And the Power Vac picks up everything in the pool. If you want to pick up algae dust or D.E. you will need to order those bags separate. But the two bags that come with it are sufficient for most pools.

The only additional items you will need are a 12V 35Ah "Absorbed glass mat" (AGM) Battery or "Gel" Battery and a charger for the battery. You can find the links for them on my website:

http://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/#!power-vac-/c1jil

On one battery charge:

I wanted to see how many pools I could vacuum on one charge and the last clip in the video is of the Power Vac in the last pool - still working fine - although the bag is a was sagging a little but this thing had a workout over two days:

15,000 gallon pool
30,000 gallon pool
24,000 gallon pool
35,000 gallon pool
15,000 gallon pool
30,000 gallon pool
18,000 gallon pool
35,000 gallon pool
25,000 gallon pool
20,000 gallon pool

So it went through ten pool, most of them the largest on my pool route and still has a pretty  good charge left. It was down to 12% when I connected it to my charger. The battery life of the PV2100 should be sufficient for most pool routes.


POWER VAC PV2100 set up video:




Here are some of the good points for you:

It is super powerful and can pick up not only leaves and twigs but rocks as well.
The battery will last about 3 hours so plenty of time for most pool routes
It is portable so no cart is needed
The cord is 40 ft long so plenty for almost all pools
The cleaning area is very wide and this will speed up your cleaning time
This thing is built to last and is very durable.
There are many bag choices and one that filters down to 15 microns (about what a cartridge filter would filter down to).
The price without the cart is affordable.

The Power Vac PV2100 would be a great investment for any pool service company and a real game changer for many. Check out their website for more information and where to buy.

http://www.powervaccorporation.com/index.html


Power Vac PV2100 Debris:


Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Hayward AquaVac 500 Robotic Pool Cleaner - Review

The Hayward AquaVac 500 is a very solid and well made robotic pool cleaner that seems to be overlooked in the market. It s priced in the mid-range as far as robotic cleaners go and delivers a lot of features.


I like the easy access filter area and I like the design of the filter itself. It has a large area for leaves and the two filter inserts trap the dirt and small debris.

This cleaner has no problem climbing up walls and moving around the pool. It just zips around the pool on a mission to clean it in the allotted 3 hour time frame. In my testing the pools I put it in come out spotless. While it is climbing the walls it also cleans the pool tile area which is a nice touch.

I like the cord swivel as it prevents one of the major plagues of robotic cleaners - the cord getting tangled up in the pool. 60 ft of cord is plenty for most pools.

Many consumers worry about this compact design I think as early cleaners that used this flat design would "Turtle" in the pool - turn over in it's back and need to be assisted. I spoke with the engineer who designed this cleaner at a pool show earlier this year and he says Hayward corrected that issue by increasing the rear thrust by 30%. It seems to work because this thing has yet to "Turtle" in my test pools.

The first thing I noticed about the cleaner is the simplicity of everything. The Control panel has three function. An "on" button, an Icon for selecting bottom only cleaning or bottom and wall cleaning and a simple 7 day timer with four options - 1 time clean, every 24 hours, every 48 hours or every 72 hours (it resets every week so you will have to reprogram it every seven days for safety reasons). That is it. Even a 6 year old could get this thing going.

The cleaner itself lends to the same simple design. The lid pops open with a simple button and the entire filter comes out in one fluid motion. The flat design allows the user to retrieve it from the pool with ease - although it is still heavy at 27 lbs. So it is easy to operate.

I suggest purchasing it with  the cart/caddy as it makes it easy to store and transport. The only negatives I found were that the cart is a little too much plastic - but it is sturdy and effective, and there is no remote for the cleaner so you can't really have fun playing with it ;). Not major negatives but noted.

There are a lot of good points to this cleaner:
Easy filter access
Compact design so it is easy to remove from the pool
Cord swivel to prevent cord tangle
Adaptive seek control for full pool coverage
60 feet of cord
Easy to set-up and program
3 year limited warranty

Robotic cleaners are a good choice for several reasons. They work independently from your pool s filtration system so all of the dirt and debris is trapped by the robot cleaner and doesn't enter your system. They are much more energy efficient than a pressure side cleaner and can clean your pool faster than either a suction side or pressure cleaner.  Most robotic cleaners like the AquaVac 500 can climb your pool walls to the tile line and can clean larger pools.

So if you are in the market for a good robotic cleaner don't overlook the Hayward AquaVac 500. It is a well constructed product built here in the USA and it is backed by a strong 3 year warranty from a manufacturer you can trust.

There is some confusion about the warranty. Online you will read 1 year. In the manual in the box it says 2 years and printed on the box it says 3 year limited warranty. Hayward says the 3 year is correct.

Here are some photos of what it picked up running in my pool for 2 days. I couldn't believe the amount of hair my dog sheds into the pool. My pool has never look more groomed ;)

My Husky
2 days worth of hair in the pool - nice.